How to set up Chromecast
Prima di enter the live of this tutorial and spiegarti how Chromecast works, you may find it useful to know the procedure for connecting the HDMI dongle produced by Google to your TV and the instructions necessary to carry out its first configuration.
First, take the Chromecast and insert it into theHDMI input of your TV, then take the USB cable supplied and insert one end into the Chromecast slot and the other end into theUSB input of the TV. Alternatively, you can also power the device by plugging it into an electrical outlet at home (the only option available if you're using a Chromecast Ultra with 4K support). To learn more, you can read my guide on how to connect Chromecast.
Once this is done, download and launch the app Google Home for Android or iOS / iPadOS on your smartphone, i.e. the app needed to set up Chromecast. After starting the application in question, press the button Start, select your Google account and start the wizard to create a new home and add all detected devices.
If, on the other hand, you have a Google Home smart speaker and you have already configured it, press the button +, top left, and choose your options Configure device e Set up new devices, to add Chromecast.
On the screen Choose a home, select yours casa, award-winning NEXT, wait for your Chromecast to be recognized and tap the button NEXT, then make sure that the code shown on the TV screen is identical to the one displayed on your smartphone and press on the items Yes e OK.
Finally, put the check mark next to the item related to room in which Chromecast is located, tap the button NEXT, insertion il name device (es. chromecast o TV) in the appropriate field, choose the network Wi-Fi to which to connect the device and tap the button Continue, to complete the configuration. For the detailed procedure, I leave you to my guide on how to install and configure Chromecast.
How Google Chromecast works
Once the first setup is complete, you are ready to find out how Google's Chromecast works. In this regard, you will be happy to know that you can use the device in question to transmit the contents of your interest on the TV both from smartphones and tablets and from computers. Also, if you have a Google Home device, you can also start a Chromecast cast using voice commands. Interesting, right?
How Chromecast works with Android
If your intention is to use Chromecast child Android, in order to watch the content of your interest from the TV at home, all you have to do is connect your smartphone or tablet to the same Wi-Fi network to which Chromecast is connected, start the app of your interest from the compatible ones (eg. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, RaiPlay, NOW TV, Facebook, TIMvision etc.) and press the icon of the broadcast, to connect the two devices.
To understand better, let's take a practical example using RaiPlay, the official Rai application as a reference: after starting the app in question and logging into your account, press on thecover image of the content of your interest, to start playing it, then tap on the icon broadcast (the screen with waves) and, on the screen Send to, click on the option chromecast (or on the name you have associated with the device), to continue watching on the TV. For the detailed procedure, you can read my guide on how to watch RaiPlay with Chromecast.
In addition to broadcasting the content of your interest, you should know that you can also use Chromecast to cast the screen of your Android device. In this case, start the Google Home app, tap on the item chromecast and, in the new screen that appears, tap on the option Transmit the screen per due turn consecutive.
By doing so, you will be able to view on your TV any content available on your smartphone or tablet (e.g. photos, videos, etc.) and any applications installed on the latter. To stop the transmission of the screen, instead, start the Google Home app again, tap on the item chromecast, award-winning Stop mirroring And that's it.
How Chromecast works with iPhone
As for the operation of Chromecast child iPhone, you should know that you can cast the contents of compatible applications to the TV but not the screen of your iPhone / iPad on the TV, at least not officially. I say this because there are third-party apps, such as Replica, which allows you to project the iPhone and iPad screen on the TV, via Chromecast, using the screen recording technique (which involves a small delay compared to AirPlay).
As I indicated in the lines dedicated to the use of Chromecast with Android, even on iPhone, after connecting the phone and Chromecast to the same Wi-Fi network, simply start the application of your interest among those compatible with the Google dongle. , press the icon of broadcast and start playing your favorite content.
For example, if you want to watch a movie on TIMvision, start the TIM video streaming service app and, on its main screen, tap the icon of the broadcast placed at the top. Now, select the item chromecast, to connect your iPhone to the TV, press oncover image of the content to watch and tap the button Guarda, to start playback. Simple, right?
For screen mirroring, however, start Reply, allow the use of Bluetoothselect il chromecast to use and press the buttons I will start e Start transmission.
How Chromecast works with PC
If you are wondering how Chromecast works with PC, you need to know that all you need is Google Chrome. With function Broadcast of the famous browser, in fact, you can transmit online content, your computer screen and even local video files.
To use Chromecast from PC, start Google Chrome for Windows, macOS or Linux, click on the i icon three dots located at the top right and select the option Broadcast from the menu that appears. Now, tap on the item References and choose one of the available options: Send card to cast a Google Chrome card; Cast desktop to display the desktop of your computer on the TV e Transmit files to select a video or audio file available on your PC to be cast with Chromecast.
Once this is done, select the name associated with yours chromecast And that's it. At any time, you can stop the broadcast by clicking on the icon wireless transmission (the display with the Wi-Fi waves next to it) and pressing the icon of square related to Chromecast.
It will be useful to know that some video streaming services (eg Netflix, YouTube etc.) allow you to start the transmission of a content by clicking directly on the icon of the wireless transmission, without having to use the function Broadcast. Even in this case, however, it is necessary to use Google Chrome.
How Chromecast works with Google Home
As mentioned above, you can use Chromecast to play content on your TV via Google Home. The latter, in fact, allows you to start playing the contents of Netflix, Infinity, Google Play Film and YouTube (including YouTube Kids) using voice commands.
If you have already completed the Google Home configuration and connected Chromecast as I indicated in the initial lines of this guide, take your smartphone or tablet, start the Google Home app and press on the item Settings.
In the new screen that appears, locate the section Google Assistant Services, fai tap sull'opzione TV and video e premi sull'opzione Fellow worker relating to the service of your interest between Netflix, Infinity e YouTube Kids (It is not necessary to link YouTube and Google Play Movies, as they are already associated with the Google account in use on Google Home).
Then click on the option Colleague account and enter the credentials of the chosen account in the appropriate fields, to complete the connection. At this point, you are ready to start playing the content of your interest using voice commands. To do this, simply say "OK Google, play [content name] on Netflix"Or"Hey Google, show me a funny video on YouTube".
Finally, it will be useful to know that you can also use Google Home and Chromecast to turn your TV on and off via voice commands. In this case, however, the television must be equipped with HDMI-CEC technology and with the CEC function (Consumer Electronics Control) enabled. To learn more, you can check out my guide on how to connect Google Home to TV.
How Chromecast works with Netflix
If your intention is to use Chromecast con Netflix, you will be happy to know that you can stream your favorite content on your home TV from both smartphones and tablets as well as computers.
In the first case, start the Netflix app (Android / iOS / iPadOS) and, if you haven't already done so, press the button Log in, to access your account, by entering the data in the fields Email or phone number e Password.
Once this is done, click on the icon broadcast, at the bottom right, and select the item chromecast (or the name associated with the device) on the screen Connect to device, to establish the connection. At this point, locate the content you want to watch, start playing it and, automatically, it will be played on your TV. To stop the broadcast, start the Netflix app again, press the icon broadcast e seleziona l'opzione Disconnect.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to proceed from a computer, start Google Chrome, connected to the official Netflix site, log in to your account, locate the content of your interest and start playing it. Then press the icon of broadcast, at the bottom right, select chromecast give the menu to compare.
How Chromecast works with DAZN
To watch DAZN with Chromecast, start the application of the famous sports streaming service for Android and iOS / iPadOS and, if you haven't already done so, press the button Log in, to login.
On the main screen of your account, tap on the icon of broadcast located in the top menu and on the screen Send to, click on the option chromecast (or on the name associated with the device). Once the connection between your smartphone or tablet and the TV is established, select the content you want to watch so that it can be played on your TV.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to transmit DAZN contents from a computer, all you have to do is connect to the official website of the service using Google Chrome and activate the function Broadcast browser, as I indicated in the lines dedicated to the operation of Chromecast from PC of this guide.
How Chromecast works with YouTube
You would like to know how Chromecast works with YouTube? In this case, you will be happy to know that you can play the videos of your interest on the TV both using the YouTube application for smartphones and tablets and from a computer, by connecting to the famous Google video sharing platform using Chrome.
To proceed, take your smartphone or tablet and, first, make sure you are connected to the same Wi-Fi network that Chromecast is connected to. Then start the YouTube app for Android or iOS / iPadOS, tap on the icon broadcast located at the top and select the option chromecast give the menu to compare.
Wait, then, for the connection between your smartphone / tablet and Chromecast to be established (you will see the message Connected to [device name]) and start playing the video you want to watch by tapping on its immagine d'anteprima and selecting the option Start. By pressing, instead, on the item In line, you can add the video in question to the video queue to be viewed later.
From the computer, instead, start Google Chrome, connected to the main YouTube page, access the page containing the video to watch and press on the item Play on TV (l'icona della broadcast) visible in the player's multimedia command bar.
Now, select chromecast from the menu that appears, to establish the connection between the computer and the TV and, if you have not already done so, press the ▶ ︎ button to start playing the video in question and enjoy the viewing.
How Chromecast Built-in Works
Some TVs, such as Smart TVs from Philips, Sony, Sharp and Toshiba, are equipped with Integrated Chromecast. This means that to send audio and video streams to your TV from smartphones, tablets and computers, it is not necessary to purchase the “physical” version of Chromecast.
All you need to do is connect the TV with integrated Chromecast to the Internet (in this regard, my guide on how to connect the TV to Wi-Fi might be useful) and then proceed with the configuration using the Google Home app for Android and iPhone / iPad.
That said, you will be happy to know that there is no difference in the operation between Chromecast and integrated Chromecast: the procedure for casting content to the TV and mirroring the screen of your Android device is identical to what I indicated in the previous paragraphs. More info here.
How Chromecast works
