Your Chromecast Will Soon Have a Lot More Content to Stream

Will new Chromecast apps sway consumers into giving the $35 dongle another go? Google thinks so.
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Angela Colley
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DealNews Contributing Writer
Chromecast

When Google first released the Chromecast, there was much to be excited about. The thumb-size dongle allows users to easily "cast" online video content to a TV via a laptop, phone, or tablet running Chrome. And at just $35 a pop, its potential seemed great. However the drawbacks to the device soon became clear; most sites weren't properly outfitted to stream content in this way, and thus, the usage for the Chromecast was fairly limited.

That is set to change as Google officially released its Chromecast Software Development Kit (or SDK) last week. Developers are now able to create and release Chromecast-compatible sites and apps, meaning that a slew of new material will soon be available to users in the next few months.

New Content Is on the Horizon

Google announced the open Chromecast SDK release on its Google Chrome blog last week. Technically though, the Chromecast SDK was released in July of last year, but it was locked for most developers; some were "whitelisted" and could tinker around with it, but were not permitted to release any actual software for the device. For these reasons, there are currently only a paltry 15 supported apps available.

However, Google says that the now widely-available Chromecast SDK is easy to use and doesn't require developers to write a completely new app. Instead, developers can integrate the SDK into their "existing mobile and web apps to bring content to the TV," wrote John Affaki, Chromecast's Engineering Manager. It's also cheap: there's a one-time fee of $5 to register and test developed apps.

Let the Apps Come Streaming In

One of the newest Chromecast apps was created by Paul Arterburn. VidCast is a bookmarklet designed to isolate a playable movie file on a website and send it to the Chromecast; without the app, users mostly attempt to view a video by sending the webpage URL in which the video is embedded. That URL frequently won't load properly on the TV, or if it does, the process is very slow and clunky. Arterburn's app streamlines the process, making for faster streaming. To use it, go to dabble.me/cast and drag the VidCast icon to your bookmark. Open up a website, click the VidCast link on your bookmark, and VidCast will search for a usable file on the page. It will then send the direct video URL to the Chromecast. Keep in mind that the app only works with MP4, OGG, or WEBM files; a few sites confirmed to work with VidCast are FunnyOrDie, BuzzFeed, and DailyMotion, while this thread on Reddit lists several other compatible sites.

The SDK release also green lit at least one formerly blocked extension. AllCast is an app that let users stream video, music, and pictures from any Chrome-supported operating system to their TV, and while Google had blocked it for use on the Chromecast, the app was compatible with most media players like Roku, AppleTV, Xbox 360, and some smart TVs. Now, the app is available in beta. Also coming to Chromecast are music apps Rdio and Beats Music. Both companies tweeted that they were working on Chromecast support, according to The Verge.

Games, too, are in development. So far, all the Chromecast has is a simple (albeit fun) tic-tac toe game. Using two devices running the app, each person can stream their moves to a Chromecast-enabled TV. It's not much, but it hints at the possibility that more complex games may reach the Chromecast in the future. I

Despite this open door to content, developers don't have unshackled reign over app development. Google expressly forbids pornography, "gratuitous violence," "hate speech," and gambling in its developer program policies. That said, it'll certainly be interesting to see what developers can do with Google's little $35 piece of hardware in the coming months. Readers, do you have any greater inclination to opt for a Chromecast now that more content is on the horizon? Let us know in the comments below.

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Angela Colley
DealNews Contributing Writer

Angela Colley has covered everything from money saving technology to how the Mayans might affect your savings. She's appeared on publications like MainStreet and MSN Money. You can follow her on Twitter @angelancolley.
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3 comments
jackmaxolas711
Not sure what everyone wants for $35. Get Apple TV or Roku if you are looking for tons of content. I have a droid and thought this looked pretty cool for the price. I can easily stream Netflix, Pandora, my own music or videos to the TV with the press of a button. Sounds like a bunch more is on the way so well worth the low price of $35.
February 12, 2014
mirrormirror
It is still too much of a niche product, and only good if you are in that niche. I know some people that Chromecast fits very well and the like it, but most don’t. Even of those people they recognize the limited channels available, and are generally reserved in their admiration for the device. I know the first chromecasts were plagued with dropouts, but part of the blame was people being told that they can stream over 802.11g just fine.

At some point, probably a year from now when enough developers release good apps, enough people have 802.11n at least, dual band routers are the norm and enough flagship services offer direct to Chromecast streaming, it will be an all-around good option. But until then, it will remain a curiosity at best.
February 11, 2014
daddyslipdisk
I certainly thought that it would utilize Netflix, Hulu, etc, via the Chromecast dongle, but found out that everything must be piped through a laptop first which seems counter intuitive to me since Roku and even most game systems (XBox, Playstation 3, etc.) have the capability to do this. To access Netflix via my laptop and then send it to the dongle for viewing makes the laptop a middle man and is one of the primary issues for the bandwidth problems and why movies choke so much. I own one and use it to push Youtube videos and my screen up to the TV, but it seems like having an app physically ON the dongle to login to Netflix, Hulu, and just stream directly from the wireless router to the dongle makes SO much more sense. If I had known that was how it worked, I never would have purchased one.
February 11, 2014