DaveWr wrote: > This is no game changer it is Google TV Mk3. Logitech failed, Sony > failed so now this, albeit with a Netflix sweetener. > > It may be a ruse by the NSA to check on your media preferences!
I disagree, I think the Chromecast is going to have massive impact (in the U.S. at least, the only place it's available). I say this as someone whose job at Logitech was basically destroyed by the wildly myopic belief that GoogleTV was going to be a big thing. Chromecast is a very different device. First, at $35 it is an impulse buy. Add in that you get 3 months of free Netflix and that's something you might already be paying for, it's really $11. Second, it doesn't make the silly mistake that GoogleTV did, which was adding in a ton of interactive complexity into a space that most users want to be a passive experience. Where GoogleTV was a do-everyting-in-the-world (poorly) interface overlayed on your TV, ChromeCast has one job: that content that you were accessing on your phone/tablet/laptop gets streamed out your TV. Third, it's extremely analgous to Apple AirPlay in what it does (though not in how it accomplishes it), but way more open and way cheaper. Fourth, they released an SDK, and while it is not particularly open-source friendly (really, no surprise there), if they sell as many as I think they are going to, 3rd party development will follow and the device will become more useful over time. Fifth, it's super tiny and thus super portable. Your phone or tablet + a chromecast becomes your roving A/V entertainment system. Wherever an HDMI-capable TV or receiver and an available WiFi is, you're good to go. I hadn't really considered Chromecast as an audio-specific device, but if you've got a receiver that accepts HDMI input I suppose the potential is there. I did read that Pandora is already working on support for it. For me, if it effectively streams netflix in HD, it's already worth the $35 asking price. Everything else is cake. For audio I will continue to use my squeezebox + local music solution, which is unrivaled and not cloud service or even internet dependent. cheers, #!/ben Former Logitech Developer: Squeezeplay/SqueezeOS/SqueezeboxController/SqueezeCenter Community Developer: Nokia770Skin (r.i.p.) http://www.last.fm/user/bklaas/ 'KHAAAN!' (http://khaaan.com/)...'BUNNIES!' (http://home.pacbell.net/bettychu/2003allbreedbisris/BIS.html) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ bklaas's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=58 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=99234 _______________________________________________ discuss mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/discuss
