Get in touch with us today! Call us toll-free at 1.866.754.4111 or email us at [email protected] Close button
Web Design Kitchener Waterloo Guelph Cambridge AODA Development
This is a headshot of Sean McParland.

Google Chrome version 53 introduced native casting support to the Google Chromecast. This ability has been available for a while using an extension but now that everyone with an up-to-date version of Chrome has it lets take a look at an interesting feature that it includes.

 

For the uninitiated, the Google Chromecast is a little HDMI dongle that you plug into your TV that connects to your Wi-Fi network and allows you to stream content to your television from your Phone/Tablet/Laptop/Desktop. You can stream things like YouTube, Netflix and even audio-only like Google Play Music or Spotify.

Three Google Chromecasts side by side, coloured yellow, black and red.

Google Chromecast 2015

 

When you use Chrome to stream your content you can stream whole tab to your TV. Which means you can stream any website (including sound) to your big screen, great for sites that don’t support the Google cast function. Now with the new version of Chrome (previously in beta from the old Chromecast extension) you can stream your entire desktop.

 

Showing the property tag of chrome with the 'Cast' option highlighted.

The Cast Option in Chrome's Dropdown Menu

 

Streaming your whole desktop lets you playback content that doesn’t have to exist on the web, like locally downloaded movies/TV shows. It even syncs the audio delay according to network performance. The streaming quality is subject to several factors but is heavily dependent on your Wi-Fi network performance, so the better your network the better the quality (including framerate and compression artifacting).

 

Menu showing "Select Source" with the "Cast Desktop" option being highlighted.

Cast Desktop Option when you select a source

 

Ideally you should be using a strong 802.11ac Router/Access Point and the most recent Chromecast (which supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi). There are rumors of a new Chromecast coming out next month (October 2016) which would be the third generation and is allegedly bringing 4k support along with it.

Subscribe to this Blog Like on Facebook Tweet this! Share on LinkedIn

Contributors

Sanj Rajput
152
November 28, 2024
Show Sanj's Posts
Adam Longstaff
1
November 5, 2024
Show Adam's Posts
Rob Matlow
140
June 6, 2024
Show Rob's Posts
Jackie Graves
1
June 6, 2024
Show Jackie's Posts
Melissa Yates
1
February 27, 2024
Show Melissa's Posts
Amanda Turner
1
February 20, 2024
Show Amanda's Posts
Alina Litvinenko
1
February 6, 2024
Show Alina's Posts
Tabitha Doyle
1
January 30, 2024
Show Tabitha's Posts
Christine Votruba
31
August 29, 2023
Show Christine's Posts
Sean Sanderson
66
December 19, 2022
Show Sean's Posts
Haley Burton
1
December 7, 2021
Show Haley's Posts
Generic Administrator
1
December 3, 2021
Show Generic's Posts
Colleen Legge
1
November 26, 2021
Show Colleen's Posts
Sean McParland
18
August 20, 2021
Show Sean's Posts
Matt Stern
4
July 16, 2019
Show Matt's Posts
Sean Legge
1
June 28, 2019
Show Sean's Posts
Todd Hannigan
47
November 13, 2018
Show Todd's Posts