By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla
Google’s Chromecast dongle is 2013’s most surprising gadget, but could it be the future of streaming content on TV?
Google’s Chromecast isn’t even globally available yet but this tiny dongle, which is no larger than a USB Thumbdrive, has presented very interesting possibilities for the present and future of video streaming. Right now we’re seeing set-top boxes like Roku being integrated into HDTVs and most SmartTVs do bring streaming video capability as well as access to services like Netflix and YouTube, so there is a gamut of choices for users who want a way to stream video directly to their TVs from the Internet.
The beauty of the Chromecast is that it is such a simple solution that, at US $35.00, is also quite affordable. Plugging in the Chromecast to any HDTV connects it to the Internet via WiFi. The magic happens when you pair the Chromecast to a Chrome browser on a computer or to any of the apps that support it on your smartphone and tablet.
These apps simply connect the Chromecast with the cloud service like Netflix, YouTube or others and you get to view the content in HD right on your HDTV, no matter how big it is.
While the choices are limited to Netflix, YouTube and Google Play video rentals right now, you can also play back any video file on your PC or device by running it off the Chrome browser and then ‘casting’ to Chromecast.
The potential for Chromecast could be huge specially for networks who already offer smartphone and tablet apps. CBC, CityTV, CTV, Global and other networks make their content available via apps that can stream recent episodes of shows to various devices, this mirrors the ‘On Demand’ feature many cable providers offer subscribers (although navigating this on your cable box requires utmost patience, it is slow and cumbersome).
Many of these networks (or anyone who has videos on the Internet, for that matter), can easily create Chromecast variants of their streaming app and enable users to watch shows in reasonably high resolution HD on any HDTV (provided said user has a steady Wi-Fi connection). The content is already there and ready to go, so programming these apps to simply point and stream episodes should be easy.
The strongest features of the Chromecast are that it is platform agnostic, it just works across the board with the most popular mobile devices and even folks who don’t own tablets or smartphones can use their PC’s without any problem, all they need is a Chrome browser or the web apps. We’re quickly seeing the disappearance of set-top boxes like Apple TV (hasn’t been updated in ages) and Roku (has been updated but looks like it is going for integration into HDTVs). Chromecast is a fraction of the price but it offers a lot of the same benefits.
