If the money does not give you to have an Apple TV in your home, one of the cheapest alternatives is Chromecast. It is true that we are talking about a Google product, but luckily it is fully compatible. In this article we analyze all its features and what you can do with it.
What is a Chromecast
As we have previously mentioned, the Chromecast is a device manufactured by Google that allows you to send multimedia content from a computer, mobile or tablet to a television or monitor. This has made many televisions that are not Smart have been revitalized since now, for example, renting movies is extremely simple. We are also facing a device that has a very similar operation to that of Apple TV but with a much cheaper price. That is why it can be tremendously recommended to get one, since it is very easy to use as we are going to explain.
Linking Chromecast and iPhone
If you have a new Chromecast, to link it with your iPhone you will simply have to download the ‘Home’ application that we found in the App Store. At the same time we must connect the Chromecast through the HDMI port to our television and to the electric current with the included charger. Once this is done we will go to configure it in the Home application , previously logging into our account and entering the required data. Among these, for example, the name of the house and the room where you are going to install the Chromecast stands out so that it can work properly in the face of voice commands.
It is important to note that a WiFi network will be requested during the installation process. Whenever we want to interact with our Chromecast, the iPhone must be connected to this network to send the multimedia content properly. This is why you have to choose well the network that you are going to want to use.
Once it’s configured, we can practically forget about the Home app. It can be used to control the volume and also to invite someone to our home . By this they mean that we can add multiple users so that they can use the device. If there are four people in our house, we can allow everyone to control it from everyone’s iPhone.
Send content to Chromecast from iPhone
With the passage of time, many applications have been adapted to this Apple accessory. In most apps that offer multimedia content, a small option is included to send it to the Chromecast. For example, if we enter Net-flix in the lower right corner we will find a characteristic icon of a screen with stripes that simulate those of WiFi.
This icon is extremely common and whenever we find it in an application we can tap on it and select our Chromecast. We can say that this is the same icon as that of ‘AirPlay’ in the Apple ecosystem. Pressing it on the screen will start this application and we can enjoy these contents on television. With just a few touches we can have a Net-flix movie on television or a simple YouTube video.
Obviously on the iPhone there are some native applications that do not have this option to connect to a Chromecast. For example, playing an Apple TV + series is something impossible to do natively in this accessory. If we want to rent a movie to view it here we have to resort to the Play Movies service or YouTube. The truth is that practically all of the apps that we will find in the App Store are compatible, such as You-Tube, Net-flix, HB-O, Twi-tch, Dis-ney +, VodafoneTV and a long etcetera.
Complementary applications
But it is true that although most apps are compatible, sometimes we want to view content from a specific website. This can be done with different specialized applications for the Chromecast that we recommend you have installed on your iPhone or iPad.
Castio
If you want to view the video of a web page, with Castio you can do it. With this application, an extension will be included in the browser so that when it is run, it will detect the videos that are on the web so that they can be viewed on the Chromecast. The operation is extremely simple and we recommend its installation.
Streamer for Chromecast
If you want to see the photos or videos that you have stored in your gallery, with Streamer for Chromecast you can transmit and view them on your television comfortably. In addition, thanks to its integrated browser you will be able to watch videos of the web on television and which are not natively adapted to Chromecast.
