More Reasons to Love the Google Chromecast!
1) You can watch anything that you can view in your web browser. I have been talking about this feature for a while. But, I am not sure folks “get” this feature even yet! For instance, there are TV shows on CBS, and other TV networks’ web sites, where they have full episodes available to view in your browser. Once you start a show in the Chrome browser window, then you can go “full screen” in the player, and if that is in a tab cast to your TV via Chromecast… guess what? You have a full screen TV show via Chromecast! Want to watch the latest version of RWBY on the Roosterteeth web site, guess what? Full screen on your HDTV in your living room! Now even your web-based shows are available!
2) Watch your own local (on your hard drive) videos. Wait! I thought that you couldn’t do that with the Chromecast! Yes, you can… because anything that you can view in your Chrome browser window, you can watch on your TV screen! So… all you have to do is open a local video file in your Chrome browser using the “Control-O” command in Chrome. It will come up in a player within Chrome, then you can hit the “full screen” button in the lower right corner of the player. (Basically, it is the HTML5 player.) Since Chrome supports file format viewing for such formats as AVI, MP4, M4V, MPEG, OGV, and WEBM videos, you can then watch you own local videos using this hack!
3) Do you want to show your entire PC screen on your HDTV? Maybe you want to show someone how to do something in a training setting? Well, you can! It is an “experimental” feature, but it is available. Just open your Chrome browser, click on the “Cast this tab…” option as usual, then select the drop down menu, and choose to cast your whole screen! As I said, it IS experimental, but, you can do it!