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I disagree completely. Phone batteries get low every day. Having to walk to where your phone is charging to change the channel is a bad experience. Using the

by Touche 12y ago

I disagree completely. Phone batteries get low every day. Having to walk to where your phone is charging to change the channel is a bad experience. Using the phone as a remote is anti-social. I can't pick out what to watch with the person who's sitting in the chair across the room. Chromecast is good for accidental discovery. You come across an interesting talk on YouTube, Chromecast is good for that. Chromecast is also good for content that "lives" on your phone, like podcasts. But Chromecast is bad for picking out a movie or TV show to watch, especially in the company of others.

moskie 12y ago
This just isn't my experience. > Phone batteries get low every day. Having to walk to where your phone is charging to change the channel is a bad experience. I have solved the fairly rare occurrence of my phone dying when I want to watch a movie by having a charger next to my coffee table. I mean, maybe we just have different experiences, but has this actually happened to you? Regularly? Does it take up more or less time than hunting down a lost remote control? > Using the phone as a remote is anti-social. I can't pick out what to watch with the person who's sitting in the chair across the room. You'll have to instead talk to them, or have them sit closer and look over your shoulder. Not more or less social, just a different type of social. And add to that, the ability to have multiple people use their individual devices to queue videos is an excellent social experience
- Touche 12y ago
  > I have solved the fairly rare occurrence of my phone dying when I want to watch a movie my having a chargee next to my coffee table. I mean, maybe we just have different experiences, but has this actually happened to you? Regularly? I have a charger next to my coffee table too, but then I have to sit in the seat next to the coffee table every time. And I have to reach over to use the phone because the charger cord isn't very long. > Does it take up more or less time than hunting down a lost remote control? Far less time. The remote isn't an object that gets moved around. It spends most of it's lifetime in a single room. If you lose it there's a 90% chance it's in the couch cushions. > You'll have to instead talk to them, or have them sit closer and look over your shoulder. Not more or less social, just a different type of social. And add to that, the ability to have multiple people use their individual devices to queue videos is an excellent social experience Multiple people staring at their own screens looking at different things is not social. A: "Oh this one looks interesting" B: "Which one"? A: "Third row down, second movie." B: "The one with the snowman?" A: "No, it's got the actors smiling" B: "Hm, third row down, second movie? I see a snowman"
  - nogridbag 12y ago
    I suppose you can simply mirror your phone's screen to your TV using Chromecast while browsing for movies so everyone will see your phone's display on the big screen. But I guess it's not exactly ideal. Personally, I never search for movies using my phone. It's so much easier on my laptop.
- moskie 12y ago
  @Touche: Okey doke. We just have had different experiences. Remotes get misplaced, but my phone is in my pocket. I've never had a conversation like that with friends when we're deciding what to watch. We're both looking at our phones, searching and exploring content our own way. No one says "third row down, second movie," they say, "How about Frozen?"
baldfat 12y ago
Social is 100% in chromecast favor. I love sitting down with family and friends and just queue up a bunch of different Youtube videos or songs to play. It is hysterical, convenient and cross platform (iOS or Android). This will do everything Chromecast already does.
- GrinningFool 12y ago
  Somehow, "hysterical, convenient and cross platform" in this context conjures an image of a room full of people with manic grins plastered to their faces, determined to be having fun Or Else!
dragonwriter 12y ago
> Using the phone as a remote is anti-social. No, its not, any more than using a regular remote as a remote is. > Having to walk to where your phone is charging to change the channel is a bad experience. Yes, it is, but that's not fundamental to the Chromecast, its just bad app UI design (for instance, you don't have the same issue if you are tab casting a regular web page that provides the selection before getting to the streaming media). There's no reason that an mobile app that uses the Google Cast API can't have a similar [or even better] optimized casting UI to a dumb tab-casted web page, its just that most so far don't. Extending the line of Google Cast devices -- if it extends reach -- may indirectly improve this, by getting app developers to spend more effort on the UX of their Cast support.

by Touche 12y ago

moskie 12y ago

This just isn't my experience. > Phone batteries get low every day. Having to walk to where your phone is charging to change the channel is a bad experience. I have solved the fairly rare occurrence of my phone dying when I want to watch a movie by having a charger next to my coffee table. I mean, maybe we just have different experiences, but has this actually happened to you? Regularly? Does it take up more or less time than hunting down a lost remote control? > Using the phone as a remote is anti-social. I can't pick out what to watch with the person who's sitting in the chair across the room. You'll have to instead talk to them, or have them sit closer and look over your shoulder. Not more or less social, just a different type of social. And add to that, the ability to have multiple people use their individual devices to queue videos is an excellent social experience

Touche 12y ago
> I have solved the fairly rare occurrence of my phone dying when I want to watch a movie my having a chargee next to my coffee table. I mean, maybe we just have different experiences, but has this actually happened to you? Regularly? I have a charger next to my coffee table too, but then I have to sit in the seat next to the coffee table every time. And I have to reach over to use the phone because the charger cord isn't very long. > Does it take up more or less time than hunting down a lost remote control? Far less time. The remote isn't an object that gets moved around. It spends most of it's lifetime in a single room. If you lose it there's a 90% chance it's in the couch cushions. > You'll have to instead talk to them, or have them sit closer and look over your shoulder. Not more or less social, just a different type of social. And add to that, the ability to have multiple people use their individual devices to queue videos is an excellent social experience Multiple people staring at their own screens looking at different things is not social. A: "Oh this one looks interesting" B: "Which one"? A: "Third row down, second movie." B: "The one with the snowman?" A: "No, it's got the actors smiling" B: "Hm, third row down, second movie? I see a snowman"
- nogridbag 12y ago
  I suppose you can simply mirror your phone's screen to your TV using Chromecast while browsing for movies so everyone will see your phone's display on the big screen. But I guess it's not exactly ideal. Personally, I never search for movies using my phone. It's so much easier on my laptop.
moskie 12y ago
@Touche: Okey doke. We just have had different experiences. Remotes get misplaced, but my phone is in my pocket. I've never had a conversation like that with friends when we're deciding what to watch. We're both looking at our phones, searching and exploring content our own way. No one says "third row down, second movie," they say, "How about Frozen?"

baldfat 12y ago

Social is 100% in chromecast favor. I love sitting down with family and friends and just queue up a bunch of different Youtube videos or songs to play. It is hysterical, convenient and cross platform (iOS or Android). This will do everything Chromecast already does.

GrinningFool 12y ago
Somehow, "hysterical, convenient and cross platform" in this context conjures an image of a room full of people with manic grins plastered to their faces, determined to be having fun Or Else!

dragonwriter 12y ago

> Using the phone as a remote is anti-social. No, its not, any more than using a regular remote as a remote is. > Having to walk to where your phone is charging to change the channel is a bad experience. Yes, it is, but that's not fundamental to the Chromecast, its just bad app UI design (for instance, you don't have the same issue if you are tab casting a regular web page that provides the selection before getting to the streaming media). There's no reason that an mobile app that uses the Google Cast API can't have a similar [or even better] optimized casting UI to a dumb tab-casted web page, its just that most so far don't. Extending the line of Google Cast devices -- if it extends reach -- may indirectly improve this, by getting app developers to spend more effort on the UX of their Cast support.