Google Chromecast (2nd Generation) HD Media Streamer - Black (GA3A00097-A03-Z01)

Best Device Out There Compared to other devices i tried that was supposed to do the same thing

i got the first original chromecast and loved it. but the new 2015 version is even better than before. it has a much stronger wifi antenna than the old one and it has no buffer issues like the old one. it is super easy to set up and to use as well. you can watch everything from the internet but you can also play video or audio files from your hard drive and stream it to the chromecast. it was a little harder to do with the original chromecast but the new 2015 version is super easy. the fastest way to play a video from your hard drive it to start your chrome browser and then just click on the video from your hard drive and drag it to the chrome web browser and it will start playing. i have tried several other same type of devices and they were no where near as good as the chromecast was. i got icraig device which was supposed to work better than chromecast and it cost 3 times as much and it did a very poor job keeping up with chromecast 2015. you should buy the new 2015 version and it will be money well spent. i know you will be very happy with it. there are many tutorials on youtube for the chromecast device so check them out as well. the above is just my opinion and from actually using the device. hope this helps you to decide to buy one as you will not regret it.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: best_buy

Getting this thing to work

Plugging it in is the simple part.
Follow the directions after that but when I got to the "ADD EXTENSION" I had a terrible time. After 2 days I convinced myself that there had to be another way to add extensions. I found this to be the best method:

Open Google Chrome - In the top right of the screen there are 3 horizontal bars on an icon (Customize Icon). Click on it and select "More Tools" then "Extensions". You may have some extensions listed already....to look for more scroll to the bottom and click on "Get More Extensions". You can search for them easily.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: coolgreykid

Requires the computer to connect directly to device via WIFI so you can't stream movies.

Although this device was easy to setup, it does not allow my computer to be connected to my home WIFI to stream movies (from MoviesAnywhere, etc.) as the device needs to be connected to my computer using a different WIFI address. Since my computer cannot be connected to two WIFI signals at the same time, I am currently at a loss as to how to view streamed movies from a service like MoviesAnywhere to the device so I can watch movies on my TV. The device works fine, but currently does not meet my needs.Read full review

Great Entertainment Device!

I have a 4K smart TV and while its amazing to have apps right on the tv you soon realize your still pretty limited. This is when the chromecast comes in. I knew of it since it first came out and wanted to try it but never took the bite. Then the 2 generation of the device becomes live.

It's very well built and it's visually sleek even though it's hiding behind the TV. There is a magnet built in I've realized to hold the HDMI cable (if you travel with it) and could be used to hold the chromecast on the back of the TV but it didn't hold well to mine so it hangs down.

You get a USB cable and an USB to AC adapter. I opted to use the USB to AC adapter and recommend it but you can plug it into your TVs media USB port (not a service USB port). The reason I recommend it is because the Chromecast gets automatic updates and if you were watching TV and didn't realize your Chromecast was updating and decided to turn your TV off, the USB port may turn off too disrupting the update and possibly corrupting the Chromecast's software. But don't worry about it being an energy hog for being always on, it uses less than 5mw of power a year. That's peanuts!

Setup it's pretty straightforward and easy to follow. You will need to download Google Cast from the play store on your Android phone or tablet or using chrome browser on your PC. I was ready to go within minutes connecting on the 5Ghz Wi-Fi band.

I use my Android phone to stream media to my TV via the Chromecast and the take away here is to remind everyone, that's all Chromecast does. It streams from apps (Android / iOS) or the chrome browser on PC to your TV.

For 35 dollars it's a great deal even if a newer model comes out later. Right now the 2nd generation Chromecast while able to connect to both 2.4 and 5Ghz AC Wi-Fi (backward compatible with N) bit l but still only supports 1080p HD. For most this will be just fine but for those with 4K TVs it's a minor setback to a great feature set but by no means a deal breaker.

I've watched movies and shows from my phone to the TV flawlessly from YouTube, Netflix, VUDU, Starz, and more. Even some android games can be played on the TV thanks to Chromecast. The best thing though, its essentially future proof.

Smart TVs are great and seem great but in reality they aren't going up keep up through the future. The average person isn't going to go out and buy the latest TV every year. Most will keep their TV set for at least 5+ years. That means apps will be updated and eventually phase out on older Smart TVs making it more a standard TV than a smart one. That's why I love Chromecast more.

It gets updates from Google and when its reached its end of life of support, another 35 bucks for newer generation device is all it'll take to be back in business!

So save yourself the cost of a fancy smart TV and buy a Chromecast, even if you already have a smart TV. You wont regret it!Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: pre-owned • Sold by: best_buy

A convenient little device..

Not perfect by any means but very decent and acceptable, easy to configure and considerably easy to use.. the only disadvantages are that sometimes it can behave a bit randomly (though nothing too serious) and that in my region there aren't many apps available, but I'd say that overall it is worth it -especially considering the price.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: robzx12

Super

Use it all the time to cast my personal phone video files to my tv, works great. I also use it a bunch to cast phone browser videos, it works excellent. Saves me from watching live TV. Also is great for netflix, hulu and to a lesser extent youtube (youtube gets buggy, as it becomes more n more difficult to move around in a video). Great buy.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: autumnfield

Won't work for me

I bought this for my tablet to play movies on my big screen TV from installed SD card in the tablet. I went through wut seemed to me as hoops of fire with the setup link and trying to like sign in with my Google app thingie as it didn't ask for that first. Anyway i finally got it in there and it was all kinda gibberish and green vertical lines on my tablet screen. Any writing in the page appeared like a ghost and IF I could tap around wutever was under there did show up on my TV as per advertised. I tried it on my other tablet but it (the set up link) must have installed both as I chose the wrong one the first time. I tried holding the reset button on the cast until it defaulted back to factory, but it won't connect with either tablet now because each appartly has the Google app or something, even though I uninstalled them thru settings. I'm tired of the whole thing. BTW, my "factory sealed" cast had all the seals broken, so it kinda leads me to think it might have been a defective return or something. I'm not rich, but I am so over it. Don't need the drama!Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: rebuyitusa

Plug & Play, Works to Stream Content from PC

I was a little worried that this would not serve my purpose of streaming internet video to my TV from my PC. I have an HP wifi enabled desktop running Windows 10. I was able to download an extension for Google Chrome browser that will display video from any webpage not just from an app. It says the extension is in beta and can be buggy, however it's worked flawlessly for me. There were some questions I had before purchasing that weren't very clearly answered from how the Chromecast unit was advertised:

1. It says you can use the Chromecast unit with Iphone, android phones, chromebooks, windows notebooks and tablets but didn't mention desktops. It will work with your windows desktop as long as it's wifi enabled.

2. I wasn't clear on whether I'd be able to broadcast video with sound from my desktop to Chromecast. It works, it transfers hd quality video with sound from my windows 10 desktop to my Samsung television with very little distortion. My computer is in my office about 20' from my TV and it displays HD quality video with very few hickups. Lag will most likely be determined from you internet speed. Sometimes when I display videos from my ipad to my apple tv, there is a lag visible where the audio doesn't match up with motion of peoples lips on screen...it's like watching an old, poorly dubbed, kung fu movie. I haven't had this problem with the Chromecast unit thus far.

Overall, I'm very happy I purchased this new Chromecast unit. For those of you who don't have cable and have been getting by with Netflix, Hulu etc. it's nice to be able to stream content from any website, not just apps. For $35-$40 it's a no brainer.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: amart7

Bad instructions

Lots of people had the same problem I had getting it connected. It was telling me that I was connected to my internet provider (Xfinity) but not the internet, pick another connection, You need to change it to whatever your home network is called but it wouldn't let you change the connection. It just kept saying the same thing, no matter what I did.

There is a tiny reset button on this thing that you have to hold down for 25 seconds, and then you can change your internet connection. There was no mention in the instructions About a reset button, or on their troubleshooting forum.

They were telling you to reboot your modem, change settings in the modem, and other things!

After a couple of hours on the net trying to figure out what was wrong, I finally came across an article about the reset button. After getting the Chromecast screen up where I was getting the bad connection message, and holding the button down for 25 seconds, the problem was solved.

There was not one word in the instructions about trying the reset button!Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: sgtek

Good but no easy

The device is good, casts a hi def image but some of the functions are hard. Turning it off is not intuitive. Deleting one show from a recorded series is not easy and switching channels is not always easy. Using a laptop as a controller instead of an Android cell phone is markedly different. There is also a limited range of media that can be cast. For example, Amazon Prime video, a very popular video source cannot be used. Corporate rivalries rear their ugly heads. As long as you stay in the Google universe, you're fine. Beyond this universe, get a Roku which is not as fussy with respect to video source.Read full review

Verified purchase:  Yes • Condition: new • Sold by: tKIwxqIQR6W@Del...