Posted on by Jenny

Do you Chromecast? {+ a giveaway!!}

The product for this review was supplied to me by Staples. All opinions are my own. 

google chromecast

Normally I am not too into “gadgets” – I leave the technological toys to my husband. But when I heard about Google Chromecast, I was intrigued.  Streaming media from my phone to my TV? Not having to search for the remote when I want to turn on Netflix or Pandora? Wee-hoo! I mean, I always have my phone on me, so that’s pretty convenient. Still, I am generally not very adept at using anything gadget-y, so I was worried I’d have a hard time figuring the Chromecast out. However, it is SUPER easy to use. You just plug it into the HDMI port on your TV, like so:

chromecast plugged in tv

And then open up any of your apps that stream media – Netflix, Hulu Plus, Pandora, YouTube, etc. and look for the Chromecast symbol.

pandora chromecast

Then ya tap on the little Chromecast symbol and your smartphone or tablet asks you want to play the show or music you’ve selected on your device or on your TV (which will be named whatever you choose to name your Chromecast. My husband chose to name ours “rapson2000”.) Choose your Chromecast  and VOILA – your show is playing on the big screen! It’s toooo cool! Thanks to the magic of wi-fi, this easy-to-use, convenient technology communicates with your phone/tablet and your TV. Craaazy!

screen shot chromecast netflix

I am totally loving this thing. I was skeptical because I really didn’t fully understand what it did, or how easy it would be to use. Now, if Jonah wants to watch one of his favorite YouTube videos (I do let him watch short music videos or home videos of our family), all I have to do is send it from my phone to the TV instead of getting out my computer or letting him hold my phone. It’s so nice!

Want to try a Chromecast for yourself? Well, they are very reasonably priced at Staples…and Staples is also letting me give one away to one of you lucky readers! All you need to do to enter is leave a comment telling me what your favorite Chromecast feature is, or what you would use it for the most.

One winner will be chosen a week from today, Tuesday April 15th at 6 pm. Good luck and happy Chromecasting!

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48 Replies to “Do you Chromecast? {+ a giveaway!!}”

  2. All of those features sound nice! I would love to get rid of traditional cable TV for the cost savings but haven’t been able to cut the cord from live network tv just yet (pun intended?)

  3. My three year old would love to watch his favorite gummy bear videos on youtube on our big tv screen 🙂

  4. All of those features sound great! We watch a lot of stuff on Netflix and Emmy is really in to music, so it would be put to good use at our house.

  6. Who wouldn’t want to ditch cable? We have a smart tv in our family room but I would love to “smarten” up the bedroom tv so we could easily catch up on our fave shows via hBO Go or Amazon prime with this little gadget!

  8. My favorite thing would be to show a video on the TV that you pull up from your phone so it’s easier to see and others can watch.

  9. My favorite Chromecast feature is being able to cast any sport that I can find online in my chrome browser on my big screen tv. (especially locally blacked out football games)
    Thanks
    Mike Mcmillon
    Social Media Dayton

  10. I would use it for our worship videos for house church! We currently use youtube videos and getting my computer out to have us all huddle around is a little difficult at times. How cool to cast it from my phone to the TV so everyone can see!

  12. The fact that the remote control is always MISSING AND IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND would make the ability to use my phone priceless. Because that rarely goes missing. Rarely.

  15. We got rid of cable due to the cost, so being able to stream my 3 year old’s favorite shows from the internet is AMAZING!! This invention is GENIUS!

    Great giveaway!
    *fingers crossed*

  16. This would be great for watching google play shows/movies….tired of dragging out the laptop!

  17. I would use it so my son could watch his Angry Birds YouTube videos on the TV. This is so cool! Thanks!

  18. Gimme Gimme Gimme! I would use this to stream the Itunes movies and TV that are on random accounts on random devices all over the house. This way if Molly wants to watch Frozen on the big screen and we’ve bought it on the Ipad, we do not have to buy it again!!!

  20. We watch a lot of movies and hbo series thru amazon prime and netflix and this would make it accessible on the bedroom tv.

  22. Show videos and maybe pictures?? From my phone to the TV so I don’t have to share my phone with my toddler!

  23. I love the idea of streaming from my phone, but not for me. My BIL is a forest fire fighter out the west. I would totally get one for him for those nights when he actually gets creature features in a hotel room – usually he’s in a tent in the forest. I think looking at a screen more than three inches across would be a pore coated change of pace.

  25. I would love the childless. We would use it on our tv to stream Amazon Prime and Hulu plus. We only have one tv and this would be wonderful to have.

  27. This would be awesome! I would definitely use it over pulling out the computer for my son to watch Netflix or YouTube videos.

  29. I just love that it’s so convenient and my kids would love to use it to watch things from YouTube

  33. No more searching for remotes, just have to find my phone now. Just joking the phone is always attached to me unlike the remotes. Thanks.

  36. This would be nice to use to watch some cute animal videos from youtube on the tv instead of the computer.

  37. Oh! This sounds great! We are thinking of giving up our satellite package and this would give us so many more options! *fingers crossed!*

  38. I had planned on getting a Chromecast when I move into my first home! Money will be tight so in lieu of paying for cable, I am just getting internet and using Hulu+ and Netflix since my kids and I got new Samsung Tablets for Christmas!

  39. I’d love to get Chromecast. My favorite feature is basically being able to watch streaming sites on my TV which I much prefer to a computer or tablet screen.

  40. I’d use it for netflix/hulu/pandora. Basically to make my TV amazing without paying for an expensive ‘smart’ TV. I’m cheap!

  41. I’d love to try this because we just got a letter from the cable company telling us they are raising the rates and I’m seriously thinking of dumping it.

  42. I like that any phones or my computers can connect to it and then have the video display on my tv.

  43. I much prefer to watch movies/tv/videos on an actual television and chromecast would allow me to watch things I was forced to watch on my computer screen on the larger screen of my tv which I’d love.

  44. I love the way it works straight from your phone – sounds so simple.

    I would use the heck out of it for watching Netflix, Time Warner Cable,and HBOGO

  45. My favorite feature is that I can control it with my phone. It would be so much more convenient that having to use it from my computer.

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 at gmail dot com

  46. My favorite feature is being able to easily put video from my phone to my tv with one click…and the setup seems so simple!

  47. This sounds so cool! I like how you can use this to play videos on tv so you can actually use your phone for other purposes like, in, ya know calling someone 😀

  48. I would like to win a chromecast because it seems like such a small, easy device that would have a big impact on the way I watch videos. I would use it all the time.

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