8 Things You Never Knew the Google Chromecast Could Do
Google Chromecast is a well-known streaming dongle that makes it simple and economical to wirelessly stream entertainment from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to your television.
Google presently sells two models of its media-streaming device: the Chromecast Ultra and the Chromecast with Google TV. The latter added a remote and on-screen interface to Google’s dongle, which was a much-needed update.
The Chromecast has been around since 2013, yet many people presumably still use older devices to cast. Many of today’s leading smart TVs already have it functional.
You can use it for a lot more than just streaming Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, HBO, and other content from your computer or mobile device to your TV. It is a fairly inexpensive approach for upgrading your TV to a smart option.
Even while casting with ultraportable devices is essentially plug-and-play, there are a few tips that can enhance the charm of casting. Here are some examples.
Get Your Media Cast by Asking Google Assistant
With the help of Google Assistant, you can do everything from making a shopping list to operating smart home appliances. You may also use it to transmit your preferred media using Chromecast right to your TV.
You only need to say, “Hey Google, play The Crown on Netflix on the living room TV,” and you’re ready to go. Make sure the Google Home app for iOS or Android has your relevant accounts linked.
Additionally, you can instruct the Assistant to play, pause, stop, or even fast-forward your content. Simply say “Hey Google, pause,” “Hey Google, rewind 2 minutes,” or a similar command, and the content will adjust accordingly. Really cool, no?
Add Images to the Chromecast Background
With Ambient Mode, you can customize the background of your Chromecast. Use your own photographs if you choose, or pick from Google’s collection of works of art, landscape photos, and satellite views. Simply click on the Chromecast icon on your Google Home app.
Tap the gear icon, then select Ambient Mode by scrolling down. Now, you can choose if you want to add your own photos as the background of the ones that are already available on Chromecast as default.
To switch to a low-bandwidth mode, tap on Experimental. Additionally, you can choose how quickly the Chromecast cycles through each picture and add the weather and time to the display.
You Can Use your Computer While Casting
It’s nice to be able to display videos from your computer on a large screen, but what if you want to multitask while you watch? Don’t worry.
When streaming through your Chromecast device, just press Alt+Tab on a PC or Command+Tab on a Mac to return to your computer. The playback won’t be interrupted while you use your computer normally because all the actions will remain on the large screen.
This keyboard shortcut will always function whether you’re casting a video from Windows, Netflix, or local media.
Activate Guest Mode
Whether you’re having a family reunion or a party, you may allow visitors to cast their preferred music or TV shows onto your TV without disclosing your Wi-Fi password.
Go to the Chromecast settings and turn on Guest Mode to accomplish this. As long as the option is present on their smartphone and they are within 25 feet of the Chromecast device, anyone with a Google Cast Ready app can use this method to cast to a screen.
In the absence of that, they can manually enter the four-digit PIN shown on the TV into the app settings on their phones, tablets, or PCs.
Play Various Games
Want to play your favorite game on a bigger screen or just need some enjoyable family time? With Chromecast, you can achieve that. Google Play offers a good amount of games for Chromecast.
By downloading the games on your smartphone, you can play them on your TV with ease while utilizing the device as a controller.
Find the Cast logo to start streaming a Chromecast-compatible game on your TV after you download, install, and launch it. You can use several smartphones as gamepads if your game is multiplayer. It’s a good break from watching Xfinity TV if that’s what you always do.
Put on your Headphones and Listen
Chromecast with Google TV comes with Bluetooth capability, which you can access in the Remote & Accessories area of the Google TV home page, if you want to watch anything on your TV but don’t want the noise to bother others in the room.
If you have an older Chromecast device, you can always consider using LocalCast. Then, connect some headphones.
Although the LocalCast function is still in beta and the developer cautions that there may be glitches, the program is free, so it’s worth a try if you need to keep the noise level down.
Make Everything Family-friendly
Using Chromecast, Google TV allows parents to create distinct profiles for their children, eliminating the concern over unsupervised screen time. Parents may choose a theme, control screen time, and pick which apps (including YouTube Kids) their children can use.
Your children will see three countdown alerts when it’s almost time to switch off the TV, followed by a final “Time is up” notification that finishes their viewing period. If you are a parent, you can always protect their profiles with PINs.
Get Free Films & Additional Benefits
Owning a Chromecast has advantages like accessing free movies and TV on-demand in addition to seeing the newest and trendiest TV shows on-demand.
On the Chromecast Offers website, Google offers its consumers some really good discounts and other benefits. Here, you can view the latest promotions as well as fantastic savings on other Google products.
Additionally, you can look for accessible content using the Google Cast app. In addition to buttons that allow you to go directly to the service or download the app that will get you there, it will display the Chromecast-compatible apps that are now streaming the movie or television program you wish to view.
All in All
You can do so much more with your Chromecast gadget than merely stream YouTube or Netflix content. To make your Chromecast experience more magical, try one of the tips mentioned above!
We’d be interested in hearing about any additional cool uses for Chromecast you may have. Leave a comment below and let us know.
8 Things You Never Knew the Google Chromecast Could Do
Google Chromecast is a well-known streaming dongle that makes it simple and economical to wirelessly stream entertainment from your smartphone, tablet, or laptop to your television.
Google presently sells two models of its media-streaming device: the Chromecast Ultra and the Chromecast with Google TV. The latter added a remote and on-screen interface to Google’s dongle, which was a much-needed update.
The Chromecast has been around since 2013, yet many people presumably still use older devices to cast. Many of today’s leading smart TVs already have it functional.
You can use it for a lot more than just streaming Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, HBO, and other content from your computer or mobile device to your TV. It is a fairly inexpensive approach for upgrading your TV to a smart option.
Even while casting with ultraportable devices is essentially plug-and-play, there are a few tips that can enhance the charm of casting. Here are some examples.
Get Your Media Cast by Asking Google Assistant
With the help of Google Assistant, you can do everything from making a shopping list to operating smart home appliances. You may also use it to transmit your preferred media using Chromecast right to your TV.
You only need to say, “Hey Google, play The Crown on Netflix on the living room TV,” and you’re ready to go. Make sure the Google Home app for iOS or Android has your relevant accounts linked.
Additionally, you can instruct the Assistant to play, pause, stop, or even fast-forward your content. Simply say “Hey Google, pause,” “Hey Google, rewind 2 minutes,” or a similar command, and the content will adjust accordingly. Really cool, no?
Add Images to the Chromecast Background
With Ambient Mode, you can customize the background of your Chromecast. Use your own photographs if you choose, or pick from Google’s collection of works of art, landscape photos, and satellite views. Simply click on the Chromecast icon on your Google Home app.
Tap the gear icon, then select Ambient Mode by scrolling down. Now, you can choose if you want to add your own photos as the background of the ones that are already available on Chromecast as default.
To switch to a low-bandwidth mode, tap on Experimental. Additionally, you can choose how quickly the Chromecast cycles through each picture and add the weather and time to the display.
You Can Use your Computer While Casting
It’s nice to be able to display videos from your computer on a large screen, but what if you want to multitask while you watch? Don’t worry.
When streaming through your Chromecast device, just press Alt+Tab on a PC or Command+Tab on a Mac to return to your computer. The playback won’t be interrupted while you use your computer normally because all the actions will remain on the large screen.
This keyboard shortcut will always function whether you’re casting a video from Windows, Netflix, or local media.
Activate Guest Mode
Whether you’re having a family reunion or a party, you may allow visitors to cast their preferred music or TV shows onto your TV without disclosing your Wi-Fi password.
Go to the Chromecast settings and turn on Guest Mode to accomplish this. As long as the option is present on their smartphone and they are within 25 feet of the Chromecast device, anyone with a Google Cast Ready app can use this method to cast to a screen.
In the absence of that, they can manually enter the four-digit PIN shown on the TV into the app settings on their phones, tablets, or PCs.
Play Various Games
Want to play your favorite game on a bigger screen or just need some enjoyable family time? With Chromecast, you can achieve that. Google Play offers a good amount of games for Chromecast.
By downloading the games on your smartphone, you can play them on your TV with ease while utilizing the device as a controller.
Find the Cast logo to start streaming a Chromecast-compatible game on your TV after you download, install, and launch it. You can use several smartphones as gamepads if your game is multiplayer. It’s a good break from watching Xfinity TV if that’s what you always do.
Put on your Headphones and Listen
Chromecast with Google TV comes with Bluetooth capability, which you can access in the Remote & Accessories area of the Google TV home page, if you want to watch anything on your TV but don’t want the noise to bother others in the room.
If you have an older Chromecast device, you can always consider using LocalCast. Then, connect some headphones.
Although the LocalCast function is still in beta and the developer cautions that there may be glitches, the program is free, so it’s worth a try if you need to keep the noise level down.
Make Everything Family-friendly
Using Chromecast, Google TV allows parents to create distinct profiles for their children, eliminating the concern over unsupervised screen time. Parents may choose a theme, control screen time, and pick which apps (including YouTube Kids) their children can use.
Your children will see three countdown alerts when it’s almost time to switch off the TV, followed by a final “Time is up” notification that finishes their viewing period. If you are a parent, you can always protect their profiles with PINs.
Get Free Films & Additional Benefits
Owning a Chromecast has advantages like accessing free movies and TV on-demand in addition to seeing the newest and trendiest TV shows on-demand.
On the Chromecast Offers website, Google offers its consumers some really good discounts and other benefits. Here, you can view the latest promotions as well as fantastic savings on other Google products.
Additionally, you can look for accessible content using the Google Cast app. In addition to buttons that allow you to go directly to the service or download the app that will get you there, it will display the Chromecast-compatible apps that are now streaming the movie or television program you wish to view.
All in All
You can do so much more with your Chromecast gadget than merely stream YouTube or Netflix content. To make your Chromecast experience more magical, try one of the tips mentioned above!
We’d be interested in hearing about any additional cool uses for Chromecast you may have. Leave a comment below and let us know.
