Put whatever is on your laptop / tablet / phone on your TV

Put whatever is on your laptop / tablet / phone on your TV

Ok, so you have your nice shiny internet enabled device (it could be your laptop, your tablet or your smart phone) and you are more than able to use it to browse the internet, play YouTube videos or even play catch up TV that you have accessed with your favourite VPN or proxy server, but you’re still frustrated with that tiny screen on your device. Well read on – we have the answer!

chromecastGoogle have created a little gadget called a Chromecast – it looks like a memory stick but it’s not used to store stuff, it’s basically used to allow you to connect your mobile device to your TV. The Chromecast plugs into your TV’s HDMI port (all TVs bought in the last 5 years will have them) – there’s no need for extra cables. The Chrome cast just plugs straight into the TV and if your TV also has a USB port it then uses that for power, but don’t worry if you don’t as it can also be plugged into a conventional power outlet.

Once connected to your TV you can use your Chromecast to share whatever’s on your computers (or tablets or phones) web browser – if you have a smartphone or tablet then there are also apps that will enable you to connect your device to your Chromecast.

There are a whole variety of apps and downloads available to be used with your tablet / smartphone and your Chromecast – far too many to cover here, but as an example, if you had an iPad or iPhone and wanted to show your family the pictures you had taken but on the big TV screen then “there’s an app for that” – Photo Cast, which is a free app (with in-app purchases) that’s available from the Apple iStore that will let you do just that. Don’t feel left out if you have an Android device, there is an app called nearly the same (Photo Cast), from a different company that is available to enable you to do just the same thing from the Google Play Store.

So, I hear you say – how many of my hard earned euros will this thing cost me? The great thing about this gadget really is the price, I bought one today from Amazon in Spain for just 35 € and if you’re in the UK or visiting at some point, some online companies are offering them for as little as £18!

Of course we are always here to help if you struggle buying things online or want help setting things up, but don’t worry the Chromecast really is very straightforward to set up and use 🙂