Ok Let Me Review It: Google Chromecast

I recently got my hands on the Google Chromecast, after having gotten a new 42' Vizio TV and needing a way to stream my content from my laptop and from my Western Digital MyCloud 4TB Network Attached Storage Drive.

Before I had a cable that I would plug into my Samsung Galaxy S3 and stream using the WD software. Well for whatever reason when I upgraded my cell, and got the new TV I was no longer able to do that. Now it might be me, or the fact that I was tired while attempting this but, I found that the Chromecast really isnt that easy to get setup.

I have only had this device 6 hours at the time of writing this, and I have/had considered returning it and getting a Roku. But after having watched some YouTube videos, I found how to make it work with my setup. Now mind you it is still a pain in the ol' butt, however, I have it working. There really isnt any "user interface" with this device. Nor is it really user friendly. Again I preface this with the fact that I am/was tired when trying to get it all set up, so it could just be me.
So one of the major drawbacks so far (besides lack of user interface and other basic features) is that you have to stream things using a 3rd party device like your cellphone, a tablet, or in some cases your laptop. Now that being said, I still havent really figured out how to stream things from my laptop to the Chromecast. I have downloaded browser plugins and what have you but really all it does is only displays a part of the website that you are casting.

I have also found that certain types of files will not stream. Videos in any other format than MP4 dont

seem to stream. Audio files in MP3 stream but WAV and ORB dont seem to work. I downloaded a video converter called Freemake Video Converter which allows you to convert file types, and I converted over a FLV (Flash Video File) into MP4 and it played flawlessly. So I am going to have to undergo the daunting task of converting all of my video files to MP4 something that I am not very happy about having to do. I tired to cast using VLC Media Player for Android and for PC and I still couldnt get a movie file that wasnt MP4 to stream over it. So it seems the only way is to have them in MP4 format. You can also play picture slideshows, as long as those are in JPG/JPEG or PNG. I tried to open a GIF and I couldnt get it to display.

If you stream from your cell or tablet however, you have access to Pandora, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, and more. However, I found that using my phone to stream like that, I had to keep it plugged in as it is a bit of a battery drain, and I have a Samsung Galaxy S5. I am told that you can do more with the Chromecast Ultra, though I am not sure if that is true. For the price of $30 it is worth a try, but a better idea might be considering a Roku as they start off at about $25. Like I said, I mainly got it as I wanted a way to stream my videos from my computer and external HD.

Pros;  Inexpensive. Easy to set up. Compatible with many apps and services. Responsive.

Cons: No major new features over the original Chromecast. Requires a smartphone, tablet, or PC to control.