The Newsroom

Some random thoughts about the Chromecast after a week with it: 1)   Check everything that's in the box.  For those of you who don't follow me on Google+, I was having real issues this past weekend getting the Chromecast to work on the TV in the basement. After spending two days troubleshooting the problem, it turned out that I needed to use the HDMI extender (see picture) to get the Chromecast dongle to sit in my HDMI port. The extender... that was still unopened in the box... because I didn't even bother to look at it. The TV in the living room didn't have this issue, fortunately, or I probably would have given up and returned the thing to the store. The fact it did work out of the box ( more or less ) was a big plus. 2) While I really like my Chromecast, I still can't work up the rationale to get a second one for the finicky basement TV. Up until buying the Chromecast, everything I've been streaming to my TV has gone through my iPad Mini hooked ...

  I bought a Google Chromecast today. It was $39. I figured it would work with most of the streaming services that I use. I figured it would be easier and more convenient than having to give up my iPad Mini for extended periods of time to the HDMI adapter cable on the TV to watch streaming stuff. And even though I have various iDevices, the Chromecast was significantly cheaper than Apple TV. I put it on the 32-inch 720p flatscreen in the living room. Does it work? Oh yeah. Netflix, YouTube and UFC Fight Pass worked really well right out of the gate streaming from their apps on my iPad Mini. But the whole process of getting it up and running was not without its weird glitches. Glitch 1: My 2008 Windows Vista laptop is too old to install Google Chrome. Yup. The set-up page rejected me. I had to use my iPad Mini to set it up. Glitch 2: My 2008 Windows Vista laptop wouldn't Google Cast from a Chrome tab. Or it wouldn't cast without some major, major, major lag and sound ...