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Any phone, tablet, or computer in the house can serve as a remote, which works great for me and mine. The new 2015 Chromecast works exactly like the original: You just plug it into your TV, follow a simple two-minute setup process, and then cast content from any device (by tapping or clicking the cast icon in a compatible app or simply casting your entire screen) to the TV. How slightly? Let's put it this way: If someone swapped out your old Chromecast for a new one, you might not even notice anything was different if you weren't paying close attention. Give her a few more weeks.) The verdict? It really is a slightly better version of the first-gen device - with "slightly" being the key word. (My daughter's been trying to use it, too, but her baby hands aren't quite up to the task yet. My wife and I have been using the new Chromecast for about a week and a half now. I hightailed my way over to Best Buy, picked one up, and plugged 'er into my living room boob-tube. Same 35 bucks for a device that's slightly better than what I've got now? Sure - why not.
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So when Google announced a new model of the Chromecast a couple weeks back, I figured it was worth giving a whirl. It's easily the best $35 I've ever spent, especially considering the experience has only gotten better over time (as more and more apps have added native support for casting).
#Best buy chromecast tv
We use the hell out of that thing - for casting movies and shows from Netflix or Google Play to the TV, casting music from Google Play Music or Pandora to the living room stereo, casting YouTube videos to the big screen, and even casting personal photos and videos to the TV for collective viewing. Chromecast "just worked," to borrow a phrase - in a way that felt both refreshing and liberating.įast-forward two years, and Chromecast has continued to play an integral role in my home.
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I'd used several Internet-to-TV streaming devices over the preceding years and had always been underwhelmed with the experience. No clunky on-screen menus to navigate, no extra remotes to lose, no unnecessary hassles just find something you want to watch or listen to in an app on your phone, tap a button, and boom - it's playing on your TV.Īs I mused after my first month with the original Chromecast, it was exactly the solution I'd been searching for. The $35 stick was significant not so much for what it did but rather how it did it: The device took the overcomplicated task of Internet-to-TV streaming and made it as simple as can be. Google's original Chromecast media streamer proved to be nothing short of revolutionary in my life.
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