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Chromecast
Chromecast is a line of digital media players that were developed by Google from 2013 to 2024. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The user can control playback with a mobile device or personal computer through mobile and web apps that can use the Google Cast protocol, or by issuing commands via Google Assistant; later models introduced a navigable user interface and remote control. Content can be mirrored to video models from the Google Chrome web browser on a personal computer or from the screen of some Android devices.
The first-generation Chromecast, a video streaming device, was announced on July 24, 2013, and made available for purchase on the same day in the United States for US$35 (equivalent to $47.24 in 2024). The second-generation Chromecast and an audio-only model called Chromecast Audio were released in September 2015. A model called Chromecast Ultra that can display 4K resolution and high dynamic range was released in November 2016. A third generation of the HD video Chromecast was released in October 2018. The final models, called Chromecast with Google TV, were the first in the product line to feature an interactive user interface and remote control; a 4K version was released in September 2020, followed by a 1080p version in September 2022.
Critics praised the first-generation Chromecast's simplicity and potential for future app support. The Google Cast SDK was released on February 3, 2014, allowing third parties to modify their software to work with Chromecast and other Cast receivers. By May 2015, more than 1.5 billion stream requests had been initiated and over 20,000 Cast-ready apps had been made available, according to Google. Chromecast was the best-selling streaming device in the United States in 2014, according to NPD Group. Over 100 million Chromecast devices were sold over 11 years, according to Google. Many technology publications included Chromecast on their lists of popular and influential products of the 2010s. In 2024, the Chromecast product line was discontinued and replaced with the Google TV Streamer.
The Chromecast was originally conceived by engineer Majd Bakar. His inspiration for the product came around 2008 after noticing the film-viewing tendencies of his wife Carla Hindie. Using her laptop, she would search for a film to watch on a streaming service and add it to her queue, before closing her laptop and using a gaming device to play the film on a television. She took these steps because she found television interfaces difficult to use when searching for content. Rishi Chandra, who previously headed up development of the Google TV operating system, had similar experiences at home, as his wife watched YouTube videos in their living room on a laptop rather than on a television because she found it "too much of a pain" to play videos on their television. Bakar found the whole process inefficient and wanted to build a phone-based interface that would allow video to play on a large display through a small hardware device.
After joining Google in 2011 to work on products that "would change how people used their TVs", Bakar pitched the idea for the Chromecast. In 2012, a small team split off from the Google TV team to begin development of the Chromecast; Chandra described it as a "true kind of little mini startup inside of Google". At the time, Google had limited experience manufacturing its own devices and was partnering with other companies for its Google Nexus line of devices. The Chromecast team subsequently enlisted an employee from Motorola, which Google had just acquired at the time, to coordinate manufacturing as a "20% time" side project. Google originally targeted an introductory price of US$25 for the Chromecast but had not accounted for factors such as certification testing and retailers' profit margins; the company ultimately settled on a US$35 price point for the first model. Late in 2012, Bakar brought home a beta version of the product for Hindie to test. The device was launched in July 2013.
According to a complaint filed against Google as part of a patent lawsuit, Google employees reportedly held several meetings with the company Touchstream in December 2011 to discuss its casting technology. However, Google later conveyed that it was not interested in Touchstream's technology. About 18 months later, Google introduced its Chromecast media-streaming devices, which were allegedly based on the technology demonstrated during those earlier meetings.
All Chromecast devices offer at least two methods to stream content: the first employs mobile and web apps that include the Google Cast technology; the second, which applies to video models, allows mirroring of content from the web browser Google Chrome running on a personal computer, as well as content displayed on some Android devices. In both cases, playback is initiated through the "cast" button on the sender device.
When no content is streamed, video-capable Chromecasts display a user-personalizable content feed called "Backdrop" that can include featured and personal photos, artwork, weather, satellite images, weather forecasts, and news.
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Chromecast
Chromecast is a line of digital media players that were developed by Google from 2013 to 2024. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The user can control playback with a mobile device or personal computer through mobile and web apps that can use the Google Cast protocol, or by issuing commands via Google Assistant; later models introduced a navigable user interface and remote control. Content can be mirrored to video models from the Google Chrome web browser on a personal computer or from the screen of some Android devices.
The first-generation Chromecast, a video streaming device, was announced on July 24, 2013, and made available for purchase on the same day in the United States for US$35 (equivalent to $47.24 in 2024). The second-generation Chromecast and an audio-only model called Chromecast Audio were released in September 2015. A model called Chromecast Ultra that can display 4K resolution and high dynamic range was released in November 2016. A third generation of the HD video Chromecast was released in October 2018. The final models, called Chromecast with Google TV, were the first in the product line to feature an interactive user interface and remote control; a 4K version was released in September 2020, followed by a 1080p version in September 2022.
Critics praised the first-generation Chromecast's simplicity and potential for future app support. The Google Cast SDK was released on February 3, 2014, allowing third parties to modify their software to work with Chromecast and other Cast receivers. By May 2015, more than 1.5 billion stream requests had been initiated and over 20,000 Cast-ready apps had been made available, according to Google. Chromecast was the best-selling streaming device in the United States in 2014, according to NPD Group. Over 100 million Chromecast devices were sold over 11 years, according to Google. Many technology publications included Chromecast on their lists of popular and influential products of the 2010s. In 2024, the Chromecast product line was discontinued and replaced with the Google TV Streamer.
The Chromecast was originally conceived by engineer Majd Bakar. His inspiration for the product came around 2008 after noticing the film-viewing tendencies of his wife Carla Hindie. Using her laptop, she would search for a film to watch on a streaming service and add it to her queue, before closing her laptop and using a gaming device to play the film on a television. She took these steps because she found television interfaces difficult to use when searching for content. Rishi Chandra, who previously headed up development of the Google TV operating system, had similar experiences at home, as his wife watched YouTube videos in their living room on a laptop rather than on a television because she found it "too much of a pain" to play videos on their television. Bakar found the whole process inefficient and wanted to build a phone-based interface that would allow video to play on a large display through a small hardware device.
After joining Google in 2011 to work on products that "would change how people used their TVs", Bakar pitched the idea for the Chromecast. In 2012, a small team split off from the Google TV team to begin development of the Chromecast; Chandra described it as a "true kind of little mini startup inside of Google". At the time, Google had limited experience manufacturing its own devices and was partnering with other companies for its Google Nexus line of devices. The Chromecast team subsequently enlisted an employee from Motorola, which Google had just acquired at the time, to coordinate manufacturing as a "20% time" side project. Google originally targeted an introductory price of US$25 for the Chromecast but had not accounted for factors such as certification testing and retailers' profit margins; the company ultimately settled on a US$35 price point for the first model. Late in 2012, Bakar brought home a beta version of the product for Hindie to test. The device was launched in July 2013.
According to a complaint filed against Google as part of a patent lawsuit, Google employees reportedly held several meetings with the company Touchstream in December 2011 to discuss its casting technology. However, Google later conveyed that it was not interested in Touchstream's technology. About 18 months later, Google introduced its Chromecast media-streaming devices, which were allegedly based on the technology demonstrated during those earlier meetings.
All Chromecast devices offer at least two methods to stream content: the first employs mobile and web apps that include the Google Cast technology; the second, which applies to video models, allows mirroring of content from the web browser Google Chrome running on a personal computer, as well as content displayed on some Android devices. In both cases, playback is initiated through the "cast" button on the sender device.
When no content is streamed, video-capable Chromecasts display a user-personalizable content feed called "Backdrop" that can include featured and personal photos, artwork, weather, satellite images, weather forecasts, and news.