Google Chromecast 1st Generation (2013)

Useless junk, lagging, lagging and lagging – Don't waste your money on this useless junk. It's lagging on all occasions, even when you watch their own YouTube. Worst Google product possibly. If you really want to do mirroring, invest on a proper TV. Show details

Great product with further opportunity – when the GEN 1 came out t was a must have, it offer the opprotunity to make any TV with HDMI to become a smart TV. This at the time saved Hundreds $ $ $ $, of the cost of purchasing a dedicated smart TV. In the way of limitations it would be great if it could be used with out the need of a network.  Show details

Good fir youtube – Works well with youtube. My kids send the videos via their tablets and it is quite stable. Out internet do not seem to stream netflix as well and does paise to reload quite often. Think that is more an internet issue than anything to do with the chrome cast itself.  Show details

Great little unit – Great little product, i can stream online programs through its inbuilt apps including Youtube, Netflix and Red, I can surf the web using its Google app which is great, it uses the WIFI to download so no wire, i can also connect my Samsung S7 and view me videos ans music.  Show details

Works well – Easy to setup. I do not have a smart TV and I did not want long, messy cables. I mainly use it for Netflix but I can easily cast other things from my PC etc. When watching Netflix, I can use voice control from my 'Google Home' to pause, stop, fast forward, rewind etc.  Show details

It's a little miracle – I just love my chromecast. Why do you even need to waste money on a smart tv? This thing does everything and more. Steady connection always never drops out. The kids bloody love it streaming youtube onto the tv from the ipad. The partner i love it as we stream netflix from out phone onto the big screen. Awesome and have recommended these to all my family and friends.  Show details

This product is excellent, using it everyday – I don't have a smart TV at home, I got this product as a gift from friends, however, I love it since the first time I use it. I am using it for Youtube streaming and the requirement for the bandwidth to stream high quality video is minimal as compared to other products.  Show details

Wow. Great even though I have an iphone – Wasn't sure If I should have bought this product as I only use Iphones. glad I did, works easily and perfectly without the need for a separate power. Mainly use it for Netflix but able to cast some other features as well. Easy to use. not hard to setup and connects to wireless network easily  Show details

Best invention! – We LOVE our Chromecast! It meant that we could buy a cheaper TV and then use the Chromecast to watch Netflix, etc from our phones! We have had no issues with ours at all, its quick, responsive, easy to use, and a great invention! We use ours all the time and have had no issues at all. Definitely recommend it!  Show details

Used to be great, not any more – After changes were made to the chrome cast extension software certain developer settings where omitted. The settings were vital in fine tuning the device for streaming. Although the developers insist that these settings are no longer needed, i can no longer use the product. Currently looking for an alternative device for streaming.  Show details

Not useful as it needs internet to acesss it – The reason for buying it was because I was told by the sales guy this could replace my HDMI cables which I used it to connect from my laptop to the TV because my old TV don't have bluetooth function or USB and it will also free up cables laying around everywhere. After connecting it, I realised it needs to have internet connection before I can… Read more

use it and it is only good for casting YouTube videos onto the TV but I usually download my stuff on my laptop or external harddrive before I watched them and Chromecast cannot cast my saved items to the TV unlike the HDMI cables which can do it instantly.

So this has become a white elephant in my house and since then I changed a new TV with USB points so I can just pluck my HDD in n watched what I saved immediately.

Definitely plug and play ! – Worked first time with Netflix. Loaded app on iphone and Samsung - no issues. Would highly recommend. Purchased the Ultra version. Easy to use for any ages. Already downloaded google pictures to view iphone photos on the large screen TV! Only a small device and easy to move between different TVs. Faster download speed than TV wireless.  Show details

Incredibly annoying! – Watching youtube is like a game of russian roulette at times. So many times the device paused, unpaused, and changed the time in the video by itself. Im watching a video nicely when suddenly IT SKIPS TO THE MIDDLE, or SKIPS TO THE NEXT VIDEO, STOPS CASTING, SKIPS TO THE BEGINNING OF THE VIDEO, JUST GOES CRAZY! It's the most annoying thing ever… Read more

when I pause my casting, go to a different room, and come back to the video paying from somewhere in the middle. I've probably sent above 15 official bug reports to chromecast, but it seems like they honestly don't give a crap. I'm pretty sure the amazon firestick will do better.

Worst customer service – The power plug was faulty and stopped turning on the device within 2 months. Had to operate on USB for months. When contacted Google when I really needed the power plug, they refused to replace the plug citing a month out of warranty. Worst customer service ever, put me on hold multiple times and after about half an hour of wasting my time, they refused to replace the pissy little plug. Never Google products again.  Show details

Great device, highly recommend, only minor drawbacks – I purchased the Chromecast in November, and I've been pretty impressed so far. I was initially concerned that my home wi-fi would be too poor to get the most out of this device, but the Chromecast has been able to play HD videos ranging from a few minutes up to 1 hour or more with only 1 or 2 minor buffering pauses. I mainly use an Android… Read more

tablet to cast, but have also used a Galaxy S5, an iPhone 6, and an iPad with no issues.

The YouTube app for Chromecast is great, my only problem is that some videos will automatically stream in HD, while others do not (even if HD capable), and I haven't yet found a way to manually adjust the picture quality. I suspect this is an issue with the internet connection, rather than the device itself. A few other video streaming apps, such as the Vimeo and Vevo apps, both crashed my tablet within 20 seconds of casting a video - I'm unsure why this happened and was unable to resolve the issue.

Setup for this device is super easy, although users should be aware that the dongle requires external power, either from a normal power socket, or through a USB port in the TV (meaning it will use both an HDMI port and a USB port at the same time). Mirroring your device screen is very handy, although I have had it drop out if the device sleeps too long, but this can be fixed with a simple disconnect/reconnect step.

Overall I would definitely recommend this product, and for less than $50 it can really improve the way you consume online media, especially if you usually use a tablet or phone rather than a comprehensive computer setup.

Severely LIMITED, questionable and over hyped device – Chromecast doesn't do much more than a good Smart TV doesn't already. It is easy to set up, and has some apps to use, but here are the reasons why it has stayed in my drawer permanently. Firstly, good luck maintaining a cast more than a few minutes at a time. Constant drop-outs and lags make this a really poor replacement for the HDMI cable. … Read more

You can game with it or watch YouTube for short periods, but it's hardly worth the effort. Secondly, this device will only work if connected to the Internet. Forget streaming anything from your home network or using it on the road unless you are constantly connected. Why Google needs to send data offsite is a mystery. Thirdly, when starting up, if your router is not swtiched on, the Chromecast creates an open WiFi network which is a security risk which Google admits on its message boards be used by someone to cast to your television. None of these things really make me want to use it.