Pros & Cons Of Chromecast: Internet Content Mirroring On TV

The time when guests can take over your television set without asking for a remote (read Wi-Fi password) has finally arrived with the launch of Chromecast in India.

Chromecast is basically a dongle made to stream internet videos, playback music, watch movies and much more from practically any source, an Android device, iPhone, iPad, or even a personal computer. It offers a sneak-peak into advanced computing that is set to come in the future.

There may be many reviews about this device but I’m going to be a little on edge by choosing to point out certain pros and cons of owning one or choosing to go with an alternative option.

Pros of Chromecast

1.Portability

This is one favored section for any new gadget on the market. And Chromecast sure fits in wonderfully. This device virtually takes no space at all, the size of a dongle with a USB connector.

2.New Age Remote

If this thought of replacing the remote control would have come up in the 20^th century, it would have faced almost instant beat-down but in the 21^st century the physical remote control has seemingly lost its charm and has become easily misplaced and rudimentary.

Here’s where our phone takes the driver’s seat, it can be used to control everything you beam onto your television set.

3. Group Device

In case you’ve got company over and your friend insists on streaming a video not similar to yours, you can simply queue that up in the same playlist. It is advancement to media sharing in groups and hence is excellent for this purpose unlike other streaming devices.

With Google announcing the Guest Mode advantage, even a person not sharing the same Wi-Fi network can stream videos.

4. Tab Cast

The unique feature of beaming what’s on your tab in PC’s Google Chrome onto your TV is pretty tangible but it seems useful when viewing certain sites which support the channel’s own video player.

5. Insanely Cheap

Needless to say, the Chromecast is the cheapest in its genre of fully fledged streaming devices and costs just Rs. 2,999. This device also comes bundled with all the needs to get it started.

 

Cons of Chromecast

1. Missing Apps

Wish to watch Amazon videos? Hard luck! It isn’t supported on Chromecast as of now. But with the advent of Chromecast SDK allowing the developers to modify their apps for supporting Chromecast individually, one should expect a lesser list of missing apps in future.

2. No Physical Remote

Ugh… Haven’t I spoken about this in the earlier section? Well, this cuts both ways apparently. You can’t expect your kids without smartphones to use Chromecast. So in a way, it can be used as a parental control device to watch over what kids watch on the TV.

3. Less Control, More Devices

In comparison to other devices like Roku, Chromecast require another device to stream its content.

4. Somewhat Late Inception

Chromecast has been introduced when devices like Blue-ray players and many TVs had the option of streaming online content. So spending the money over Chromecast in case you already own a set up box is not so worth it.

Questions like if you own a TV, but lack a streaming box and if you prefer using the physical remote over the mobile phone should be answered to know whether this device is needed or not! Personally, I liked the Chromecast as it’s cheap, offers a multitude of services and can stream literally from any device.

Buy Chromecast now.