4 ms·

I live in the middle of a big city. From my apartment there are at least 50 different wifi routers visible. The Chromecast simply cannot maintain a stable conne

I live in the middle of a big city. From my apartment there are at least 50 different wifi routers visible. The Chromecast simply cannot maintain a stable connection under these circumstances. My parents do not have internet. These are two situations where this device is, entirely needlessly so, completely without value. That said, when it works it is a charm.

jordanthoms 12y ago
Yeah, hopefully a 5ghz version will be released soon. 2.4ghz is awful in dense areas.
bane 12y ago
Google desperately needs to release a wired version as well as upgrade the existing wi-fi versions to let you stream direct to the dongle instead of using the internet as an intermediary.
- soylentcola 12y ago
  I agree with the need for a wired option. It's one of the things I had hoped for in the Nexus Player and might have been enough to get me to buy one (even though I haven't run into any issues with WiFi with my Chromecast, it would be preferred). As far as the second part, I'm admittedly not a Chromecast "expert" by any means (only had it for a month now and only use it occasionally) but it seemed to me that I had both options depending on what I'm "casting". When I'm using on online media source like Netflix or Youtube, I prefer using my phone or laptop as more of a remote control so it's not constantly draining the battery in order to actively stream as a wireless extender. Still, I can cast my screen directly if I want to do that. I haven't done that too much since it seems less useful in my personal usage cases but the option is there. The only thing I'd love to see is something more along the lines of Miracast where you have the option of sending content over an ad-hoc connection between your device and the Chromecast. I considered something like a Chromecast for conference rooms at work but since you need to be on the same WiFi network, that's not really an option since the accessible WiFi network at the office has restrictions and limitations that would make Chromecast unusable. It would be nice if I could purchase several of these inexpensive devices that could easily enable streaming from online media providers but could also receive content directly from devices within range (like the laptops and tablets of people in a meeting) without needing to install separate access points just for Chromecast.
  - mahyarm 12y ago
    Supposedly a USB OTG cable + ethernet adaptor will work. But that is a big hack.
    - Mithaldu 12y ago
      It doesn't help in areas where wifi is hopelessly congested.

jordanthoms 12y ago

Yeah, hopefully a 5ghz version will be released soon. 2.4ghz is awful in dense areas.

bane 12y ago

Google desperately needs to release a wired version as well as upgrade the existing wi-fi versions to let you stream direct to the dongle instead of using the internet as an intermediary.

soylentcola 12y ago
I agree with the need for a wired option. It's one of the things I had hoped for in the Nexus Player and might have been enough to get me to buy one (even though I haven't run into any issues with WiFi with my Chromecast, it would be preferred). As far as the second part, I'm admittedly not a Chromecast "expert" by any means (only had it for a month now and only use it occasionally) but it seemed to me that I had both options depending on what I'm "casting". When I'm using on online media source like Netflix or Youtube, I prefer using my phone or laptop as more of a remote control so it's not constantly draining the battery in order to actively stream as a wireless extender. Still, I can cast my screen directly if I want to do that. I haven't done that too much since it seems less useful in my personal usage cases but the option is there. The only thing I'd love to see is something more along the lines of Miracast where you have the option of sending content over an ad-hoc connection between your device and the Chromecast. I considered something like a Chromecast for conference rooms at work but since you need to be on the same WiFi network, that's not really an option since the accessible WiFi network at the office has restrictions and limitations that would make Chromecast unusable. It would be nice if I could purchase several of these inexpensive devices that could easily enable streaming from online media providers but could also receive content directly from devices within range (like the laptops and tablets of people in a meeting) without needing to install separate access points just for Chromecast.
- mahyarm 12y ago
  Supposedly a USB OTG cable + ethernet adaptor will work. But that is a big hack.
  - Mithaldu 12y ago
    It doesn't help in areas where wifi is hopelessly congested.