I had been rather contented with my smart TV. Though budget, it has YouTube app on it, or I coupd stream YouTube from my mobile phone directly. It didn’t occur to me I would need an alternative, much less a Google Chromecast.
But I did.
In the past 11.11, I got a Google Chromecast at a discount. Since then, I started a journey to discover if this was a good buy, or I had just bought something my current TV could do.
Unboxing Google Chromecast
Since the Google Chromecast was bought directly from the Google Store, the package was delivered by courier in the origami cardboard box. I was still amused by this sustainable, yet well designed, packaging as it was only the 2nd time I had seen it.
As I peeled open the cardboard box, I found the minimalistic white square box that lay within.
Like my Google Pixel 4a, after I opened the main packaging, the black device that was Google Chromecast was at the top layer of the main compartment.
Beneath the tray holding the Google Chromecast, the accessories – the power cable and instruction manual – could be found.
And that was basically what was needed to fire up the Google Chromecast.
What I Love (And Hate) About Using Google Chromecast
As with all tech nerds, I followed all the set up procedures religiously. Though those procedures might at times be top redundant, it was a process that formed part of the joy of buying and discovering a new gadget.
However, I shall skip to my daily usage, since I’m not a professional reviewer who will scrutinise the Google Chromecast in detail.
As expected, the Google Chromecast generally worked like when I was using my mobile phone to cast YouTube onto my smart TV. However, there were some subtle differences that do make the experience on Google Chromecast slightly different.
Convenient Watching (no need to toggle tv input)
While my TV supported multiple inputs, most of the time, I had to toggle in between the inputs with the TV remote.
For example, when I’m trying to watch YouTube (or online video streaming) by extending the screen of my laptop, I had to manually select the input channel. Similarly, I had to manually return to whatever input channel (or YouTube app on the TV itself) after that.
With Google Chromecast, all I needed to do was to open the YouTube app on my phone, click the Cast icon and select to cast my screen to my Chromecast (the other option was my TV’s native casting app). The TV will jump straight to the input channel where my Chromecast was connected to and cast the video.
More Options Than What’s Offered On TV
The above, of course, was also achievable with my TV’s native casting app. However, that native app could only cast YouTube from my phone (or Netflix, but I don’t subscribe to Netflix).
Google Chromecast allows me to mirror my mobile phone’s screen. And with that, I would be able to watch videos hosted outside of YouTube. This could be done by downloading the Google Home app and selecting the option to mirror the phone’s screen.
I know many others are like me, who stream Korean/Japanese/Chinese/Thai dramas outside of YouTube. Using the mirror screening, we can watch the dramas like we do on the mobile phones, but on a large screen with better speakers.
We can also cast our laptop onto the TV using Google Chromecast. The logic is the same, except that we can only cast Chrome. However, this also meant we’re able to watch said dramas outside of YouTube like how I described above.
Multitasking
While casting videos, I could still use my phone for other things, like surf the net or shop online.
In fact, while I’m in the YouTube app, I could still be browsing other videos to add them to the queue.
Volume
When I use my TV’s native casting app, I could only control the volume with the TV remote. With Google Chromecast, I can choose toggle the volume on my phone, before I toggle the TV’s volume.
This feature is rather useful when you have multiple users on the TV. Sometimes, the video I was watching may be too soft, so I needed to turn up the volume. Many a time, I would forget to revert the volume to its initial setting.
The next person, unaware that the volume is turned up, would turn on the TV and accidentally blast the whole room (or house) with the high volume. Imagine this happening in the morning or late at night!
If I turned up the volume on my mobile via Google Chromecast, this accident could easily be avoided.
Can’t Watch YouTube At 2x Speed
The downside of using Google Chromecast, as with all casting apps, was that I cannot watch YouTube videos at a faster or slower speed.
As with all Gen Y and younger folks, I would be watching my YouTube video on mobile or laptop at a faster speed. Sometimes, when I’m watching non-English/Chinese shows, and when I’m learning the new language, I would slow down the video to catch what the characters were saying.
This feature is missing from Google Chromecast. And for someone who’s used to watching shows at a double quick time, this was irritating.
One workaround was by using the screen mirroring function of Google Chromecast, instead of its casting function.
While on the phone, open the Google Home app and select to mirror the screen. Thereafter, navigate to the YouTube app (or the video streaming website) to watch the videos. As long as we don’t click the “Cast” icon, we will be able to manipulate the video as though we’re watching it on our mobile.
Similarly, we can mirror our laptop screens and watch videos, even for YouTube videos, at varying speeds. Just as long as we don’t activate the cast option of YouTube or video streaming service.
This then brings me to my next pain point.
Screen Mirroring Depends On The Main Screen
Whenever we’re mirroring our mobile or laptop screens, we can’t navigate away from the video website.
This meant that I can’t browse videos to add to the queue (there’s no queuing function on normal YouTube anyways).
This also meant that, if I’m mirroring from my laptop, my laptop’s screen would still be on. I can turn my laptop away, but using the mouse to navigate the desktop screen on TV was somehow not possible.
On my mobile, this meant that my mobile’s battery is also draining, since it is playing the video. In casting mode, the phone is not playing the video at all.
Parting Words
For people who are not using a smart TV, spending under SGD40 to “upgrade” the same TV with Google Chromecast is a great bargain.
With Google Chromecast’s multiple capabilities, the experience of watching videos streamed from the internet would be an enhancement. Google Chromecast allows us to use our mobile phones as the main control to watch videos on our TVs, like controlling the volume or selecting videos to watch.
In fact, we can browse for more videos to add to the queue, or do other things on our phones, without disrupting video play on the TV!
It’s also possible for us to mirror our mobile or laptop’s screen, though I believe the main benefit is for businesses (to screen presentations or display menus). Or, if you’re like me, use the screen mirroring function to play videos at varying speeds – something that is still not available with casting.
For those who already has a smart TV, the benefits may not be that apparent. This is more so if you already have a high end smart TV.
Google has released a newer version of Google Chromecast, called the Google Chromecast with Google TV. Reviewers were gaga over the new features, though from a layman perspective, I don’t think I would pay to upgrade from my older Chromecast. The new features were just too marginal for me.
Unless the new Chromecast allows me to watch videos at 2x speed.
Till then, stay geeky!
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