Google introduces Chromecast - 35 bucks?!?

[Fish]

Originally Posted by NewChief

My brother brought his Apple TV with us on vacation last week. It was a lot of fun. We used Airplay a ton to stream stuff from our devices: music, YouTube videos, GoPro videos we'd shot, and our pics from each day. It was pretty sweet. Not arguing for superiority of Apple TV, just sharing a cool application of this type of tech I'd never thought of.


I kept worry I was going to AirPlay some porn to the TV though.

The AppleTV also is capable of being jailbroken, which allows for the installation of XBMC among other 3rd party apps on top of what you've already listed. Which makes capable the free streaming of nearly every popular movie and TV show ever. I often show people what my jailbroken AppleTV2 is capable of, and they always leave saying "Holy shit, I need to get that kind of setup". I haven't had cable in almost 2 years, and I still watch everything I want to watch when I want to watch it...

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Fish

The AppleTV also is capable of being jailbroken, which allows for the installation of XBMC among other 3rd party apps on top of what you've already listed. Which makes capable the free streaming of nearly every popular movie and TV show ever. I often show people what my jailbroken AppleTV2 is capable of, and they always leave saying "Holy shit, I need to get that kind of setup". I haven't had cable in almost 2 years, and I still watch everything I want to watch when I want to watch it...

Teach me the ways of streaming HD sports.

[007]

Originally Posted by Silock

Teach me the ways of streaming HD sports.

That is the ONE major drawback.

[Silock]

Originally Posted by Guru

That is the ONE major drawback.

Especially since I have Surewest, and still lack WatchESPN access.

[DaFace]

http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/the-e...171717550.html

Chromecast Fever: Google Dongle Attracts Flurry of Interest From HBO, Hulu, Others

After consumers flocked to buy out the first batch of Google’s (GOOG) new Chromecast Internet television dongle, HBO, Hulu and other major video and music services say they are looking to follow.

When Google unveiled its three-inch Internet-television connector last week, the conventional wisdom was that the Chromecast was cool tech but lacking content to match competitors such as Apple TV (AAPL) and Roku.

But already there seems to be a flurry of interest from other developers to support the $35 Chromecast, now sold out with a three- to four-week backlog.

“We are actively exploring supporting Chromecast as another way for our subscribers to enjoy HBO GO,” spokeswoman Laura Young says. The premium network owned by Time Warner (TWC) isn’t disclosing any specific timing, however.

That matches up with evidence that some computer hackers found hidden amongst the Chromecast’s operating code: Configuration files appeared to show testing between the Chromecast and HBO Go, Revision 3 and Songza.

The network-owned streaming video service Hulu is also already actively working with Google to add Chromecast capabilities to its apps, a person familiar with the effort says.

And online music video channel VEVO says its wants to get in on the potential dance parties, too. "VEVO is planning to update our apps for Android and iOS as well as our website to support Chromecast," spokeswoman Jennifer Press says.

A Vimeo executive was even more explicit. “We look forward to offering Chromecast support in our products,” vice president of mobile Nick Alt told GigaOm, which also reported interest from Redbox. The subsidiary of Outerwall (OUTR), formerly Coinstar, is best known for its ubiquitous DVD rental vending machines, but Redbox is also partnering with Verizon (VZ) to beta test an instant viewing service competing with the likes of Netflix (NFLX) and Hulu.

Out of the box, Chromecast lets anyone with a smartphone, tablet or computer play shows from Netflix, YouTube and a few other apps directly on a home television set. Users can also stream most other online content via Google’s Chrome browser on their computer to a TV, but quality suffers and some reviewers complain video and audio tracks get out of sync.

That’s probably why, at the same time Google unveiled the device, it also provided a software development kit to let programmers add Chromecast compatibility to their apps, both on Android and iOS. With such capability added, videos stream directly from the Internet to the Chromecast, just like YouTube and Netflix. That avoids bottlenecks at the browser and PC level.

The plastic dongle plugs into a TV’s HDMI port and connects to the Internet via wifi. Power comes either via a TV’s USB port or an electrical outlet.

The low price and simplicity have already attracted hordes of early adopters. More content could bring in more of the TV-watching masses as well.

Not that it's a surprise, but it looks like it won't be long before the supported set of service expands. Maybe Google will actually succeed this time...

[DaveNull]

Anything that makes the cable companies and traditional networks see that normal people are getting stuff on their TV through IP is a good thing.

[WoodDraw]

I'm not sure why google blows so much at selling its own products. 3-4 weeks out? I'm excited to get mine and play around with it though. I hope sites widely support it, although I'm sure we'll have the same "pay extra" (Hulu) or "verify cable" model though. Only Netflix is good at giving you stuff anywhere you want it.

[007]

Originally Posted by WoodDraw

I'm not sure why google blows so much at selling its own products. 3-4 weeks out? I'm excited to get mine and play around with it though. I hope sites widely support it, although I'm sure we'll have the same "pay extra" (Hulu) or "verify cable" model though. Only Netflix is good at giving you stuff anywhere you want it.

I hate that verify cable bullshit.

[DaveNull]

Originally Posted by Guru

I hate that verify cable bullshit.

This could be in place due to existing contracts that the content guys have in place with the cable companies. Take HBO for example. Since they presumably don't need the cable package subsidy like ESPN does they should be liking this idea a bunch. Unfortunately they're owned by Time Warner so it could continue to suck for a while.

[KevB]

Originally Posted by WoodDraw

I'm not sure why google blows so much at selling its own products. 3-4 weeks out? I'm excited to get mine and play around with it though. I hope sites widely support it, although I'm sure we'll have the same "pay extra" (Hulu) or "verify cable" model though. Only Netflix is good at giving you stuff anywhere you want it.

My Chromecast was schedule for delivery a couple of days ago, with an expected delivery date of August 20th. Just checked again (on amazon), and now it's in transit, due to be delivered later today. I'm looking forward to it. I don't have an Apple TV or Roku, so this will be useful for me. Anyone who ordered from Amazon the day of, I urge you to check your shipping info.

[Great Expectations]

I want one, but can't find one for sale.

[WoodDraw]

I got mine a couple days ago. It's very cool, although still quite buggy and not widely supported. For $35 though, absolutely.

[hometeam]

Tried to buy one today. None available. can order from google for 3-4 weeks shipping time :/ They are bringing 100 bucks on ebay and amazon

[DaFace]

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/08...n-cyanogenmod/

Koush Demonstrates Streaming To Chromecast With Any Media App On CyanogenMod
Posted by Jeremiah Rice in Chromecast, News

Ever since Jelly Bean, the reasons to switch to a custom ROM (as opposed to a stock, rooted build) have been slowly shrinking. But today ClockworkMod Recovery developer Koushik "Koush" Dutta gave us a reason to be incredibly excited for upcoming builds of CyanogenMod. With a little tweaking of the famous ROM family, he's managed to integrate Chromecast streaming across the system, making any video or audio app compatible.

Koush's demonstration video is convincing. Start an applicable audio or video player, and a "Play on Chromecast" notification will pop into the tray. Tap it, and the file will play on your Chromecast TV dongle, no muss and no fuss. And more importantly, there's no need for developers to update their apps with the Chromecast API. Presumably this addition to the CyanogenMod ROM includes the ability to stream local files and cloud files, as Koush demonstrated previously.

This method seems to work so seamlessly between Android, Chromecast, and any apps that use media APIs, that you have to wonder why Google didn't try to do something similar by baking in some of this functionality into Android 4.3. As usual with CyanogenMod, there's no word on when end users will see this added functionality, but I'd expect it to pop up in CyanogenMod 10.2 builds (Android 4.3) before too long.

[AustinChief]

Originally Posted by DaFace

http://www.androidpolice.com/2013/08...n-cyanogenmod/

I have been thinking about this and I wonder if Google is letting developers do this instead of doing it in house because they don't want to be responsible for anything that lets users stream protected content.