Chromecast is a simple dongle that plugs into your TV’s or receiver’s HDMI port, that plugs into a power outlet, and that uses Wi-Fi to access the Internet. Chromecast is a specific device, wheras Miracast is a protocol that many devices may support.
At first glance, Chromecast may seem to be like Miracast, but the two technologies are quite different. First, Chromecast is focused on multimedia streaming rather than the screen mirroring of Miracast. Chromecast doesn’t mirror content from your Android device directly to Chromecast dongle—instead, it pulls the content from the Internet and uses your mobile device simply as a remote control.
chromecast app The Chromecast app.
To use a Chromecast, you need to install the Chromecast setup app onto your Android or iOS device, or onto your computer; you can get the app from Google’s Chromecast page, or through Google Play and the App Store. You’ll use that app to set up Chromecast, including its connection to your Wi-Fi network so it can access the Internet to pull down content. Chromecast is operated by receiving remote-control commands from your Android or iOS device.
Once Chromecast is up and running, any smartphone, tablet, or laptop connected to the shared Wi-Fi network will be able to wirelessly stream supported content to your television. There are currently a handful of services compatible with Chromecast, including big names like Netflix, Hulu, HBO Go, YouTube, Google Music, and Pandora. And more are on the way.
If you open any of these services’ apps on your mobile device, you’ll notice a small TV icon in the app’s menu bar. Tap it to have Chromecast automatically pick up the same stream from the Web for playback. Use your mobile device then as a remote control, such as to pause or fast-forward.
Unlike Miracast, you can use your mobile device to do other things while the media is playing on your Chromecast. That’s because you’re not mirroring your device’s display via Chromecast, just using it as a remote control. This makes Chromecast a great tool for media streaming.
chromecast in use 1
Chromecast in use.
But Chromecast can’t wirelessly mirror your mobile device’s screen, nor does it let you share Android device content like games, files, and apps on your TV. The good news is that Google is slowly bridging the gap between Chromecast’s streaming-control approach and Miracast’s mirroring approach by adding mirroring capabilities to its Chrome browser, so you can send the browser’s tabs to your TV via Chromecast.