Google's Chromecast, in a promotional photo
Seven years ago Google tried to revolutionize the way to stream content from mobile to TV with its first Chromecast.
This device allowed using the
smartphone
to turn off the television, pause the image or vary the volume.
The company has been adding new functions to this device.
The new version, which has reached the market this month, comes for the first time accompanied by a command.
With the push of a button, the user can voice search zombie movies, play
country
music
(or any other), consult your agenda and ask all kinds of questions: from how far away is the Moon to how many people live in Australia.
And, if you have other connected devices in the home such as thermostats, cameras or smart lights, it is also possible to control them with the remote control of the TV.
EL PAÍS has tested this device for a few days.
The first step in using the Chromecast is to connect it to the television - to an HDMI port - and to the electrical outlet.
The device has a compact and slim design and is designed so that when connected to the television it is not visible.
The next step is to download the Google Home application on your mobile and follow the instructions that appear on the TV.
You can choose to enter a letter code on your
smartphone
or scan a QR code.
All the configuration only takes a few minutes and is done from the mobile.
Once the Chromecast is connected to a Wi-Fi network, the TV becomes smart.
In this way, it is possible to send content to the screen from a mobile, computer or tablet, and use applications such as YouTube, Netflix, Disney +, Movistar + or Prime Video to view videos or movies.
With this unit, it is possible to play back movies at up to 4K HDR and 60 frames per second.
Buttons for Netflix and Youtube
To navigate through the interface, it is necessary to use the remote that, for the first time, comes with the Chromecast.
It is quite small and light and runs on two batteries.
With it, the experience improves notably, since the user does not have to depend so much on the mobile.
The remote is used, for example, to turn on the television or control the sound.
But if it is characterized by something, it is because it has a button to directly open YouTube, another to quickly access Netflix and another to invoke the Google assistant.
For the latter, you just have to keep the button pressed and pronounce any order.
Show me the photos of Los Angeles
is one of the many phrases that the assistant can be asked to show on the TV screen images that the user has stored in Google Photos.
In general, the option of using this wizard is especially useful for requesting a specific series or movie to be played without wasting time searching for it on your platform.
This possibility of interacting with the television by voice is already common in other similar devices such as the Amazon Fire TV Stick.
Google tv
The technology giant also launches a new interface called
Google TV.
On the main page, the first thing that appears are personalized recommendations for series and movies based on what the user has seen and what may interest them.
It shows content from different video platforms such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, and it is possible both to view them at the moment and to save them in a list called
pending
to view them later.
A little further down, the downloaded applications are shown, on the one hand, and movies and series arranged in categories on the other.
For example, in the tests carried out by this newspaper among the popular proposals, films such as
Wonder stand out.
o
When I find you.
Among the newest, there are some like
Nocturne
,
Time
or
Black Box.
In addition, the system also recommends YouTube videos taking into account the user's tastes.
Regardless of the fact that using a device like this means giving a portion more - and not less - of our privacy to big technology, in general Google's Chromecast works correctly.
If you already have a smart TV, it probably won't make much of a difference to the user.
But if you have an old television or if you are unhappy with the system you use, it may be a good option.
The Chromecast can be purchased in three colors - white, blue and coral - for 69.99 euros.
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