Netflix, Hulu don’t work in India, though.
By Dileep Thekkethil
BENGALURU: A year after making its debut in the US, Google has finally launched the Wi-Fi based media streaming device Chromecast in India via e-commerce website Snapdeal for Rs. 2,999 ($48).
The launch was announced by Google on Tuesday ahead of the company’s Great Online Shopping Festival that kick started Tuesday midnight. Google also unveiled its latest flagship smartphone Nexus 6 on the first day of the festival, which will conclude on Friday night.
Chromecast is currently available in the US for $35.
Chromecast is a thumb stick that looks similar to a USB dongle, but this digital media casting device is compatible only with the HDMI port of LCD and LED TV’s. The device allows users to stream digital media using chrome browser and any iOS or Android device which has Hulu, Netflix, YouTube or Google Play app installed. Unfortunately, Hulu and Netflix don’t work in India.
In addition to Google Play Movies and YouTube, the Chromecast users in India can also stream from the apps of Google’s partners like Eros Now, Spull and YuppTV.
Chromecast is an easy to use device. Users have to connect the device in the HDMI port of the TV using the USB port as the power source. In case if the TV doesn’t have a USB port, Google is offering a power plug that users can connect to the external power source.
On connecting the device, the TV will display the Setup name of the Chromecast device that needs to be entered into the official Chromecast website of google with URL www.google.com/chromecast/setup. On registering, the device users can download the Chromecast application on their smartphones or in the chrome browser of the laptop, which can be later used for casting.
With Chromecast now out in the India Market, Airtel and Eros has come up with special subscription offers for Chromecast customers in India. Eros is planning to give two months of unlimited free access to Chromecast customers and this offer is even valid for popular Bollywood or regional movies, music and TV shows.
On the other hand, Airtel is offering its existing customers who buy Chromecast a whopping 30 GB 3G data for a period of 3 Months and new subscribers can avail this offer by activating a plan of Rs. 1000.
Unlike its competitor Apple TV, Chromecast doesn’t allow streaming of personal content. According to Google, this feature, if enabled, might lead to copyright infringement. Currently, all media content beamed using Chromecast pass through a media server.
In the future, Indian app developers will have to add support for Chromecast in order for users to be able to beam content from the app to their TV’s. But fortunately Google has enabled the Chromecast extension in Chrome browser, enabling users to cast any page, video, music that they play in the browser to the device. Beaming via Chrome browser is not as fast as the other methods and users may experience lag in what they see in the browser and the TV. Chromecast also allows a few high end Android devices to sync their screens to the TV; Nexus phones are one among them.