Do you have a TV with an HDMI port?
Would you like to be able to cast what is on your phone or computer to that TV?
If you said “yes” to both questions, you might be interested in getting a Chromecast.
But wait: If you also have a Google Home speaker device of some kind (for example, a Google Mini or other model), there’s even more you can do.
If you are still reading, let’s begin.
The basics:
Getting a Chromecast is pretty simple. It’s sold by Google and almost anywhere technology is sold – even at Amazon. It lists for only $35, but it goes on sale for less from time to time.
Installing it is pretty simple too. Plug it into an available HDMI port on the TV. Connect the other (USB) end to the provided cord, and plug that cord into a power outlet. Turn on the TV and change the “Source” to the HDMI port the Chromecast is plugged into. Then, if you don’t already have the Google Home app loaded on your phone, you will need to download it to complete the setup. I won’t go through the steps here, but it’s pretty straightforward.
If you need help, see this Google page: https://www.google.com/chromecast/setup/
If you already have the Google Home app with other devices set up, like a Google speaker device, then just add this new device and make sure you set it up in the same WiFi network as your Google Home speaker device.
One other note: You might want to give the device a simple name – for example, “Living Room TV”. This will make it easy to choose the right one in the event you end up getting more than one Chromecast.
Now that it’s set up, how can you use it?
One way is from the Chrome browser, so you will want to have it on your computer and phone. You can also use it with apps that work with Chromecast, such as Netflix, Hulu, YouTube, etc. Note that if you have Amazon Video, you can still cast, but it would be from a tab inside the Chrome browser.
Using An App On Your Phone:
Select an app on your phone (say, the YouTube app), choose a video, and select the Cast
button to cast it to your TV. If a list is presented, choose the Chromecast device to cast to. If your TV isn’t already turned on and the appropriate HDMI port selected, you may need to do that. Some TVs will turn on automatically and switch to the proper HDMI port when something is cast.Using Google Chrome:
Open the Google browser. Go to, say, YouTube.com and find something you want to watch. Once you have selected the video, choose the 3 dots (
) in the upper right corner of the browser, and then choose “Cast”. (If you see the Cast icon, you can choose that.) If a list is presented, choose the Chromecast device to cast to. If your TV isn’t already turned on and the appropriate HDMI port selected, you may need to do that. Some TVs will turn on automatically and switch to the proper HDMI port when something is cast.You can cast just about anything you can display on your phone or computer, including videos, images/pictures, and files.
Using A Google Home Speaker:
What if you also have a Google Home speaker device? Well, that just adds more fun. As long as they are both in the same WiFi network, you can say something like: “Hey Google. Play Queen on YouTube on Living Room TV”, and magically you will have Queen playing on your Living Room TV (with the same caveats as described above about possibly having to manually turn on your TV and switch to the correct HDMI). You can also say: “Hey Google, skip” if you want it to go on to whatever surprise video might be next. You can also say: “Hey Google, stop” when you don’t want to watch anymore.
You can also stream Google Play Music, a radio station from iHeartRadio, a podcast you subscribe to, and lots of other stuff.
Final Caveat
For all of the above, there is another caveat: When you are done watching and you want to switch back to regular TV or your cable box or whatever, you will need to do that using your TV remote, just like you would if you have any other external sources (such as a DVD player) plugged into a port on your TV.
Enjoy!
All in all, the Google Chromecast is a lot of fun – and it costs only $35 or less.
=====
In the event you missed previous articles about Google and Amazon devices, you can find them here:
https://www.thekuperreport.com/2018/11/review-google-home-mini-vs-amazon-echo.html
https://www.thekuperreport.com/2018/12/part-2-review-google-home-mini-vs.html
https://www.thekuperreport.com/2019/01/google-home-adds-feels-like-temperature.html
=====
Richard L. Kuper
The Kuper Report
