For households where not everybody has a smartphone or mobile device, a Chromecast may not be the best choice. In other words, there's no way to use the Chromecast as a "standalone" device - you need to have a smartphone or tablet handy. When you're not streaming, the Chromecast displays some pretty nature photos and status information, but you can't navigate to apps or select any content from your TV. Sarah Tew/CNETīy pushing all of the interaction to smartphones and tablets, one surprising result is that the Chromecast doesn't really have much of its own user interface. You're not making any image quality compromises by streaming with a stick.īefore you tell it what to play, the Google Chromecast doesn't have much of its own user interface. "Arrested Development" on Netflix looked as good as it does via my Roku 3, and high-quality content from YouTube like "Speakeasy with Paul F.
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Image quality from Netflix, YouTube, and Google Movies & TV was excellent - as good as you'd expect from a more sizable streaming box.
It's undeniably fun to have a group of friends trading YouTube videos on your TV. Another perk is that any compatible device on the network can grab control of your Chromecast and can make adjustments. You can even adjust the volume using your device's hardware volume controls, although in my testing it adjusted only the Chromecast's internal volume, rather than the volume on the TV, so you'll still need your TV's remote around for master volume control. You can pause content or use the scrubber at the bottom to skip forward or back. In all, it's perfectly fine for a device designed to live behind your TV.Īfter you get a video playing, your smartphone or tablet acts like a remote. On the far end are a Micro-USB port, a small status light, and a tiny button you can use to reset the device to its factory default. (If you have a particularly cramped back panel, Google generously includes an HDMI extender cable.) The matte-black finish has enough of a texture to make it easily grippable, perfect for popping out the Chromecast and throwing it in your bag for travel. It's a 2-inch dongle that's compact enough to occupy a spare HDMI input on your TV without blocking adjacent inputs. The Chromecast hardware isn't anything special, but it has a reassuring, solid feel. For everyone else, Roku's line of boxes are still best in class - especially the Roku 3 - at least until the Chromecast adds a lot more content options.
If you're invested in the Google Play marketplace for music and videos, the Chromecast is the best way to get that content on your TV and you can't argue with the price. Still, the Chromecast's success and its now-proven record of continued support make it much more attractive than when it first launched in July.
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The Chromecast is sure to catch up, especially with the recent release of the Google Cast Software Development Kit, but at the moment Roku still has the lead. It doesn't have the Chromecast's awesome-sounding screen-mirroring capability, but that feature doesn't work all that well in practice. Roku also has other niceties such as excellent cross-platform search and a true onscreen interface, which some will prefer over the Chromecast's smartphone/tablet-only control. The Roku LT ($50) is just $15 more and offers up hundreds more channels, including prominent services like Amazon Instant, MLB.TV, Rdio, PBS, Vudu, Watch ESPN, and Watch Disney. However, the recent improvements still don't make the Chromecast my favorite budget streaming-video device. That's in addition to Netflix, YouTube and Google Movies & TV, making it a basic, but competent streamer - especially for the price. Google's streaming stick has been an instant hit and although it was rather limited at launch, the Chromecast has steadily improved, adding Hulu Plus, Pandora, Google Music, Plex, Vevo, and HBO Go since its debut.
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