

Chromecast vs Apple TV - riobard
http://blog.riobard.com/2013/08/23/chromecast-vs-apple-tv/

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btgeekboy
Funnily enough, I completely disagree with the author's preference of the
Chrome hardware over the Apple hardware.

The Apple hardware fits neatly into my entertainment center. It's small, the
light is unobtrusive, and the power cord is a cord, rather than a brick. The
ethernet cable gives me a solid, reliable connection.

The Chromecast, however, has a much brighter light. It flashes incessantly
when it can't connect properly, which it can't when plugged in behind my
receiver. (It also would have been completely useless in my old condo, where
the 2.4 Ghz range was so crowded as to be unusable.) So then it goes back
behind the TV, where the included extension is too short to properly flex 90
degrees. The USB power either sticks out from the side of the TV, or is yet
something else to fish down to the power strip, far away from the wall-mounted
television.

Don't get me wrong - I really like the $35 device. It's going to be great next
time I travel; I'll bring it rather than the HDMI dongle for my tablet for
before-bed Netflix viewing. But the author's negative points about the AppleTV
are easily resolved by a $3 HDMI cable from Monoprice.

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riobard
Author here. Thanks for the comment!

Interesting that the Chromecast sticks out from the side of your TV. Mine is
an 40" Samsung, and the HDMI port is deep in the center of the TV enough to
completely hide the plugged Chromecast from front view, so I cannot see the
light at all. I don't even know it blinks! :D As mentioned in the article, I
use the TV's USB port to power Chromecast, and I really enjoy the cleanliness
this design gives me as I have severe aversion of cord mess.

I completely agree with you on the wired connection part, and I feel for many
urban dwellers the instability of 2.4 GHz will be a major headache to use
Chromecast. My neighborhood is relatively Wi-Fi-sparse with only a dozen or so
visible SSIDs so it's fine for me.

As for the HDMI cable thing, I did get a ~$3 HDMI cable from eBay so I'm fine.
I'm just pissed off by the whole HDMI cable scam that's widespread at places
like BestBuy for general folks.

