
Google Chromecast - Zaheer
http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/#netflix
======
tolmasky
This is exactly what I've been wanting the Apple TV to be for ages. The only
thing Apple TV is actually good for is Airplay. There doesn't need to be an OS
or a UI for the Apple TV: your phone or tablet will be a better experience for
typing and searching for content every time. Its a fool's errand to try to
design a UI for a TV that isn't dreadfully painful to use: no one ever wants
to interact with something 10 feet away.

This is what the future of TV should be: people should just think of TV's the
way they think of their jamboxes: a higher fidelity dumb pipe for their
existing content. If Apple turned the Apple TV into an HDMI dongle that solely
included AirPlay and included it for free with every iPad and iPhone they
sold, it would _truly_ disrupt TV. If I knew for a fact that every new iDevice
owner was necessarily and AppleTV owner, I would _immediately_ start making
AppleTV-enabled experiences. Overnight the iPad would become a real competitor
to game consoles as well.

It just seems so obvious that this is the right way to go. The apps should
live on the brain (your device), and the TV should just be an auxiliary
screen, nothing more (We certainly don't need YET ANOTHER SDK for writing TV
apps). Here's a fun exercise: go to your local Apple Store and ask them what
an Apple TV is for _today_. Then watch them fumble around mentioning "oh if
you have Netflix" and "isn't cable hard to use" and just the sheer lack of
vision for the product. If it was just AirPlay it would be as easy to explain
as an iPod speaker. If they did this, then you could also imagine indie people
shipping TV Shows as apps as a viable model for the first time, completely
skirting Cable networks.

~~~
crazygringo
Wi-fi isn't good enough. I can barely get AirPlay to stream music reliably ten
feet away for half an hour (oh no! somebody in the next apartment turned on
their microwave!), I can't imagine video being even remotely reliable, and
certainly not at decent quality.

However, Netflix etc. work fine over wi-fi, because they're downloading and
buffering the compressed stream itself, and then feeding that via the HDMI
port to the TV.

Chromecast appears to be able to download the queued content over wi-fi, and
then transmit via HDMI, which is a much more reliable way to go, given the
state of wi-fi.

~~~
bicknergseng
Sounds like you need a new router with a 5ghz channel.

That said, I don't know what's going on with your Airplay's music streaming,
but the bitrate of music is far below Netflix's. It shouldn't matter much
though, I stream my desktop in nearly lagless 1080p to my MBP via Splashtop.
The compression isn't really that bad.

~~~
Ecio78
_Sounds like you need a new router with a 5ghz channel._

According to this review[1] it won't be useful for the Google Chromecast: _"
Internally, the hardware supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 802.11, which isn't quite as
nice as the dual-band Wi-Fi offered on Roku's Streaming Stick."_

[1] [http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/google-
chrom...](http://reviews.cnet.com/digital-media-receivers/google-
chromecast/4505-6739_7-35823617.html)

------
ChikkaChiChi
I think people aren't understanding how awesome this technology is:

1\. Every time someone shows you a YouTube video, you spend 10% of your time
watching it and the other 90% thinking about that one video you know of that's
funnier. With Chromecast, you can queue that sucker up for nexties right from
your own phone, without interrupting the video that's currently playing.

2\. Chromecast does NOT use the resources of the device used to control the TV
for processing...its don't on the dongle itself. This will save battery power,
minimize bandwidth consumption, and you can do other things with your phone
while watching things on the TV.

3\. If it can run Chrome, it can cast to Chromecast. Apple, Microsoft, and
Google devices playing together in one ecosystem. No more throwing the babies
out with the bathwater.

4\. $35.00. Thirty-five dollars for a device that ups the WAF most HTPC nerds
have dreamed of for years! I would have bought this at $100!

This is what the Nexus Q was meant to be, but hardware drove the price down
dramatically.

I haven't been this excited about a new piece of hardware since the iPhone.
This is a game changer.

~~~
ratscabies
I don't get it. I have an HTPC, and I watch Youtube on it all the time. I will
often pause what I am watching to look something up related to the video I am
watching. I don't have a personal phone as I get by fine with my work phone.
It's a blackberry, so not compatible anyway. Also, when watching TV, its with
the family, and we all are interested in what we look up. As far as I know,
this only does some video, and doesn't send web pages to the screen. Yes, it's
$35, but it's pretty limited from what I can see.

~~~
guizzy
It's limited compared to what you can already do, but that's because you have
a HTPC. Same for people who have a Google TV device, an Apple TV device, a
Roku or whatever media box or media center plugged in to their TV. To you and
me, who don't mind learning how to use a media center device, this doesn't
really change anything.

The Chromecast is a device for your mom; something where she can just take her
iPad and press "send to TV" and it appears on her TV.

~~~
jlgaddis
I don't have much interest in this and was just skimming over the comments but
I have to thank you -- your comment got my attention.

My mother (on the complete opposite end of the "techie" spectrum from me)
watches soap operas on her iPad every few days while laying in bed. I'm
certain she'd much rather watch them on the huge TV across the room instead.

> The Chromecast is a device for your mom; something where she can just take
> her iPad and press "send to TV" and it appears on her TV.

I was trying to figure out what I'd use this device for and you've answered
that question for me. I'm ordering one of these for mom.

~~~
sjwright
I realise it's twice the price, but an Apple TV will be much simpler to use,
and will work with almost all apps on her iPad that play video (and audio).
That includes all the built-in apps and nearly all store-bought apps.

There's a strong possibility your mother's soaps are being played in a way
that's unsupported by the Chromecast.

~~~
josteink
> I realise it's twice the price, but an Apple TV will be much simpler to use

But it's made by Apple and will require you to install iTunes and iCloud on
everything you own and it will only work if you throw away all the equipment
you already own and replace them with Apple-made devices.

That's potentially quite a grab of money.

But that's just the smallest cost: The only reason ever to buy Apple is if
you're willing to go all in. Choosing Apple is trading away your freedom. And
as a guy who likes having options, that's a cost I will _never_ be willing to
pay.

~~~
jlgaddis
I bought the iPad for her this last Christmas. She has yet to "install iTunes
and iCloud on everything [she] owns" and is getting along just fine.

(Side note: I'm an open source zealot, my e-mail address ends in @gnu.org, and
my primary laptop runs Debian GNU/Linux. I also own a MacBook Pro and an
iPhone. I like having options too.)

~~~
josteink
But to use an Apple TV to play or display anything from your network, you will
need to publish it via a "iTunes library".

This will require you to install iTunes. If on Windows, iTunes will completely
hijack your machine, steal all file-associations and if you're lucky (like I
was) completely molest all ID3-tags when attempting to clean up music-
metadata, meaning the only "good" copy left of my music's meta-data was the
iTunes library. How convenient is that for Apple, eh?

I had to _manually_ go and tag 10000+ MP3s to make them usuable again outside
iTunes. But I did that, because to me, choice matters.

If I need to go through that shit again to get an Apple TV to work.... Yeah.
Not happening. Ever.

Fuck that shit. I don't say that often on hacker news, but seriously: Fuck
that shit.

~~~
sjwright
You clearly haven't used an Apple TV for many years.

------
jcampbell1
> Power cord required (not shown).

What the hell is this about a "power cord". The specs and details are totally
not clear. Is this not powered by HDMI? If it requires a power cord, these
images are deceptive marketing.

~~~
umsm
Does anyone know if this is actually powered solely by HDMI:

www.roku.com/streamingstick

~~~
notatoad
It is, but only works on a TV that supports MHL HDMI. The chromecast stick
works on any HDMI port because it doesn't rely on the port for power.

it's too bad it can't use MHL power where available and fall back to external.
Seems like an obvious feature.

------
untog
Worth noting- the $35 Chromecast dongle comes with three months of free
Netflix membership (including for existing users), which makes the thing very
cheap indeed.

~~~
fpgeek
If you get multiple Chromecasts do you keep getting bundles of three more free
months?

~~~
hfern
Bottom of [1]:

 _"...you will recieve an email with a promotional code for 3 months of
Netflix. Offer valid for previous, new and existing Netflix members, one per
Netflix account."_

I would suspect not.

[1]
[https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast)

------
pyalot2
"Sorry! Devices on Google Play is not available in your country yet. We're
working to bring devices to more countries as quickly as possible. Please
check back again soon."

~~~
wjoe
And while the UK does have a devices page on the Play store with Nexus devices
and Chromebooks, no Chromecast here either.

Is this available anywhere but the US? Standard Google...

~~~
eloisant
They say it was to be released "in coming weeks" (whatever that means) in UK,
Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Japan and Korea.

------
pwthornton
I'm a little confused by this device, and I haven't been able to find the info
from Google.

Is it that this device acts like an AirPlay receiver of sorts and accepts a
video feed from an approved device or is it that the device simply acts as a
remote and the device gets its own stream from Internet sources? The latter is
much more intriguing than the former, although both have issues for sure, but
hard to complain for the price.

It's an interesting concept either way. I don't see it as a huge threat to the
Apple TV or Roku, as both do a lot more and have dedicated controllers. Using
an Apple TV with an iPhone is nice in some respects, but the wifi connectivity
isn't great. A Bluetooth pairing would be exponentially better. It doesn't
appear this device uses Bluetooth either.

As I see it, I could envision having an Apple TV or Roku for a main TV and
something like this for another TV or for a computer monitor than can support
this.

~~~
cromwellian
It's the latter, although it also supports local receiver mode, so for
example, you can cast your browser tab to the display.

~~~
pwthornton
And I'll be able to stream whatever is in that one browser tab to my TV
without restrictions?

~~~
ChikkaChiChi
Yes. But its in 'Beta'

------
ryandvm
I'm curious to see what kind of Chromecast support they build into Google
Hangouts.

Right now we have meetings on-site and usually have one person in the meeting
running a Hangout on a laptop to communicate with the remote folks. Being able
to have a "portal" to all the remote attendees would be awesome.

------
dm8
If it works as advertised, this could be disruptive. They made it dead simple
to stream content from any device to your TV. So anyone can use it,
particularly the older generation.

Potential for number of apps that could be developed is endless. Apparently,
Washington Post is building an app on top of it
([http://t.co/dTWesNOoIC](http://t.co/dTWesNOoIC)). So possibilities are
endless. And good news - another step towards making cable TV irrelevant.

P.S. I just bought one. Can't wait to play with it's SDK.

~~~
MBCook
> They made it dead simple to stream content from any device to your TV. So
> anyone can use it, particularly the older generation.

That's not really new. Apple TV lets you do the same thing with AirPlay, and
it works great.

Seems like a decent device, and the fact that it works with non-Apple hardware
is obviously useful for people who don't have Apple households, but I don't
think it's disruptive.

~~~
prehkugler
> Apple TV lets you do the same thing with AirPlay, and it works great.

Not entirely. AirPlay is baked into the OS, so devs don't need to do extra
work to support it. Chromecast (or, the Google Cast SDK) is built into the app
level, and works in a fundamentally different way (i.e. streams from the
internet and allows multi-user queueing vs. streams from the audio/video
output of the device).

I don't think it's terribly disruptive - it's essentially AirPlay 2.0 - but it
_is_ new.

~~~
roc
"Streams from the internet" isn't inherently superior. There are things about
it that are nice and things about it that are not so nice.

1\. it requires the dongle to have equivalent internet access as the
'controlling' device. So it would seem you'd be out of luck if you wanted to
stream from a mobile device using a cell modem, to a chromecast on a display
in, say, a hotel, conference room or cabin without (unfiltered) wifi access to
the internet.

2\. sometimes internet-streamed video, even when possible, is far inferior to
just soaking some processing power from the mobile device. People who locally-
save video content for performance/quality reasons aren't going to be wild
about it happily ignoring that local store to pull down a choppy/compressed
stream.

3\. it seems to limit the stream to codecs the device supports. So one can't
likely chromecast from an HTPC that's otherwise perfectly capable of streaming
xvid/divx/etc.

multi-user queue-ing is nice. Airplay really should pick that up.

But I'm not at all wild about "it's own internet stream". While the pros are
neat in certain situations, the cons are a deal-breaker for me.

------
joosters
Whats the privacy policy? Do I need a Google / Youtube account to use it? Just
what data is shared with Google? E.g. Will all my viewing habits be stored?
Will Google ads on my browser suddenly target me based upon my TV use?

------
martingordon
It's $35, but it only offers the Airplay receiver functionality of the Apple
TV (I don't think it will do display mirroring of computers and Android
devices though).

From what I've read (please correct me if I'm wrong), the Chromecast doesn't
function as a standalone device. In other words, you need a
smartphone/tablet/computer to play things on it. It doesn't have its own
interface where you can browse and play content like the Apple TV does.

~~~
josh2600
Yeah, I bought one.

The fundamental problem I'm trying to solve with this device is streaming
youtube to my parents TV. I want something low-tech that they can invoke from
their Computer/Android/iOS device and I don't want them to learn a new menu.

The pricepoint is what sold me. AppleTV is too expensive for what it does, and
while the power plug is annoying, it's easier than their current solution,
which involves leveraging an old PS3 for Netflix playback.

So yeah, this is not a straight up replacement for AppleTV, but it solves the
subset of problems I'm looking for.

That's my $.02.

~~~
Sven7
What you might be looking for, is nowadays positioned as a "smart TV converter
box" $60-100. Basically a Android box that has a hdmi/av out, connects to wifi
and comes with a remote. I set this up for my parents so they can launch skype
on their old TV a couple remote clicks. But turned out they can install apps
from google play so they get youtube, news and email too.

------
Ricapar
Any word on if I can stream whatever is on my Android screen to this?

There are many times where I have pics on my phone (either via the phone's
camera, or Picasa, G+, etc) that I want to show people at home - but there's
no easy way to show them without having to pass around a tiny screen.

~~~
infinita740
When you click the chrome logo on this page:
[http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/#chr...](http://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/devices/chromecast/#chrome)
you can see G+ pics being displayed on the TV so I guess you could use it to
show pics

------
amalag
Will this bypass the need for a Hulu Plus subscription for TV watching? Hulu
plus allows you to watch Hulu on a big screen device in addition to tablets.

~~~
dpeck
Hulu will likely invest in trying to figure out if you're streaming the tab to
be able to block it, its their way.

~~~
prehkugler
Screen-casting from the desktop version of Google Chrome is a (beta) browser
extension. From 2 mins of Googling (I'm no expert), it looks like you can
detect those trivially.

~~~
pbhjpbhj
You can spoof Chrome to be another browser and AFAIK extensions installed is
not broadcast to third parties.

------
darkchasma
Chromecast is not available in your country.

I live in Canada. Apple seems to be able to make this stuff work, why can't
anyone else?

~~~
chrisblackwell
I know how you feel. Considering this thing will be sold at BestBuy, and we
have BestBuy in Canada, why can't we get this thing day one?

~~~
georgemcbay
It is sold out even for US customers on the Play store at this point. Bad week
for me to be picked for jury duty, would have probably caught this in time
otherwise.

------
rlu
Does anyone know if you can stream non-online videos? Like if I have a video
file on my computer and want to play it on my TV, does Chromecast allow for
this?

~~~
shawabawa3
I guess you could always whip up an html5 page to play local videos

------
tremendo
Nice, since the Play store says "We are out of inventory. Check back soon."
[https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast&...](https://play.google.com/store/devices/details?id=chromecast&hl=en)
I'm confused about it being USB-powered. Does it need to be plugged to both
HDMI and USB at the same time?

Edit: The Buy button forwards to the Play store, where it's "out of
inventory". They could change the wording to "Sold Out!" and then brag about
that.

~~~
Zikes
I noticed that the end opposite of the HDMI seemed to have a micro USB in port
on it. I suspect that it is powered via that, however none of the
demonstrations showed it being plugged in, so I believe it may have an
internal battery which needs recharging.

Edit: The specs at the bottom of the page don't list a battery but it does
list an included power adapter, so I guess you have to have that plugged in at
all times.

Edit 2: Certain versions[1] of the HDMI spec provide power. It's possible that
the USB is a backup solution for older spec'd TVs.

[1] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_High-
Definition_Link#Fea...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_High-
Definition_Link#Features)

~~~
mvkel
You sure it's not just for firmware updates? The GameStick
([http://gamestick.tv](http://gamestick.tv)) is powered purely via HDMI.

~~~
momerath
The Gamestick is powered by MHL if you have it, but you have to power it
through its micro-usb port if you have normal HDMI (source: have one). I
expect it's the same for the Chromecast.

------
thezach
Chrome Cast on Amazon Now

[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR0PDNE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?...](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR0PDNE/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00DR0PDNE&linkCode=as2&tag=aspweb-20)

~~~
GoNB
Just purchased, thanks. :)

What's with all the Amazon reviews already? They should have locked reviews
for a few days to prevent trolls.

------
edtechdev
This is useful for educational purposes, too - wirelessly streaming from a
chrome browser or chromebook to a projector (via hdmi to vga adapter).

(An alternative if you have a laptop connected to the projector is to run
AirServer to act as a virtual Apple TV, and then either airplay from your ipad
or run AirParrot from a windows tablet. Of course Chromecast will be the first
solution to work from android tablets, too, since Miracast solutions still
seem to be non-existent or not so great.)

~~~
BHSPitMonkey
I'm actually desperately searching for confirmation on whether this devices
DOES support Miracast (and screen sharing). My guy is saying "no", since it
isn't advertised anywhere. I think this device might only be receiving URIs
and control commands from other devices.

------
jscheel
I'm confused. Can it grab and process the stream itself? So, if I pull up
netflix on my phone, start a video, then force close netflix, will it still be
playing?

~~~
noamsml
Playback is cloud-to-device, not device-to-device.

------
rplacd
The Chrome and Android teams don't seem to be great bedfellows, it seems - it
isn't clear to me what demarcates Chrome-branded products from products
running Android in areas far from their original targets.

~~~
abrahamsen
They two teams were recently merged, or at least now share the same leader,
Sundar Pichai.

Chrome is likely the right name here, it supports most platforms where Chrome
runs, not just Android.

~~~
jordanthoms
Although it leaves the Google TV team in an awkward position

~~~
SEMW
The GoogleTV g+, twitter etc. feeds, previously pretty active, have been dead
since January. My guess is the bulk of the GoogleTV engineering talent left it
to make chromecast.

------
majurg
Well, just purchased mine. I was a little peeved that my nexus 7 didn't have
HDMI-out, but this device looks perfect.

------
smackfu
Makes much more sense as a product than last year's Nexus Q.

------
lnanek2
This doesn't seem much different from the MediaLink HD that HTC has had for
over a year now. Although that ran Android and this runs Chrome. Both were
capable of talking to NetFlix and other content URLs directly once they got
the WiFi information from your device. This helps devices save battery since
they don't have to download the data just to resend it, and don't have to
transcode anything.

That said the MediaLink HD often had lag issues that kept it more in the realm
of presentations and media and made it difficult for real time games. Even for
presentations I'd often carry my own WiFi AP around with me or find ways to
get it just to connect between the phone and device to avoid them. Home
performance is probably better than conference and event performance.

I recently tried a Netgear Miracast adapter to send HDMI from an HTC One and
the lag is completely gone. I haven't tried Google's implementation of
Chromecast yet, but I'm suspicious it won't be nearly as lag and trouble free
as a WiFi Direct only device like the Netgear, though. You have a whole extra
OS running device in the chain to make things a pain. So I'm suspicious the
extra complexity isn't worth it for this class of devices.

------
lotu
Okay maybe this is really obvious, but how do I tell a device with no input
which wifi network to connect to and what the password for it is?

~~~
antimatter15
From the setup page
([https://cast.google.com/chromecast/setup](https://cast.google.com/chromecast/setup)),
it appears that it generates its own access point that you connect to.

~~~
natrius
This is how WiFi-enabled printers and bathroom scales work, too.

~~~
solnyshok
Does it mean that I have to disconnect from my home wifi and loose ability to
google stuff during this process?

------
marcamillion
This is cool....the only thing that is a bit annoying is the fact that the
audio won't be 5.1, it will likely be stereo.

I mean, for YouTube videos it doesn't matter.

But if you are streaming a movie or something, then that may be an annoyance.

But that could just be me.

This is assuming that you have a digital audio source plugged directly into
your receiver ofcourse, as opposed to your TV.

~~~
sk5t
Hmm, interesting point... I would be plugging this thing directly into a giant
Pioneer receiver--never the TV monitor--and certainly HDMI is not itself an
impediment to 5.1 audio, but details on supported digital audio formats seem a
bit scarce now.

~~~
marcamillion
Based on all the images (and limited copy) here, it seems that it may need you
to plug it directly into the TV and not a receiver.

I could be mistaken, but the video, images and copy all seem to go to the TV.

------
shanselman
It'd be epic if this supported _ALL_ the "AirPlay" type tech...PlayTo,
AirPlay, whatever "throw my video up there" formats exist.

I like the price and ordered one, but if it only supports Google's format,
that'll be a bummer. I want this for AirPlay.

------
Rayne
This device is really appealing, but I am extremely disappointed that it can
only mirror chrome tabs. I'd be much more interested in this device if they
would throw out some native applications to mirror a whole screen like Apple's
Airplay can.

~~~
GoNB
You're asking for far more control than what Google has access to, at least on
mobile devices. Apple can do it for iOS because they make it.

~~~
Rayne
I specifically mean desktop. I'd be surprised to learn that VNC clients and
such can manage it but something like this wouldn't, but I've been known to be
wrong before.

------
zaidmo
I dont understand how you stream content from your device to the Chromecast.
My PC has Windows Media Player, my Windows 8 phone has XBox SmartGlass. Would
these applications allow you to stream to the tv. I am abit lost...

~~~
dangrossman
No. There are 4 applications that know what a Chromecast is and can send video
to it: Netflix for Android, YouTube for Android, Google Play for Android, and
Chrome for Android/Windows/Mac/ChromeOS.

* ed: and ChromeOS.

~~~
szager
Correction: Netflix for Android/iOS, YouTube for Android/iOS, Google Play for
Android, and Chrome browser for Android/Windows/Mac/iOS/ChromeOS.

iOS support is a major factor here.

------
rdl
I wonder how best to use this with a local Plex Media Server. I only really
have one projector/ht directly attached to the media server right now, but in
a future where I have N TVs throughout the house, it would be nice to have a
$35 device on each to stream content. AppleTV support is pretty weak for PMS.

I'd really prefer wired gig-e, though. 802.11n is borderline for a busy
network with several video streams. At that point I'd end up running a bunch
of separate wifi APs, which raises the cost to where real wired devices start
to be cheaper again.

------
elleferrer
It's powerful, it's cheap ($35 vs $99 for Apple TV) in no time, this device
will be on every other tv. Just imagine all that data...this is definitely a
game changer. This is awesome.

Here's an article on the Difference Between Chromecast and Google TV (an
Interview with Google's SVP of Android, Chome, and Apps: Sundar Pichai)
[http://allthingsd.com/20130724/sundar-pichai-on-the-
differen...](http://allthingsd.com/20130724/sundar-pichai-on-the-difference-
between-chromecast-and-google-tv-interview/)

------
mahyarm
They should make a cheaper audio only version for the speakers in your
bedroom, etc. Kind of like the airport express. Maybe one with just a stereo
jack and one with the same ports as the apple TV.

~~~
spankalee
It doesn't even have to be cheaper, just have audio out.

~~~
est
S/PDIF for 5.1 surround!

~~~
mahyarm
Do people use 5.1 or 7.1 outside of TVs & home theaters much at all?

~~~
est
People buy ChromeCast just for TVs & home theaters.

~~~
mahyarm
I was talking about my audio only version. ChromeCast is made for TVs

------
ambiate
The device has a microUSB port. The microUSB powers the device. The device
plugs into the HDMI port. The device requires a microUSB powered cable to
operate while plugged in through HDMI.

~~~
Recoil42
HDMI doesn't provide power, so that makes sense -- unfortunate as it is.

------
nausher81
Chromecast chrome extension works on PS3 YouTube App.

I just tried today and noticed, with the Chromecast extension for Chrome
([https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-
cast/boadge...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-
cast/boadgeojelhgndaghljhdicfkmllpafd)) installed.

I am now able to push YouTube videos from my laptop to my PS3 (YouTube App).
This makes searching videos just so much more easier.

------
kayoone
So it seems not to be an actualy HDMI reciever that just outputs your devices
screen on the TV so that you can do anything with it like playing back
moviews, playing games on the big screen etc ? Thats that, i had hoped it was
basically a Miracast reciever..HTC has a similar device called the Media Link
HD which does this, its $90 though but seems to be the way to go for me as i
dont want to be limitied by whats possible in chrome.

------
kayoone
Awesome that its so affordable. HTC has a similar device called Media Link HD
which costs around $90 and i considered buying it. Chromecast all the way :)

------
mrbill
Just bought two - one for each TV in my house. I already have tons of media-
streamer devices (TLBB XBMC, Pivos DS, Roku, etc) but they should be nifty.

------
tjbiddle
Looks like if you refresh enough it will allow you to purchase - Just ordered
one. Took a lot less time than the Nexus 4 ordering process ;-)

------
bostonvaulter2
Did they stop offering the three free months of netflix? I don't see it
mentioned anywhere on the page or amazon listing anymore.

------
vinhboy
This is a $35 AppleTV. Well played google.

------
johnmurch
So it's like an apple tv where you can push streams from your iOS or andriod
device (e.g. youtube) but what about browser/app integration?

I would love to be able to create a "widget" that sits on my tv and has
internet. I could think of a ton of things. Like snapchat but for videos ..
just saying :)

------
sthomas1618
Will I be able to use free Hulu on Chrome through it? If so, this could make
subscribing to Hulu Plus unneeded.

------
TomAnthony
Not available in the UK, but given the specs I'm unsure what should prevent it
working as is in the UK?

------
umsm
I'll buy this once there is wide adoption. I would like either a Bluray player
or VLC to support this.

------
solnyshok
Some compared this to AppleTV, but I would love to point out sellers of
overpriced hdmi cables ($20-60, gold plated bla-bla-bla together with new TV).
Also, Samsung sells wifi dobgles for their SmartTVs for $60-80 in my country.
Hopefully that business will get more reasonable...

------
scarlson
At the same price as a Raspberry Pi, why would I want one?

For me, the only benefit I see to the Chromecast is frequent travel for use on
hotel televisions. Otherwise, an HTPC is going to provide superior
functionality at the same cost.

~~~
jordanthoms
Well, I have a HTPC, and a PS3, and I still got this. Why? Because it's super
cheap, and does a few things better than the other devices - Youtube and
Netflix etc don't work on XBMC well at all, youtube on the PS3 is a pain since
you have to wait for it to open the app, and being able to use this for play
music will be great. For $17 (with the netflix months and shipping), it's well
worth it.

~~~
scarlson
It's great for a run and go gadget, but I don't think it'll replace my HTPC.

If I didn't already have dedicated hardware, I'd get one. As it is, there
isn't anything it does that makes it worth including in an existing HTPC
setup.

~~~
jordanthoms
Really? How do you do Youtube/Netflix on your HTPC now? How about play music?
If you are browsing youtube on your laptop and want to play it on your tv, how
many seconds is that going to take to transfer the video playback?

------
smmnyc
I wonder if this is why Google never released a YouTube channel for roku
devices.

------
mmcclellan
Hmm, this specifically mentions Chrome for Mac and Chrome for Windows. That
very well may mean no capability for Linux yet. It also doesn't implicitly say
Chrome OS, so maybe Chromebooks won't work either.

~~~
MitziMoto
It says the Chromebook Pixel works. I wonder what it is about the Pixel
specifically that allows it to work. I imagine a Linux port isn't _that_ far
off, but unfortunately I don't have any windows machines left in my house.

------
YellowRex
So who is writing an app to trigger streaming from a local network file share?

~~~
ihsw
That is half of what I use my Wii for, it'd be very tempting to switch to the
Chromecast for that.

------
tejaswiy
I wish this did a full laptop display mirroring like AirPlay. Looks like this
only works with Chrome, so it looks like I can't rent / download a movie on a
different service (say iTunes) and play it on my TV.

Bummer.

~~~
jknightco
You can do full display mirroring via Chrome's Remote Desktop extension
([https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chrome-remote-
desk...](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chrome-remote-
desktop/gbchcmhmhahfdphkhkmpfmihenigjmpp?hl=en)). I believe the same
functionality exists for Chromecast, but don't quote me on that.

------
kleiba
_With Chromecast, you can easily enjoy your favorite online entertainment on
your HDTV—movies, TV shows, music, and more from Netflix, YouTube, Google
Play, and Chrome_

...as long as you live in North America.

------
mrbill
Listed, but not yet available to purchase, on Amazon:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR0PDNE](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR0PDNE)

~~~
JustARandomGuy
It's now listed as In Stock. Just purchased one myself, my order lists an
expected arrival date of end of the month.

~~~
mrbill
Just ordered two myself from Amazon - and now Google Play won't let me cancel
my order there. D'oh.

------
dtparr
Has anyone seen thing regarding how setup works? That is, how would I choose a
SSID and enter my wifi password since my 'remote' would normally talk to it
using wifi?

~~~
dangrossman
Other dongles like this typically handle it one of two ways:

1) Plug into a computer for first-time setup. It has a USB port for power that
can also be used to connect to a computer.

2) The dongle broadcasts a wifi network. You connect from any computer to set
it up over a web interface.

~~~
dtparr
Thanks. I had considered #1 but since they're talking about tablets and phones
and such without full-size USB ports, I didn't think they'd want to require an
actual computer to be present.

#2 Seems quite workable though.

------
cpprototypes
The "Buy Now" page has two options now: Google Play and Amazon. If I buy it
through Amazon, do I get the 3 months netflix? Or is it only through Google
Play?

~~~
communal
Amazon offers the 3 months of Netflix too.

~~~
belthasar
The banner that offered 3 months of Netflix service is now gone for me. It was
there when I ordered mine.

------
jasallen
Google may have just won the game, with an infinitely more simple approach
than Apple TV, Xbox, and PS. What disruption is all about. Not a Google fan
boy, but bravo.

------
induscreep
So it's a portable Apple TV...very interesting to see all that functionality
in such a small form factor.

Still, nothing that a 5$ HDMI cable from my PC to TV cannot accomplish.

------
cyanbane
If this works as an access point I wonder what the pairing will consist of and
how easy it would be to stream "things" to neighbor's houses.

------
pawrvx
V2 feature requests: Support MHL (Power over HDMI) Windows Chromecast audio
driver/chromecast monitor. So any media player can play to Chromecast...

------
ttflee
I can smell the blood in a niche market.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=tv+stick](https://www.google.com/search?q=tv+stick)

------
sergiotapia
Does this work internationally? I mean, it's just a dongle. Can I have a
friend purchase it in the US and have it work fine in Bolivia?

~~~
dombili
They haven't said anything about that, for obvious reasons, but I don't see
why it wouldn't work. You probably can't run Netflix on it[1], but I bet
YouTube would work just fine.

[1] Although if I understood correctly, the dongle depends on another device
to connect to the internet. If you setup a DNS on your device that's connected
to the dongle, it's likely that you can use Netflix as well.

------
etler
I think it's cute how Google checkout pretends they don't already know your
home address and phone number. :)

~~~
adamconroy
Yes, the algorithm could probably have predicted you making this comment as
well.

------
mikeleung
its available to purchase on amazon now:
[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR0PDNE/](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DR0PDNE/)
free shipping with prime

fyi you can probably still cancel your order on google play store, I cancelled
mine 45 mins ago...

------
leetreveil
Does anyone want to buy one for me and ship it to the UK? I'll make it worth
your while...

Email me: leetreveil@gmail.com

------
alpb
Would it work to stream MacBook screen to a TV?

Because the system seems generic and it could bring AirPlay to any TV.

~~~
BHSPitMonkey
AirPlay is proprietary to Apple. The competing technology that Google (or at
least Android) is throwing its support behind is Miracast (which uses WiFi
Direct). I don't know if this device supports this kind of streaming, though;
I get the impression that the device merely receives URLs from controlling
devices, which it connects to directly.

------
wnevets
I already have a "smart tv", what does this give me that I dont already have?

~~~
tjbiddle
I'm sure you aren't their target market. Personally I went for a bare bones TV
because I have so many peripheral devices it made sense to keep using those.

Also - Can you stream games and other random apps to your TV? I would assume
this would let you in the feature with supported apps.

~~~
wnevets
I'm sure you're correct about not being their target.

I think there are already android apps that let you stream stuff to your tv
via wifi, I could be thinking about something else.

If you already have netflix, is this device basically half off?

~~~
tjbiddle
Sounds like it - Netflix is what, $10/mo? Pulling that off the top of my head.
After tax it was ~$42 with basic shipping - so more than half off it sounds
like :-)

------
msoad
What is maximum video bit-rate this can handle? Can this do real 1080 with 7.2
audio?

~~~
dtparr
During this morning's presentation, they mentioned 1080p with 5.1 but I don't
know if that was the max or just an example.

[http://live.arstechnica.com/breakfast-with-sundar-at-
google/...](http://live.arstechnica.com/breakfast-with-sundar-at-
google/#post-313535)

------
ctdonath
Any bets on how soon Apple respond by opening the long-rumored AppleTV App
Store?

------
jeena
As always I'm not allowed to buy it because I live in Europe (Sweden).

------
GoNB
I have a 30" desktop monitor (Dell u3011) that I use as my "television". I can
now stream a video from my iPad to my 30". My monitor doesn't have speakers.
Can I still listen to audio through headphones connected to my iPad? I'm
assuming yes.

------
general_failure
This is a great Roku 3 competitor! Except roku can't play youtube.

------
eloisant
Any doc about what developers have to do to support Chromecast?

~~~
dudus
[https://developers.google.com/cast/](https://developers.google.com/cast/)

------
teamonkey
Best Buy is listing the model number as "H2G2-42"

------
ampsonic
I wonder how long until they are available on Amazon.

~~~
macleanjr
I waited to order mine from Google in hopes of getting Prime shipping from
Amazon... hope I didn't miss out entirely.

~~~
dtparr
Just ordered from Amazon, guaranteed by the 26th.

~~~
livestyle
same here.

------
subb
As always with Google, you need to ask "What's the marketing strategy behind
this? Why are they making this device?"

My guess : Yet another way to consume more medias / using Google services.

~~~
dm8
This device makes it possible to seamlessly share web content (via Chrome) to
TV sets. Google wants more consumption of web content.

------
etler
Sorry OUYA. This will play any android game. :)

~~~
tmzt
I would be very curious what SoC this is based around, whether Android games
and other things can be added with firmware upgrades or if this is more of a
VideoCore-style type chip like the Roku 2 and RaspPI.

Based on the price though I think this would be that class of processor and
not really a competitor hardware wise with Apple TV (dual-core A6).

------
zensavona
As always, not available in Australia...

------
jahmed
So its a streaming Chrome 2 Phone.

------
shuri
comcast?

------
readysetgo
Oh I thought this was hacker news, not advertising for giant companies that
don't need it news.

