Two years ago, the tech giant Google had introduced A portable device called Chromecast which completely changed how TVs stream the media. While other media streaming devices occupied more space and costed high, Chromecast came out shaped as a Pen-drive and with 35$ price tag. Needless to say, this device created a new revolution in media streaming. With Wi-Fi and with installed app in your smart phone, Chromecast made a television to become smarter by streaming videos, photos etc from Internet.

Google recently announced an updated version of Chromecast this year. Let’s take a look at the specifications and what we can do with it.

Let’s take a look at specs:

How this thing works?

Compared to previous Chromecast, this year this thing came out with circular body with a cable attached to it. It has three wifi-antennas inside to receive better signal and stream better. You can attach the port to the back side of Chromecast, which allows you to carry the device easily. The device has a reset button, a LED indicator, USB port to charge the device, HDMI cable to connect to your TV.

You can charge the device via charging adopter, or you can connect to the USB port present in your TV to charge it. To make this thing work, you need:

• Television with HDMI port
• Smart Phone
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Chromecast App installed in your phone

You have to connect the device to your TV. Install Chromecast App to your phone (Android or iOS) or you can use a chrome extension from your desktop/laptop. The extension is available in chrome browser for Mac , Chrome OS and Windows Operating systems. To make this thing work, Connect your phone to Wi-Fi, Install Chromecast App/extension on your smart phone or computer. Once you setup the device then you are free to use the device to stream media into the TV. The media signals will get transferred over Wi-Fi. This thing supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz wi-fi bands and gives smooth and reliable performance.

What content can be Streamed using Chromecast?

You can stream media contents using this device. Not every app supports Chromecasting, but Apps that support Chromecast will show you an icon letting you know that you can stream media content in that App. Examples would be

• You can stream videos from YouTube, Stream movies from Netflix
• You can stream music from services like YouTube, Google Music, Pandora, Spotify.
• You can view Photos from services such as Google Photos
• You can play some games in your TV by controlling from your smartphone .
• You can view websites from browser, read text, watch videos etc.

Performance

As mentioned earlier, this device now has three Wi-Fi antennas inside and supports 5GHz wifi band too. So, this gives some smooth and better performance without any lag.

Now the final question,

Do You really need this?

Chromecast allows you to watch media from internet in a bigger screen. If you have a smartphone or TV with HDMI cable support, you can connect easily and use it. This basically makes your smartphone as a remote control and your TV as display.Even though the App available in both iOS and Android platforms, Android users will get some nice features with this App than iOS, such as notifications on the glance screen. You can use this using your desktop or laptop too. If you are a movie fan or gaming freak, you can give this thing a try. It’s price also won’t be a problem for many people. This thing is not available in India yet, you can find more information regarding Chromecast here.

What do you think of this device? Do let us know in comments.