Well, I’ve had the Chromecast 2 days, and so far so good. There are a few glitches, and nuances, I’ll detail for you.
It ordered it directly from Google Play store, ordered 1 hour after product launch. I loved the “Breakfast presentation” and planned to use it in the gym, living room, traveling, and while at work.
The total bill was $41 and some change after shipping. The setup seemed simple, but had a few quirks. You are directed to download software to your PC or Mac, and once installed you can complete setup. You plug your new device into your HDTVs HDMI port, then use the extension to connect to a usb cable and power. Note, most HDTVs cannot power Chromecast independently, unless you have MHC power. This is not mentioned much on the online reviews. Unless you just bought your TV, and bought a high end one you dont. 99% of tvs will need the USB power. Fortunately, it comes with one.
You have to name your device, connect to your network, and authenticate. This actually caused me a few problems.
I kept getting an error message on my Mac. After the second failed setup, I looked at the device again,and the red light was lit. I figured this was bad, as when it first plugged in it was white. If you get a red light, may I suggest, unplug and restart. I unplugged it and tried a 3rd time, and was able to get it working. Not sure what the issue was, but be patient with install. There must be a glitch there.
It is important to realize that 1. Chromecast is a stripped down version of Android. and 2. When you cast from your phone, you are casting, essentially, a link to your TV. This is why you can multitask with your phone while media streams on screen. Note that your phone is not required once the streaming starts. You only need it on and near you if you want to pause or stop the media. This is good. This is a key difference compared to using an iPhone with Apple TV. If you ever tried to watch HGTV or other airplay app, if your iPhone screen turned off, it stops streaming. It used to drive me crazy. Not so with Chromecast.
You can literally turn off your phone while in playback, and will not affect the playback. It is run by a controller, not actually mirroring your device, which is different than Apple TVs mechanism.
Runners and Joggers
If you are planning on a treadmill run, the device is quick to start and stream. All works well, if you plan to start it and let it go a few hours with a movie. However, there is palpable sluggishness when you want to change movies via the Netflix iphone app. Generally the app freezes and needs to reload. Plan on the change from one movie to another to take you 60 seconds from stop of one to start of another. This can cripple you run, if you are on the treadmill, waiting, waiting…
treadmill (Photo credit: Bitman)
If you are running under 6 MPH, no worries. If you are running faster, changing movies on the run may not be a good idea, and may frustrate the hell out of you and cause you to lose your focus. Be warned.
Streaming from different devices. Once up and running tried 3 methods of Chromecasting.
1. iphone 4 2. Nexus 4 3. Macbook air with Chrome extension. 4. HP with Windows 8 and Chrome extension
1. iPhone 4. Netflix and Youtube work well. There is about a 2-3 second delay with starting and stopping the on screen media from the time you press stop or pause until the media stops or pauses. Playback is very crisp, and once its started, it streams literally flawlessly. No resolution changes, no hiccups. It also detects the Chromcast playing a movie on the network, and gives you a blue box at the top of your screen. You can pickup and control at your leisure. At this point, only Youtube and Netflix. Word on the street is Pandora is coming. No music streaming from iPhone to TV.
Update. I had a chance to use a 4S as a controller, and it did work much better. Shorter delay to on screen changes. ‘Im sure the additional RAM keeps things more fluid. Id be willing to bet the iphone 5 and 5s (coming soon) are even better. An independent Chromecast app is coming to the iOs store, from what I’m told.
2. Nexus 4. Seems the most logical, and should be the most refined. Or so it should seem. I streams with Youtube and Netflix start out great. An additional advantage is that your controller runs separate in the background and you can re-select Youtube, should you change to twitter, Facebook, or another app. There is a big glitch with the nexus 4. Everytime the screen locks while Netflix is streaming, it powers off. At first I thought it was still on with a black screen, but it literally powers off. Word on the street, is that Netflix app is to blame. An update to the App is coming. As far as music, you can stream music from the Play store that you have purchased through the Play store, but all other tracks will result in error. Remember you are streaming via controller, not actually from your device, so it cant match your sideloaded songs to the play store. 
3. Macbook air with Chromcast extension. Works very well for Pandora, Netflix, and Youtube. You can also display any page you want. If you scroll or open a video, there is a 1-2 second delay, which is on par with AirParrot, and Airplay, honestly. Big advantage here is any web page displays on your TV. I did get a few “low performance” errors after using a few pages this way. Chrome warned me with a little red exclamation point. Truth be told, during the product launch, we were told the Chrome extension was in beta. I should also note you can play ANY media by dragging it into the Chrome browser and sending it to your TV with Chromecast extension.
4. I casted yesterday from my HP 11.6″ DM1 with 5 GB of RAM. Everything went well, from Pandora, to Netflix to web pages. There was a noticeable difference in fan speed, less actually, compared to my Macbook Air, which had only 2GB of RAM. Seems no matter which platform Chromecasting comes from, it works well on desktops and notebook.
All in all, the Chromecast is more versatile than the Apple TV. I’ve had Apple TV for 3 years now, and it always felt limited. No Pandora, no web page displays from my PC to TV (only mac). The price point is better and the versatility is better. I also like not having another damn remote in the house, you just use your phone. It does need an update. There are web page glitches, and setup glitches, but I think they will pass. There is alot of room to grow and add apps, and already Redbox, Vimeo and HBO are thinking about signing on. With media coverage and sellout risk very high, who wouldnt want to be a part of it?
Final notes:
I can see using it at work for presentations. I can also see taking it on the road, instead of taking my Apple TV with me, its light and compact. Any hotel, anywhere in the world will have wifi and an HDTV with an HDMI. Even Bali did. I love how it works with everything. Mac, PC, Apple, Android, all comers (ok except for windows and blackberry phones, but who uses those??) With Apple TV, some streams are blocked or protected, [read as Vevo music videos, ESPN, Pandora app, etc. ] Somehow they realize you are using an Apple TV and the streams are blocked. Not with Chromecast. I might also add that casting streaming video from laptop to Apple TV has always been shoddy. Believe it or not, streaming HD video from laptop to Chromecast is very, very smooth.
The war between Apple and Google enters new territory – the living room television. Go enjoy, kids.
-Merican Dreamer
