Chromecast, what a marvelous little piece of technology it is. Chromecast is a HDMI dongle that you can plug into your TV and be able to cast music, movies and much more to your TV from your smartphone. Heck you can even play games, and use your smartphone as the controller. It’s pretty cool, for just $35. So let’s check out some of the best apps available for Chromecast.
LocalCast for Chromecast/DLNA
LocalCast is a good option for those that may have locally stored content that they want to cast. LocalCast can cast to Chromecast as well as a slew of other set-top boxes, including Roku, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It’s a good way to watch TV shows from an app that doesn’t have Chromecast support.
Google Play Movies
Of course we had to put Google Play Movies on this list. With Google Play Movies you can watch many movies and TV shows right there on your phone or tablet, and also cast them to your TV with ease. Google allows you to buy or rent shows and movies from the Google Play Movies app, making it seamless to find something to watch.
Spotify Music
Now Spotify has finally added support for Google Chromecast. So you can stream your music to your TV over WiFi, instead of using Bluetooth – which some TV’s have and some don’t. The main advantage here is the fact that you can get even higher quality music out of Spotify when compared to Bluetooth.
Hulu
Known for their many TV shows and movies that are available, Hulu is also compatible with Chromecast. Miss the latest episode of Scandal? No problem, you’ll be able to stream it the day after it airs, and you can cast it onto your TV and watch it on the big screen. Making for a much better experience in the long run.
Plex for Android
If you don’t know what Plex is, you must be living under a rock. If you have a ton of movies and TV shows on your computer (or even an external hard drive) Plex allows you to create a server within your house to stream local media. You can also stream it when you’re not at home, over other networks. Plex now has support for Chromecast, so instead of watching on your smartphone, you can cast it to your TV for even better viewing.
Google Cast
This is the main app for Chromecast, allowing you to set up your Chromecast to your WiFi network and that sort of thing. But it’s also a great app to keep installed. It can show you what’s currently playing or popular on many of the Chromecast enabled apps that you have installed. Making it easier to find something to watch.
Netflix
Netflix is pretty popular, to say the least. They have all sorts of shows and movies that are original and only found on Netflix. Luckily you can cast these to your TV using Chromecast or Google Cast. So you’ll be able to binge watch the entire first season of Fuller House on the big screen without any issues.
YouTube
Perhaps one of the biggest video sites around – actually it is – YouTube has loads and loads of content. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s another thousand videos for you to watch. And with Google Cast support you can stream it all onto your TV with ease. YouTube has a quick little Cast button in the corner and connects to your TV pretty quickly.
Pocket Casts
Who would have thought that a podcast catcher would have Chromecast support? These days with many podcasts doing video as well as audio, it only makes sense. So now you can actually watch, instead of just listen, to your favorite podcast on your TV. It’s definitely a great thing to have.
NBA 2015-16
The 2015-16 NBA season has ended, but the playoffs are just starting. Now you can watch LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers as well as Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors battle through to the NBA Finals for a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals, all on your big screen TV. Without needing to use your cable box. Thanks to having Google Cast support!