Geeks, avid tv/movie streamers, what do you think of the Chromecast?

[nevets88]

$35, plus 3 free months of Netflix, even if you already have an account. Stream Netflix, Google Play TV & Movies, YouTube and more to come. Dongle is just a bit larger than a thumbdrive and powered through a usb cable. Cool, eh?

Even if you already use a Roku and/or Apple TV, this is still compelling as the price point is so low although the Netflix thing is more of a one shot deal I think. The technology to get content on a big screen from anywhere is getting better and better.

Golf related - you can stream your golf videos, if you have them on YouTube which judging from the myswings forum, most people already do, you can stream your golf swings to a big flat panel simply and cheaply.

[jamo]

I wrote this in another thread: [QUOTE]I was thinking about buying an AppleTV. I'll be without cable for a few months, and having a box for WatchESPN and HBOGO would be nice. I'll probably also get a digital antenna, and Hulu plus Comcast/Xfinity's streaming options should cover me for the rest I read about the Chromecast, but I'm imagining a situation where I'm falling asleep and want to watch SportsCenter, and it would be a bit annoying to have to have my laptop open and running instead of just turning on the AppleTV and going to the WatchESPN app. Most of my ESPN watching is of that ilk.[/QUOTE] Also, the AppleTV has AirPlay.

[nevets88]

Yes, Apple TV having HBO and ESPN is huge, plus the mirroring and you can watch much more on it right now but the price point of Chromecast is so low especially if you use Netflix ($35 - 3 months Netflix = $11 plus shipping & tax), it makes it compelling enough to buy and then wait to see what other content becomes available on it. If Amazon Instant becomes available on it, that will be huge. Plus the setup convenience and size. You can take it out of your pocket and plug into a usb slot for power.

People who aren't already vested in Apple TV have a low cost alternative streaming option as well. Google TV & Movies has a pretty good selection and pricing is the same. If you're new to streaming, the startup cost is ~$15 plus the cost of buying or renting tv & movies from Google Play. It's a great way to get people to cut the cord.

With Chromecast, the device that initiates the video is still available and doesn't use up power because Chromecast is streaming directly from the source. So your smartphone/tablet/laptop you can use and no power is being sucked up.

It will be interesting to see how this pans out.

[bplewis24]

I'll have one in a few weeks.  I'd buy it now, but I will be ordering the LTE Nexus 7.2 when it becomes available in a few weeks, so I'd rather just wait and order both together.  At $35, it's really a no-brainer for something as functional and with as much developer potential as it has.  When the developers get ahold of the APIs for this thing, watch out.

[David in FL]

I'm not even a geek and I'll be getting one!