If you want to play movies or TV shows on a big screen, or stream music wirelessly to speakers, the Chromecast standard is one of the best ways to do it: it couldn't be easier to use, and it works with a variety of devices and app, you can even use it to mirror browser tabs and Android screens.
Here's everything you need to know about Chromecast technology developed by Google and the Google Cast protocol that powers it, from the steps required to set it up to the TV models that support the technology natively, and everything in between.
What is Chromecast?
Technically, a Chromecast is a piece of physical hardware that you can wirelessly stream video and audio to, such as the Chromecast with Google TV. However, the term is also often used to refer to the wireless streaming process itself, in part because many devices now have Chromecast functionality built-in, eliminating the need for a dongle (such as Sony's smart TVs and Google Nest Hub).
The underlying technology for Chromecast devices is Google Cast, a protocol or set of standards developed by Google that tells devices how to communicate with each other and the web. As long as the device you're sending content to supports Google Cast, and the device you're sending content to also supports Google Cast, you have a working Chromecast setup.
Both the sending device and the receiving device must be on the same wifi network, once you click the cast button this is what happens: the sending device (like your phone) talks to the receiving device (like your TV) and tells it where Where on the Internet can you find the video you are watching or the audio you are listening to. The file is then streamed from the network to the receiving device, but you can still control playback from the original device you started with.
So if you watch a movie using your phone and a Chromecast-enabled TV at the same time, the movie doesn't stream from the phone to the TV, the phone just tells the TV which specific movie stream it needs to connect to, and where you are in it. This means your phone doesn't have to do as heavy lifting in terms of processing or transmitting, and it also reduces network congestion.
Chromecast-enabled devices
For Android phones and tablets, you can mirror anything on the display to any Chromecast device, as well as send content from specific apps. Almost every media app, from Pocket Casts to Prime Video to Tidal, has a cast button somewhere in the interface you can use.
On iPhone and iPad, Chromecast doesn't support screen mirroring on Android, but you'll find cast buttons in most media apps like Netflix and Spotify. The only exceptions are Apple's own apps, such as Apple TV and Apple Music (although you can cast from Apple Music on Android).
Chromecast functionality is also built into Google Chrome: this means you can grab a Lifehacker website, a Google Slides presentation, or anything else open in a browser tab on a larger screen - although in this case, sending and The receiving device communicates directly and therefore cannot process video and audio streams fast enough. It works on all platforms that can run Chrome.
Many web apps can stream to Chromecast devices in the usual way - by sharing links to specific content for seamless switching - as long as you open them in Chrome. If YouTube, Disney Plus, Plex, Spotify, etc. are running in the Chrome browser, they all have a Chromecast button somewhere on the interface.
When it comes to devices that can receive Chromecast links, obviously you already have a Chromecast adapter. Additionally, any TV running Android TV or Google TV will work as a Chromecast, with no additional hardware required: This includes TVs from the likes of Sony, Philips, Sharp, and Vizio, and Google has more information on compatible TVs here .
Chromecast works with Google's Nest line of smart speakers, and if you have a Nest smart display, you can stream video and Chrome browser tabs as well as audio. If you really want to, you can edit Google Docs on the Nest Home Hub, which is impractical but shows you just how versatile the Chromecast standard can be.
How to Chromecast
If you start using the phone or tablet you want to send content from, look for the cast button in the app - it looks like a rectangle with three concentric arcs in the lower left corner (although Spotify has gone its own way, with an icon) that looks like a speaker in front of the screen). It's usually located somewhere on the Now Playing screen. If you open many video and audio web apps in Chrome, you'll see the same button there.
If you're casting from the Chrome web browser, it's best to use the cast button on the website itself (if it appears). If not, click the three dots (top right corner) and select Save and Share, then Cast to send everything in the current tab to your Chromecast device. You can continue using Chrome as normal, but the tab will be mirrored to another screen.
To mirror your Android Pixel device's screen, open Settings and select Connected devices , Connection preferences , and Cast . On any other Android device, you can do the same thing using the Google Home app: tap the relevant Chromecast device on the Devices tab and select Cast my screen .
Once you launch Google Cast, a list of Chromecast-compatible devices on the same Wi-Fi network will appear: just click on the device you want to use. After a while, the connection is established. You can continue to use your original device, whether it's a phone app or a browser tab, to control what's happening on the other screen (for example, your phone can become a remote control for your TV).
