Google Chromecast (1 Viewer)

[Andy Dufresne]

Well there were plenty of people, myself included, that bought it with the netflix offer still being listed. They should have pulled that offer as soon as the supply ran out. I might not have ordered it right away but the $11 deal was too good to pass up

But they canceled your order and gave you your money back. Right?

They didn't substitute in something else and they didn't encourage you to buy something more expensive.

Again, I can see being disappointed, sure. But accusing them of doing something deceptive is not right, IMO.

(What a silly little semantical debate we're having here. )

 

[jamny]

Well there were plenty of people, myself included, that bought it with the netflix offer still being listed. They should have pulled that offer as soon as the supply ran out. I might not have ordered it right away but the $11 deal was too good to pass up

But they canceled your order and gave you your money back. Right?

They didn't substitute in something else and they didn't encourage you to buy something more expensive.

Again, I can see being disappointed, sure. But accusing them of doing something deceptive is not right, IMO.

(What a silly little semantical debate we're having here. )

No, they haven't cancelled my order. If I didn't hear about the netflix offer ending, I'd be expecting it when the item ships.

 

[NutterButter]

Well there were plenty of people, myself included, that bought it with the netflix offer still being listed. They should have pulled that offer as soon as the supply ran out. I might not have ordered it right away but the $11 deal was too good to pass up

But they canceled your order and gave you your money back. Right?

They didn't substitute in something else and they didn't encourage you to buy something more expensive.

Again, I can see being disappointed, sure. But accusing them of doing something deceptive is not right, IMO.

(What a silly little semantical debate we're having here. )

We're at work. What else are we supposed to do.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Well there were plenty of people, myself included, that bought it with the netflix offer still being listed. They should have pulled that offer as soon as the supply ran out. I might not have ordered it right away but the $11 deal was too good to pass up

But they canceled your order and gave you your money back. Right?

They didn't substitute in something else and they didn't encourage you to buy something more expensive.

Again, I can see being disappointed, sure. But accusing them of doing something deceptive is not right, IMO.

(What a silly little semantical debate we're having here. )

No, they haven't cancelled my order. If I didn't hear about the netflix offer ending, I'd be expecting it when the item ships.

Well in that case, if you ordered it expecting the Netflix discount (and it said you'd get it when you ordered it) but then you don't get it then yes, you were baited and switched.

 

[Tiger Fan]

order shipped from best buy

 

[Keerock]

order shipped from best buy

GD When did you order?

 

[Keerock]

BTW... I checked all 3 of my flat screens and they all have an USB port within inches of an HDMI port

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Estimated Delivery: Wednesday, 07/31/2013

C'mon. NOTHING takes that long to ship.

On the plus side...

A discount of $23.97 has been applied to your account.

 

[Mulletzilla]

So anyone who already has one have any product reviews? I found one at my local best buy yesterday morning and here is my review

I have an older TV without a USB so I had to power through the AC adapter. Other than the ugly wire, was very simple to set up and configure. Plug it in, log onto a setup site, walk through a few steps, and within 3 minutes it running. I installed the Chromecast app on my phone an the extension on my Chrome browser to talk to this thing. Very simple to send Netflix from my phone to the TV, but the audio/video sync was terrible. I had to turn it off after 45 seconds. I have the standard FiOS router so it may be the speed of that, but when I run Netflix from my 360 I don't have this issue. I tried to use the tab casting from the Chrome browser but that was even worse. Very choppy - would run at a frame at a time. Again, hoping its a slow router. Or maybe someone else has other ideas?

Overall not incredibly impressed, but for $11 I look forward to seeing what other uses developers can come up with (and this coming from a Google fanboy)

 

[Abraham]

So anyone who already has one have any product reviews? I found one at my local best buy yesterday morning and here is my review

I have an older TV without a USB so I had to power through the AC adapter. Other than the ugly wire, was very simple to set up and configure. Plug it in, log onto a setup site, walk through a few steps, and within 3 minutes it running. I installed the Chromecast app on my phone an the extension on my Chrome browser to talk to this thing. Very simple to send Netflix from my phone to the TV, but the audio/video sync was terrible. I had to turn it off after 45 seconds. I have the standard FiOS router so it may be the speed of that, but when I run Netflix from my 360 I don't have this issue. I tried to use the tab casting from the Chrome browser but that was even worse. Very choppy - would run at a frame at a time. Again, hoping its a slow router. Or maybe someone else has other ideas?

Overall not incredibly impressed, but for $11 I look forward to seeing what other uses developers can come up with (and this coming from a Google fanboy)

Interesting. It doesn't matter how cheap it is if it works poorly.

 

[Tiger Fan]

order shipped from best buy

GD When did you order?

7:58 AM

 

[Keerock]

order shipped from best buy

GD When did you order?

7:58 AM

EST? I was 9:08 AM EST... hopefully I'll get shipped soon.

 

[Tiger Fan]

FWIW, I looked up my modem yesterday, and realized I was using on that was 8 years old. I just ordered a new fancy one off of Amazon for $99

 

[Mulletzilla]

Here is the link to the BB inventory tracker for this item if you want to try to pick one up locally. They are in the thumb drive section but don't expect anyone at BB to actually be able to help you find it...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olstemplatemapper.jsp?id=pcat17006&type=page&sourceId=1218302813040&sourceType=product&skuId=9071056&productId=1218302813040&itemId=1557735&contract_desc=2+YEARS+NEW&pageMode=searchmode

 

[dal_boys_phan]

It's reliance on a wifi network with no peer to peer option is a little bit of a strike against it (EG hotel rooms without free wifi, tailgating, etc)... but otherwise it's a nifty little device for those purposes.

ETA before the fandroids have a coronary : I'm aware many/all competing product require a wifi network as well.. just stating a wishlist. This would be badass with a peer>peer streaming functionality added in as well.

I wonder if smartphone's with wifi hotspot would be powerful enough to handle the mobile stream in / wifi out to provide a smooth streaming experience.

It would require the phone probably be connected to a charger too though because with the Hotspot running the battery doesn't last long. So maybe not ideal for tailgating.

I would say yes to the smartphone/hotspot question. Without being the exact test, I can tell you that a stock Galaxy Nexus running on Verizon's 4G network provides an HD quality stream of MLB.TV to my iPad. This test is when I am on the Northeast Corridor on NJ Transit going through the areas that have 4G - pixelation occurs through those areas that do not have dense/any 4G coverage (I'm looking at you Rahway to Elizabeth). If the spot has rock solid 4G, I'd say you would be good. Having swappable batteries on the Nexus helps, but if I had a generator at the tailgate that would be ideal.

 

[Slapdash]

I guess I will just cancel the Goolge Play order since it sounds too late for Netflix. Man, I was really excited about this whole thing 24 hours ago.

 

[Brony]

Was hoping that this would be like a poor man's Airplay so that I could stream any song from my computer to somewhere else in the house and control the tunes & volume from my iPhone. Seems like it's not that.

 

[jamny]

Was hoping that this would be like a poor man's Airplay so that I could stream any song from my computer to somewhere else in the house and control the tunes & volume from my iPhone. Seems like it's not that.

With the right setup I think that it's possible.

 

[Keerock]

Whoo-Hoo!

Good news! The item(s) listed below were shipped on July 26, 2013, and will be arriving soon.

QTY PRODUCT DESCRIPTION STATUS 2 Google - Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player
SKU: 9071056
Shipped on 07/26/2013

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Netflix deal is over apparently.

So cancelling orders and removing the netflix promo. Hats off to those who got these early... was a good deal. At a full $35 with a month lead time... ehhh....

The cancled order thing with me is purely a Best Buy ####over.

What is with this?

 

[[icon]]

don't expect anyone at BB to actually be able to help you find it...

So true. Ive never met a less helpful lot than BB employees. If there are 15 employees on the floor, 5 are in the mobile phone area trying to hawk the latest iPhone/Galaxy... 7 are on break.. two are hammering away at a computer back in the CPU department and will scowl at you if you ask a question.... and then 1 girl with an IQ of about 85 running a register up front.

 

[Abraham]

Whoo-Hoo!

Good news! The item(s) listed below were shipped on July 26, 2013, and will be arriving soon.

QTY PRODUCT DESCRIPTION STATUS 2 Google - Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media PlayerSKU: 9071056

Shipped on 07/26/2013

Since you can only use one Netflix code per account, feel free to hook a brother up with the other one.

 

[Keerock]

Whoo-Hoo!

Good news! The item(s) listed below were shipped on July 26, 2013, and will be arriving soon.

QTY PRODUCT DESCRIPTION STATUS 2 Google - Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media PlayerSKU: 9071056

Shipped on 07/26/2013

Since you can only use one Netflix code per account, feel free to hook a brother up with the other one.

I only got one code... I have to call about the other.

 

[Abraham]

 

[culdeus]

wow you guys have them shipping already?

I see people are hacking them the hell up to be a NAS reader. :magical:

 

[Andy Dufresne]

wow you guys have them shipping already?

I see people are hacking them the hell up to be a NAS reader. :magical:

A what?

 

[Cliff Clavin]

wow you guys have them shipping already?

I see people are hacking them the hell up to be a NAS reader. :magical:

A what?

Networked Attached Storage.

 

[Bucks]

I was just able to order one online from Best Buy with the Netflix promo included as an item in the checkout cart. They must have got more in stock.

I originally ordered from Amazon but mine hasn't shipped and I ordered after the retroactive promotion time deadline right before my original post so I was worried I wouldn't get the Netflix code.

 

[Abraham]

What I really need is a pair of something that is this size that will transmit HD audio and video between two TVs. Right now the only options are not very heavy duty and use IR. Transmitting to another part of the house is no problem. Transmitting to an outside TV is a bit more problematic and most of the choices are not heavy duty enough to handle the elements much at all. So, yeah.

 

[culdeus]

What I really need is a pair of something that is this size that will transmit HD audio and video between two TVs. Right now the only options are not very heavy duty and use IR. Transmitting to another part of the house is no problem. Transmitting to an outside TV is a bit more problematic and most of the choices are not heavy duty enough to handle the elements much at all. So, yeah.

SLingbox down?

 

[Disco Stu]

I was just able to order one online from Best Buy with the Netflix promo included as an item in the checkout cart. They must have got more in stock.

I ordered one as well. Seemed to work fine.

 

[jamny]

I was just able to order one online from Best Buy with the Netflix promo included as an item in the checkout cart. They must have got more in stock.

I ordered one as well. Seemed to work fine.

Just did as well but have you gotten the netflix code?

 

[Slapdash]

Best Buy site says they are sold out. I put one in the cart to try again with these #######s and when i sumbitted the order the cart was suddenly empty...

 

[jamny]

Best Buy site says they are sold out. I put one in the cart to try again with these #######s and when i sumbitted the order the cart was suddenly empty...

yep, showing sold out now.

eta: oops, now it's back available

eta: now sold out again...

 

[Slapdash]

Best Buy site says they are sold out. I put one in the cart to try again with these #######s and when i sumbitted the order the cart was suddenly empty...

yep, showing sold out now.

I must have ####ed Best Buy's mom at somepoint. Unreal.

 

[Abraham]

What I really need is a pair of something that is this size that will transmit HD audio and video between two TVs. Right now the only options are not very heavy duty and use IR. Transmitting to another part of the house is no problem. Transmitting to an outside TV is a bit more problematic and most of the choices are not heavy duty enough to handle the elements much at all. So, yeah.

SLingbox down?

How would that work? i haven't had a slingbox in years.

 

[culdeus]

What I really need is a pair of something that is this size that will transmit HD audio and video between two TVs. Right now the only options are not very heavy duty and use IR. Transmitting to another part of the house is no problem. Transmitting to an outside TV is a bit more problematic and most of the choices are not heavy duty enough to handle the elements much at all. So, yeah.

SLingbox down?

How would that work? i haven't had a slingbox in years.

What exactly are you trying to do first of all.

 

[Abraham]

What I really need is a pair of something that is this size that will transmit HD audio and video between two TVs. Right now the only options are not very heavy duty and use IR. Transmitting to another part of the house is no problem. Transmitting to an outside TV is a bit more problematic and most of the choices are not heavy duty enough to handle the elements much at all. So, yeah.

SLingbox down?

How would that work? i haven't had a slingbox in years.

What exactly are you trying to do first of all.

I have an HD LCD outside. It's too expensive to get a jack dropped in because it's on a brick wall. SO I just run a coax out of the bedroom window around to the patio when I want to watch TV outside. It means the bedroom TV has to watch the same thing the outside TV watches which sucks during football season when the wife goes to bed and I am staying up watching a game. I've gone through two different $80-100 IR transmitters and they crap out pretty quickly and the picture quality sucks. I'm trying to get the signal from one of the 4 boxes in the house on to the TV outside which does not have a box.

 

[Disco Stu]

Best Buy site says they are sold out. I put one in the cart to try again with these #######s and when i sumbitted the order the cart was suddenly empty...

yep, showing sold out now.

eta: oops, now it's back available

eta: now sold out again...

No code yet. Says "order in progress".

 

[[icon]]

BTW... I checked all 3 of my flat screens and they all have an USB port within inches of an HDMI port

Are these standard inches or guy "inches"?

 

[Disco Stu]

BTW... I checked all 3 of my flat screens and they all have an USB port within inches of an HDMI port

Are these standard inches or guy "inches"?

I'm still giggling about this being described as a "2 inch bulbous dongle".

 

[Keerock]

BTW... I checked all 3 of my flat screens and they all have an USB port within inches of an HDMI port

Are these standard inches or guy "inches"?

Guy inches... so about a foot.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

My TV doubles as my computer monitor, so whenever I watch YouTube or whatever on my computer, I'm already automatically watching it on my TV. (The screen connects to my cable box via HDMI and to my computer via VGA).

If I'm understanding this correctly, I'd get zero benefit out of Chromecast, right? (My computer is literally three feet from my TV, so using a wire to connect isn't a problem.)

 

[culdeus]

What I really need is a pair of something that is this size that will transmit HD audio and video between two TVs. Right now the only options are not very heavy duty and use IR. Transmitting to another part of the house is no problem. Transmitting to an outside TV is a bit more problematic and most of the choices are not heavy duty enough to handle the elements much at all. So, yeah.

SLingbox down?

How would that work? i haven't had a slingbox in years.

What exactly are you trying to do first of all.

I have an HD LCD outside. It's too expensive to get a jack dropped in because it's on a brick wall. SO I just run a coax out of the bedroom window around to the patio when I want to watch TV outside. It means the bedroom TV has to watch the same thing the outside TV watches which sucks during football season when the wife goes to bed and I am staying up watching a game. I've gone through two different $80-100 IR transmitters and they crap out pretty quickly and the picture quality sucks. I'm trying to get the signal from one of the 4 boxes in the house on to the TV outside which does not have a box.

Wifi slingbox might help you in this case. Maybe. The IR transmitter is for what? The remote?

 

[jamny]

I was just able to order one online from Best Buy with the Netflix promo included as an item in the checkout cart. They must have got more in stock.

I originally ordered from Amazon but mine hasn't shipped and I ordered after the retroactive promotion time deadline right before my original post so I was worried I wouldn't get the Netflix code.

Thanks for the heads up!

Don't ask me how or why but I ordered after you posted and just got my netflix coupon and redeemed it. Cancelled my amazon order.

 

[belljr]

so how is this diifferent than plugging my laptop into the hdmi on my tv?

 

[jamny]

so how is this diifferent than plugging my laptop into the hdmi on my tv?

Well, for one, you can continue doing what your doing on your laptop, tablet or phone while whatever video your playing plays on the TV.

 

[belljr]

so how is this diifferent than plugging my laptop into the hdmi on my tv?

Well, for one, you can continue doing what your doing on your laptop, tablet or phone while whatever video your playing plays on the TV.

ah, nice i just wasnt sure, does this work with tablets?just read more, is it currently just limited to netflix and youtube or can i stream anything

 

[Keerock]

so how is this diifferent than plugging my laptop into the hdmi on my tv?

Well, for one, you can continue doing what your doing on your laptop, tablet or phone while whatever video your playing plays on the TV.

ah, nice i just wasnt sure, does this work with tablets?just read more, is it currently just limited to netflix and youtube or can i stream anything

Also anything from a Chrome browser tab.

 

[Tony Jabroni]

My TV doubles as my computer monitor, so whenever I watch YouTube or whatever on my computer, I'm already automatically watching it on my TV. (The screen connects to my cable box via HDMI and to my computer via VGA).

If I'm understanding this correctly, I'd get zero benefit out of Chromecast, right? (My computer is literally three feet from my TV, so using a wire to connect isn't a problem.)

This is my question as well. Same setup.