How to use Chromecast

We love the Chromecast: it’s amazingly cheap and provides the simplest way of sending video from your tablet or smartphone to your TV on the other side of the room. The genius of the Chromecast, however, is that it’s more than a simple video streamer: in this guide we’ll show you how to use Chromecast to stream almost anything from anywhere to the screen of your living room TV.

You can stream music, games, even photos to the Chromecast, and it’s even possible to mirror the screen of your Windows or Mac desktop. Use the dropdown navigation menu above to go straight to the section you need, or read on for a step-by-step guide on how to set everything up.

How to use Chromecast

To get started, you’re going to need a Chromecast or Chromecast 2 and a spare HDMI input on your TV.

Once you’ve got yours, set it up and connected it to your TV, all you need is to do install the Chromecast app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, and follow the instructions on-screen. It really is that simple.

1. Buy a Chromecast 2 – you might as well, they’re only £30 each

2. Connect it to your TV and set it up using the Chromecast App

3. Download any Google Cast-enabled app and look for the Cast symbol, then tap it to stream. Below, we show you where you’ll find the location of this icon across three of the most common apps:

Use Chromecast to stream BBC iPlayer

On BBC iPlayer you’ll find the icon in the top right corner of the app. If you don’t see it, close the app down, kill it off using the multitasking view and restart it. You should now be able to see the icon. Tap it, then select your Chromecast to cast iPlayer content to your TV.

Use Chromecast to stream Netflix

On Netflix the icon is in the same place as on BBC iPlayer – in the top right of the screen. To cast, press the icon, select your Chromecast from the next box and – after a short delay – the video will play on your TV.

Use Chromecast to stream Spotify

The Chromecast finally has official Spotify support, but where is that pesky Cast icon? It’s in a different place to the BBC iPlayer and Netflix apps, at the very bottom of the Now Playing screen, where you’ll see a link to Devices Available. Tap that, select your Chromecast on the next screen and you’ll have Spotify on your TV. Magic.

Go to the next page to find out how to use Chromecast on PC and laptop.

How to use Chromecast on PC and laptop

Streaming TV shows and music from your smartphone or tablet is great – and what the Chromecast is designed for – but you can also use the Chromecast’s to stream stuff from your PC or laptop as well.

For services like Netflix and Spotify, the process is the same as on your phone or tablet: Just look for the magic Google Cast logo (it’s usually displayed within the video player embedded in the web page) and click it when you see it.

Even when there’s no Cast compatibility within the video player, though, you can still use your Chromecast to stream content, and there are several ways of doing this. The easiest way is to stream a tab from the Chrome internet browser. The tab might contain video, audio, pictures – you could even use it to mirror a presentation in an emergency. Anything on the internet, in other words.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Fire up your Chrome browser and install the Google Cast extension from the Chrome Web Store
   

2. Click the Google Cast icon to the right of the address bar and select your Chromecast from the list. The tab should now appear on the TV.
   

3. You can cast from another tab at any time by clicking the Cast extension and selecting “Cast this tab”, and finish by selecting “Stop casting”.

   

4. It’s even possible to stream a video file stored on your PC or laptop, simply by dragging the file onto a Chrome tab and clicking the full-screen button on the video player to fill the screen of your TV.

How to improve Chromecast performance

The original Chromecast is limited to streaming tabs at up to 720p, which should deliver stutter-free video in most circumstances. We haven’t had any problems streaming at the default quality, but if your Wi-Fi network is old and decrepit, you may need to fiddle with the settings to play videos smoothly.

The Chromecast 2 is far more adept at this job, and will stream at resolutions up to 1080p. Once again, though, the quality will depend on how fast your home wireless network is, and how busy it is at any given time.

If you find your video breaks up or stutters, follow these simple steps to ensure smooth video streaming:

1. Click the Cast extension button in your browser toolbar and select Options

   

2. On the next screen choose a lower quality setting. On the original Chromecast, go for 480p. On the Chromecast 2, try 720p first before going all the way to the bottom.

   

Use Chromecast with your 5GHz network

If you don’t want to reduce the quality, you own a Chromecast 2, and your router is a dual-band model (if you don’t know what this is, follow the steps below anyway – you’ll find out as you go), there’s another avenue open to you – you can connect your Chromecast to your router’s “5GHz” network:

1. Open up the Chromecast app on your smartphone or tablet

2. Tap Devices and then press the cog icon on the box for your Chromecast
   

3. On the next screen you should be able to see the current Wi-Fi network your Chromecast is connected to. If you tap this, you should see a list of other available networks.
   

4. Look for a network with a similar name (it’s usually the same and has “5GHz” or similar in the name), select it and enter your password.

How to use Chromecast to stream your Windows or Mac desktop

However, the Chromecast’s talents don’t end there. When you need to display an application on your TV that doesn’t have built-in Chromecast support, it’s also possible to display your PC or Mac’s entire desktop.

Google calls the feature “experimental” but, in our experience, it works pretty well for showing off photos, web pages and content hosted in applications outside Chrome. And it’s just as easy as anything else to do with Chromecast.

Here’s how to do it:

1. First, stop casting by clicking the Google Cast extension and clicking the “Stop casting” button.
   

2. Click the Cast button again and then the small triangle in the top-right corner. Pick the “Cast screen/window (experimental)” option, select your Chromecast and you’ll be asked if you “want Google Cast to share your screen”.
   

3. On the next menu select your Chromecast. A pop-up box will appear: choose Entire screen, click the Share button and your computer’s desktop will appear on your TV.

4. While your screen is being shared in this way, you’ll also see a small alert box at the bottom of your laptop or PC screen reminding you that you’re still sharing its contents. You can use this box to stop casting at any time, or simply hide it.

How to use Chromecast to stream audio

If you’re like us, you’ll have your TV hooked up to a beefy home cinema or stereo audio system. If so, it makes sense to take advantage of another of the Chromecast’s hidden features: audio streaming via tabs.

Normally, when you stream a tab to your Chromecast, the picture is prioritised and the audio quality takes a back seat. To improve the quality, you can use the “Optimize for audio” option.

This comes into its own when streaming from embedded players embedded in web pages that, for some reason, don’t have in-built Chromecast support.

Getting to this option is straightforward. Just follow the steps below:

1. If you’re already casting a tab, you need to click on the Cast extension button and then “Stop casting”.
   

2. Once you’ve done that, click on the Cast extension again and then the small arrow in the top-right. You’ll now see the “Optimize for audio” option.
   

3. Select it, choose your Chromecast and enjoy your music or podcast directly from a tab in your browser without sacrificing quality.

How to use Chromecast to play games on your TV

A little known fact about the Chromecast is that, in addition to streaming video and audio to it, it’s also possible to stream games. With mobile games becoming increasingly more sophisticated, that’s a tempting prospect.

In fact, streaming games from your phone or tablet over Wi-Fi to your Chromecast – especially the newer Chromecast 2 – can be surprisingly effective and fun. Be warned, though: you need your W-Fi network to be working at its optimum level for this to work.

If it isn’t particularly quick, or lots of people are using it simultaneously, gameplay can feel quite laggy and your visuals will suffer, too, since in order to keep things running smoothly, your Chromecast will reduce the quality.

Here’s a step by step guide to playing games on your Chromecast:

1. The first step is to find a game to play. This isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. Only a small handful of “proper” games have specific support for Chromecast, including Angry Birds Go and WGT Golf – the rest are quizzes, word games and the like. To find these games, search Google Play for “Chromecast games”.

2. However, if you keep the quality settings low, it’s possible to play ANY game, simply by mirroring the screen on your smartphone or tablet across to the Chromecast.

3. Mirroring your screen is easy: first, pull down a finger from the top of the screen. On most modern phones you’ll now see a list of notifications.
   

4. Drag your finger down on this menu again. You’ll now see a bunch of options, including the option to Cast right at the bottom of the menu.
   

5. Simply tap the the Cast icon, then select your Chromecast when you get to the next screen and, after a short delay, the screen on your smartphone will appear on your TV. Now, simply launch your game and play as normal. Note that some games suit being played through Chromecast more than others.

Gaming on your Chromecast: Tips and tricks to get the best out of your streaming stick

1. Mirrored gaming works best on the Chromecast 2 – it’s less laggy than the first Chromecast, and this makes games easier to play

2. If you have a Chromecast 2, it’s best if you set it up to use your Wi-Fi router’s 5GHz frequency band. This is usually less busy than the 2.4GHz band and will provide smoother performance, less lag and, therefore, better quality graphics

3. Many games have adjustable quality settings. If you’re having difficulty getting a game to play smoothly on your Chromecast, try reducing the quality settings to minimum