Chromecast: Google’s second attempt to take over your TV – The Verge

Aereo adding Chromecast support to Android app next month

2014-04-10T15:31:26-04:00

Aereo will add Chromecast support to its Android app next month, on May 29th, giving subscribers an easy way to beam television streams over to an actual TV. Aereo, which allows subscribers to stream broadcast TV over the internet, launched on Android last October, but its subscribers have largely had to rely on its website in order to start watching. In addition to a Roku app, support for the Chromecast is one of the first direct routes that Aereo has given its subscribers to play back shows on a TV. Aereo isn't building Chromecast support directly into its website though, so unfortunately, you'll have to use an Android phone to get started …

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Google releases new Chromecast photo collage app

2014-03-24T11:06:41-04:00

Google has launched a playful new app for Chromecast that lets a group of people create and draw on a collage of photos displayed on a TV. The app is called Photowall, and though it requires an iOS device to get started right now, anyone with a smartphone or a tablet can join in once it's going. Once an iOS user launches Photowall, others will be able to visit a specific URL in Chrome to start adding their own photos to the collage and doodling on them. That app will record everything that happens too, and once everyone's done, it'll turn the entire stream into a YouTube video.

Update: It seems that Photowall will only be iOS-only for a mat …

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Google now selling Chromecast outside the US in 11 countries

2014-03-18T20:00:02-04:00

Google's Chromecast streaming stick has been out for the better part of eight months, but only in the US. The company is changing that today by selling it in 11 additional countries, including Canada, the UK, and much of Europe. Google says it's got localized local video apps ready for some of those places, like offering a BBC iPlayer app in the UK, France TV Pluzz and SFR TV in France, and Watchever for Chromecast users in Germany. Additional apps will also be on the way through the Google Cast SDK, which became available to developers last month.

Just in time for new apps

Google's Chromecast expansion comes just weeks ahead of when Amazon …

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Chromecast plays nice with AllCast again

2014-02-04T13:36:06-05:00

Chromecast (1024px)

When Google's $35 Chromecast HDMI dongle offered a simple, affordable way to sync streaming content like Netflix and Youtube between a smartphone and a television, developer Koushik Dutta saw a chance. He created AllCast, an app that could augment those streaming services with media that users already owned, beaming pictures, audio and video files to the Chromecast. Just days after release, Google blocked that app, forcing Dutta to focus on DLNA-capable devices instead. Today, however, AllCast and Chromecast are back together again.

In a Google+ post, Dutta writes that one of Google's own Chromecast developers actually just reached out to i …

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Google’s Chromecast will soon work with more apps

2014-02-03T13:38:13-05:00

Chromecast dongle 1020

Google's Chromecast is now an open platform. The company has launched an official Google Cast SDK for any app-makers interested in supporting the $35 HDMI dongle. "That means even more of our favorite movies, TV shows, and music will become available on Chromecast as developers work with the SDK," the company said in a blog post. Since launching Chromecast last year, Google has gradually brought on new partners like HBO Go, Hulu Plus, Plex, and others. But now the doors have opened up to everyone, meaning the potential of Google's video-streaming stick could skyrocket in the months and weeks to come. Chromecast owners won't need to do anythi …

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Good deal: Motorola offers free Chromecast with $399 Moto X purchase

2014-01-09T16:34:35-05:00

moto x chromecast good deal

Is Motorola having trouble selling the Moto X? It certainly seems like a possibility. Only one week after a permanent price drop to $399, the company is now throwing a Google Chromecast in for free. The offer is only valid on the $399 16GB and $449 32GB off-contract models, and it’s only good until January 14th, but it’s the fourth time in the last few months that Motorola has tried to spur demand with a deal.

Or, perhaps, is it the Chromecast that isn’t flying off shelves quite as quickly as Motorola hoped? Theoretically, Google subsidiary Motorola is still run as an independent company, and the Chromecast is listed as an “accessory” on Motorola’s website, after all. Perhaps Motorola “bought” too many Chromecasts from Google and is now finding a use for them.

Either way, it’s a pretty tempting offer. We found both the Moto X and the Google Chromecast to be fantastic products on their own. Assuming Motorola isn’t about to drop the price again, $399 is an excellent deal for both.

Netgear announces NeoMediacast to compete with Chromecast

2014-01-06T10:33:07-05:00

Netgear Dongle

In a move apparently inspired by the Google Chromecast, Netgear has announced the launch of its NeoMediacast HDMI dongle, a USB drive-sized device made to plug into your TV's HDMI port and stream content. The NeoMediacast runs on Android 4.2, has 802.11ac connectivity, and is Miracast-enabled, allowing the user to stream movies and TV shows from their smartphone in much the same way as the Google competition (at 1080p naturally). Netgear hopes that providers develop "curated content stores" where users can download apps to access free and premium content. It's unclear, however, if Google Play will be integrated.

Perhaps most notably, the Ne …

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AllCast app launches in Google Play, works with almost everything except Chromecast

2013-12-23T12:01:12-05:00

AllCast Android

Developer Koushik Dutta first released his app AllCast shortly after the launch of Google's Chromecast. Back then, it allowed Android users to display content from their phone's gallery, Dropbox account, and Google Drive on a TV screen with the help of Google's HDMI dongle. But it was a short lived experiment; in late summer, Google delivered a Chromecast update that broke AllCast. The company voiced support for local playback apps, but said that the Chromecast SDK is currently limited to select partners - at least during the developer preview stage - "to provide a great experience for users." Undeterred, Dutta kept working on AllCast, and t …

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Chromecast can now stream videos and music from Google Play’s website

2013-12-12T18:57:01-05:00

Chromecast dongle 1020

Google has been adding more and more ways to play content on a Chromecast, and today it's giving the media streamer a new trick: the ability to stream Google Play music and videos straight from the web. Now when you visit play.google.com and begin playing something you own, the site will display a Chromecast button that'll let you directly send that media over to a TV, without streaming the entire tab.

This isn't the very first time that a website has added in Chromecast support, but for the most part, users have still had to go through smartphone or tablet apps in order to stream media directly. A select few popular websites do include sup …

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Chromecast support comes to new apps including Vevo, Songza, and Plex

2013-12-10T11:27:37-05:00

Chromecast plugged 560

With most of the major streaming video services now accounted for, Google needs to look elsewhere to expand its family of Chromecast-compatible apps. Today the company took a big step in that effort, announcing Chromecast support for 10 third-party apps including Vevo and Songza. Google is also paying some attention to advanced users; Plex, an app that's hugely popular among home-theater enthusiasts, has also gained Chromecast support.

"I'm happy to tell you that over the last few months, we've been working closely with Google to bring Plex to the Chromecast," said founder Elan Feingold. "It's an honor for us to be among the first handful o …

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