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SAVER10
For those that missed out on the previous deal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/152351, the Google Chromecast is again available for $39 delivered. Enter code SAVER10 to reduce price down to $39 and delivery is free.
Google Chromecast HDMI Streaming Media Player $39 Delivered @ Dick Smith
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Firstly, price. Seriously.
Second, you can use this with many devices. You're not restricted to using fruit products.
Third, it's small and portable. It runs off USB power.
Fourth, very easy to set up. Plug it into the TV's HDMI and USB ports and connect to it with any device. Done.
Fifth, it has other features like screen casting from your laptop, and web browser.Have a read of the (currently) free book Chromecast A Step by Step User Guide for Beginners - Kindle Edition if you want more of an understanding of what it can do :-)
(add .au if you have an Australian Amazon account)
And seriously who under the age of 60 still use Apple products anyway.
…or punctuation.
Oh F***! I spent 54 AUD to buy this from Google about a month ago! :(
You haven't been checking OzBargain often enough - it's been this price ($39) and $45 and $49 quite a few times over the last few months ;-)
And $6 credit
Is that still available?
Holy F*** you spent $15 more than you should have. Time to kill yourself.
I bought one and it doesn't suit my purpose. All I wanted was a cheap netflix player for the kids games room and thought this was my way out. There's no native dash so everything needs to be casted. Should have stuck with an Apple TV.
It's a shame you didn't research your purchase, but if you want a cheaper alternative to the Apple TV you could try a roku stick it has a "dash", a simple remote (easy to use & harder to lose than the Apple one), and currently supports many more "channels" than the Apple box (including the Netflix you were after).
The biggest downside is that you will have to order it from the USA…
He probably did do his research. There's a good deal of misrepresentation with these. Long story short, they're not a media player of any kind, they're a wireless display extender.
If you don't control the local Wi-Fi network, they're not even that…
The device itself has no native apps whatsoever, it's 100% dependent on the capabilities of the connecting device. Until more apps on those support casting, or all devices get screen mirroring, the uses for these are quite limited.
If you don't control the local Wi-Fi network, they're not even that…
Can you please elaborate?
If you have android 4.4.3 you can do full mirroring. So every single app will show.
Chrome… Cast….not chrome media player. Why is this even being compared to an Apple tv? Even apple users like this thing. Your comment is still giving others misconception of the idea of what this device is meant for. Its not meant to have any native apps whatsoever. It is a piece of luxury item where by you don't need it but is convenient to have.
Actually, that's not strictly true.
It does rely on a phone or tablet for control functions (Android or ios), but in general the media playing functions are handled by the dongle. For example, when you 'cast' a youtube video to it, it loads up an HTML app from youtube itself, and pulls the video from them too. The control device can go to sleep and everything still works.
Think of it as a second, remote, machine - slaved to the casting device.
@sane: You're right there however it is simpler to market it as a device that can show what's on your device (whether it be phone tablet or pc/mac) to your TV wirelessly rather than a device that is a media player. People expect media players to act standalone with a UI which this device is not designed to do. Explaining how it does it is far too technical.
Sorry zorrt, it was actually a response to bazzaa's misrepresentation (eg it's not "100% dependent on the capabilities of the connecting device", far from it).
And it's pretty easy to explain what it is, as I say; it's a second, remote machine that you control from your tablet or phone. When you think of it like that, you can grasp how useful it can be, and how comparisons with your conventional media players tend to miss the point.
@aldoduco: Actually you only need Android 4.4.2 as a bare minimum for mirroring (my Nexus 5 is still on 4.4.2 and can do it).
Can you elaborate? This is exactly why I was thinking about buying one. I have netflix on my PC and wanted to use Chromecast to throw to my TV (wifi Bravia). Will it not work?
That's exactly what it's for. But use your phone to save booting / opening up the laptop
I only have Hola unblocker on my PC - wont netflix be able to recognise my IP as Australian from my mobile - or will I need to install a VPN on my router?
@rehab: the chromecast will access the internet stream. The phone doesn't. However many vpn services provide adsl and Router settings to bypass the pc.
Last resort you can get a second wireless card for your pc and enable the internet sharing function and wifi hotspot
@rehab: I'm not sure rehab, but if carib is right and the chromecast itself is the device accessing the Internet, you're in that situation regardless (phone or pc casting). Try Getflix and apply the DNS settings to your router. It's good value.
What model Bravia? If it's a smart TV - I have 2 Bravias and have Netflix running natively on both. Just change your DNS settings if you're running a DNS service to bypass geolocks. Then refresh internet settings and you should be good to go.
Its a KDL-55W800A - so I already have Netflix as an app, however when I try to sign it I cant even get a login screen as its geo-restricted.
Can you explain the process to install a DNS or VCP on the TV?
As above, I use Hola on my PC, but wouldn't have the faintest idea how to install a VPN on my TV
@rehab: You sign up to Getflix then enter your router's set up page and enter the right values (from the getflix site) in the DNS fields, save and reboot the router… http://www.unblocking.tv has some more info, but mainly for using unblock-us.com; exactly the same process.
Don't just enter the DNS details on your TV. Then you need to do the same for each device you want to use. The router is 'up stream' from all those devices, so you just need to apply the settings there.
Don't be scared by it. There's a lot of info out there to help.
Apple TV is overrated. It plays very few audio/video formats. It would not be my first choice to "go back" to.
Most devices will support Netflix, some will stream local media very well (eg. Western digital's wdtv).Here's a guide about what devices you can use for Netflix.
http://www.getflix.com.au/services/netflixI quite like air share on appletv - it's about the only redeeming feature for an otherwise inferior box.
As others have said, roku player is very popular for Netflix, or the all rounder is wdtv. I keep a NAS with lots of videos and music, so I went wdtv rather than Roku.
Codec support was my #1 issue. Ended up going a NUC with OpenELEC/XBMC. Way pricier though :(
Which legitimate formats is Apple TV incapable of playing?
'legitimate'? Just search for Apple TV vs. WDTV for a list. Personally, Roku + Plex server covers off everything.
mkv. One of most commonly used formats for compressed HD content.
/end discussion
http://store.apple.com/au/question/answers/appletv/can-i-pla…
My bad, I meant 'legal'… :) Gotta be careful lest I get negged by piraters. Anyway mkv can be easily remuxed into an iTunes compatible file, it's a wonder it's even used at all in the first place.
Pirates.. not piraters. :) I didn't neg you.
mkv can be remuxed into an iTunes compatible file… true. However, if you had terabytes of content, would you bother?
I was quite impressed that with Chromecast and BubbleUPnP I could play an MKV file without any issues. Ive always avoided MKV files but now I dont have to worry about it.
Mkv and other relatively esoteric formats work beautifully for me.
N40L with plex —> Chromecast
I use the plex web UI with google chrome on my MBP/Win7 Desktop.
Still waiting for them to ship from last offer….
Dicksmith / Startrack "lost" mine, trying to get any support from either of then has been a painful task.
Good luck. It's been 20 days since I opened a PayPal dispute for a 'missing' TV.
I guess some lucky bastard is streaming YouTube on a tv right now..
Totally agree… Had to spend 2hr on Friday.. Haven't received tracking as yet..
Same I still haven't received mine. For those new to this deal, I recommend save the hassle and just get it at retail. $10 is not worth the trouble. I spent way too much too much time chasing this up and still haven't got mine.
DSE and Startrack are useless. Gave me a consignment that can't be tracked no records, order status still processing…
sorry to hear you guys are still waiting, mine arrived on my doorstep in 4 days
I got mine 2 days after I ordered it. Haven't had any problems with them myself yet (though there definitely do seem to be issues for others).
So many +1's. The hours I've wasted on this is seriously not worth my time.
Ordered… Fingers crossed that I receive it before chromecast 2.0 comes out!
The coupon is limited to the first 500 customers… get in quick!
They say that. I dont believe its true. Just their way of forcing you to hurry up and buy. the last coupon ran for 2 days and never ran out. The Chromecast ran out thou.
10 days since I ordered from dick smith and no chromecast yet. They are so slow. I am already thinking of cancelling my order.
Ordered one during last deal. Ordered Friday, arrived Monday.
Been happy using it since. Probs order another one for a different TV :)
Wonder if this worth just to be a video files player?
Personally disappointed with this purchase from the last offer. It is so limited with the apps that can use this app, you'd be better off getting a proper Miracast/WiDi dongle instead. At least you'd know you can run pretty much any app coming out of the TV then as opposed to ones specifically written for Chromecasting.
Almost want to just sell it. Until someone comes out with a cool hack for it, then its not something for me. :(There are custom roms developed by the hacker community available such as Eureka and PwnCast that enable more features such as the ability to customise dns, samba support, etc. Check out the xda forums : http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2563143
Some of those features might make it more useful for you. However, those roms can only be installed on chromecasts that have not been updated and also have one of the old serial numbers.
Thanks for that.. but given these are all the new batches with the latest firmware (and automatically updating as soon as you are on WIFI), then theres no chance of putting this on. Really rather my Netgear Miracast anyday..
Only took a working day to arrive last time - Friday to Monday. So far so good.
anyone know if you can plug the thing into AV receiver?
Yes if your av receiver has hdmi input and allows video and audio to pass through
That's how I have mine set up so I can get surround sound from the Chromecast
That's great to know. Thanks gerard
That's how I'm doing it. It even works and passes through when the reciever is off (Yamaha RX573)
Ah great. I also have an rx573. I hadn't considered this would be possible. Cheers.
"the thing" hehe
Does the discount code still works? I tried it with no luck.
Does work. Sure you put in SAVER10 with the R.
Great device if you have supported mobile for direct mirror casting…
May sound stupid question. Can I just simply duplicate my Laptop screen to TV just like normal HDMI cable? I only need to watch movies stored in my Laptop
Yes. You can either use video out on your laptop or if you're taking about the Chromecast, plex supports Chromecast
Expired? I got the error message at the last step:
Error: We apologise but we were unable to process your card payment. Please check your card details and re-enter, or alternatively, try to use another payment method or card. If you are still experiencing an issue, please contact our Customer Service team on 1300 366 644
I tried both credit cards and different browser. same thing.
Bought one just then. Worked fine for me.
took 2 biz days to arrive from last deal.
So happy with this product. Controlling this with my old nexus phone using Solid explorer with CAST extension then stream from my NAS netgear to my tv.
Noob question - if I already have a PS3 which I use as a media server kinda thing, will I see much added benefits with a Chromecast?
Well you can save electricity and noise of PS3 (A reason I went for it). Depends if you want to stream netflix etc as opposed to just local stuff
Yeah that was the main thing I thought of; PS3 is very noisy and is a power hog. The formats it can play are also fairly limited.
i would save your money. The chromecast is gutless. Although it has apps to cast media from your pc to tv it is slow and jumpy. I casts music ok but that is about it
You sure it's not your network that is the issue?
you can change the cast quality… by default I believe it's set on Extreme, which was very laggy and jumpy for me too. But using High, or mostly Standard and it was perfectly fine.
I brought one during the last offer last Friday (11th), and it's still sitting in my account as Pending. Tried calling, but their phones just get disconnected once you have selected options via their IVR. Sent a couple of tweets but all I got back was a generic "we'll get back to you when we have an update", but all the while it's still showing as in stock for 3-5 day delivery. What's worse is that I have seen people posting order numbers after mine via Twitter, and they are all shipping, but mine is not.
Although 20% saving is something I'd not normally pass up, for all the hassle I'd suggest giving Dick a miss at the moment. They've obviously got too much on, or too little staff, and can't cope. Poor Dick!
I'm going to cancel the order and just go pick one up today from JB. Who knows, maybe they'll even match the price…
I bought mine last Saturday when the other deal was on for $39 incl shipping. It was two-day delivery and so far it's a great device for watching YouTube on my TV. Haven't used it for anything else but I'm finding that it just works and is a great little device for this purpose.
doesn't work for me, somehow
not working for me. Maybe because I used the code before??
You were right. The trick is not to log in, but to check out as guest. As soon as I log in, I am no longer able to use the code. What a silly mechanism.
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For people who is not sure what is this for & how to use (like me, a week ago before i bought this on previous 39$ deal)
- with android/PC (chrome browser)/ios we could stream almost most video/contents (like youtube/dailymotion/etc)
- With unblock dns (or vpn with https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/151185 ), usa (netflix/hulu+) or uk (bbc etc) can be streamed
- For sites like movies2.dk or any other special sites, Web video caster is a cool app on android that can detect and stream the URL on chromecast (bought pro though not needed - from google rewards credit)
- For local contents on phone/media servers, all cast (with amazon coins to upgrade - 499 -150 coins) is working great
- Plex also works great (plex paid app is required but was on sale many times and even now)
- Once stream is played on chromecast - phone can be off/standby unless it is local stream
- Google play music is working great (trying the all access trial now) - even local phone's music can be streamed on chromecast as well (as well as uploading 20000 songs can be played)
- Also bought "play to" from amazon coins (499 coins) which appears good, though web caster is more easy due to browser interface. Bought this to play tunein radio play as the app dont have chromecast support yet
- TV Portal (with plugins about 5$ on play store) is quite cool to watch favorite USA tv serials/movies
Dont forget to install "remotecast" which can act like mini remote control for any standard apps that is casted (like youtube/netflix/music) like a dedicated remote.
To summarize :
Video support for youtube, almost all major video streaming sites via Web video caster/playto, netflix, etc
Audio support via play music, shuttle+ music player, allcast, play toPhones/tablets screen can be mirrored (tried on LG G2 on kitkat, not bad, good to watch facebook video posts)
Drawback:
cant pass the play in very short notice due to no remote availability (TV volume can be muted), have to find and open the phone and pause from the original app (many times, it is on lock screen/notification bar)
Some downloaded video is not supported directly (but played via plex)
Good for :
Cheap - with 39$ investment, google play and amazon credits, got an almost good setup - not using HTPC for a week and no plan to use in the future too (might join the wdtv live that is in storage for long time).
Missing remote works in favor too - browse on phone usual way and just cast (battery saving on phone too)
Portable and easy (or nothing to) config
PS: there is plenty of other good apps too to use but i tried to use apps upgradable with amazon credit
"Drawback - Can't pause play quickly due to no remote"
Yeah. If someone starts a cast from their phone and then leaves the room there's no controls at all for the device.There is the possibility that standard remote control could be added in the future. Using HDMI-CEC there are a number of commands that could work. This is just pure personal speculation but I would love to be able to have some limited control from my Harmony.
Thanks for the code, just ordered one.
Thanks OP. Waiting for this to come on special again. Just bought one
Bought one a couple of weeks ago. Great product.
Thanks OP. only regret was not buying 2 last time.
Yea I was looking at that too,
All I want it be a able to watch Netflix on my samsung smart tv, Independently if it has an app in it?
Or mirror it from my ios device iphone or ipad ?Don't have android os or chrome os.
Don't want to use laptop to chromecast but knowing feature is there is good.But the M easy product seem to do everything chromecast does and more.
Any experts used it feedback or thoughts
Maybe try the unblock-us trial, swap your TV's DNS over and see whether you can install the Netflix app directly on your TV first?
I had setup doing that in tvs DNS setting but then all apps change to USA app, yea I can get netflix independently like that but I lose sbs on demand and other Aus apps.
I was under the impression that chromecast had built in apps like netflix and hulu and the unit could be configured with DNS settings for these apps to work independent.
Also one could stream (via apps) and mirror (the whole screen) via ios and android os.The chromecast dns is locked to google so geolocation wont work, you need to change the dns Static Route within your router if it supports it.
If you google it you will find plenty of help.
Does anyone know if Dick Smith price match in store or is it an online only promotion?
This is an online promotion only. Might be able to get JB HiFi to price match. They did for me last time these were going for $39.
bwatt72 on 20/07/2014 - 03:50 Comment score below threshold.
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