Google Chrome Cast Setup For Mac

3:23 To hear Google tell it, you'd think its Chromecast practically installed itself. I can tell you from experience that this is not the case. To Google's credit, Chromecast setup is a breeze compared with some of the hair-pulling experiences I've had involving the Apple TV, for which I suspect Apple designed the remote control out of metal in order to help you withstand the compulsion to throw that thing back into the useless hell it spawned from. But I digress. Here's how to set up your Google Chromecast. Plugging it in Sounds simple enough.

Grab your dongle and stick it in. But there's more to it. First off, the Chromecast dongle requires more power than an HDMI port alone is able to provide. So to deliver the extra juice it needs, a Micro-USB cable is included that can be run to either the included power adapter, or ideally, an available USB port on your TV. The latter option will minimize cable clutter, save on power, and give you one fewer thing to plug into what is likely an overcrowded power strip behind your TV.

Chromecast setup free download - Setup Factory, Chromecast, Visual FoxPro 6.0 Setup Wizard, and many more programs. Best Video Software for the Mac How To Run MacOS. Google Chromecast Setup: In order to successfully set up the device, you will have to connect it to a Wi-Fi network on your Mac. The Wi-Fi network needs to be same on which your Mac and other devices are connected. Keep in mind that Google Chromecast requires a constant network connection to operate properly.

An elegant solution, sorta. Sarah Tew/CNET Another hiccup in this first step is that the Chromecast dongle may not fit quite right in the space carved out around your TV's HDMI input -- especially when you factor in the Micro-USB power cable that juts out from the top. To give you a little extra flexibility, Google includes a small HDMI extension cable that can easily be plugged into cramped inputs. Once you're plugged in and powered on, switch your TV to the corresponding HDMI input and you should see a short Chrome startup screen and an invitation to get started. After attaching the Chromecast to your TV, point your computer browser to Screenshot by Donald Bell/CNET Software setup The Chromecast dongle itself is a relatively 'dumb' technology -- there's no user interface, and no means of directly connecting a Bluetooth keyboard or remote. So the first hurdle is to figure out how to get the Chromecast on your local Wi-Fi network, without any direct way to talk to it. So, to set your Chromecast straight on how to connect to the Internet, you'll have to talk to it through a nearby browser.

In my case I had a MacBook running Google's Chrome browser. I pointed it to the address listed on my TV (also inscribed on the inside of the Chromecast box): google.com/chromecast/setup. Next, install the Chromecast setup app on your Mac or PC.

Screenshot by Donald Bell/CNET Once here, I was prompted to download a small Chromecast setup application. Initially the app is used to locate and identify any nearby Chromecasts.

You can tell yours apart using the name and unique four-digit ID shown on your TV screen. Finally, you'll arrive at a step for selecting your Wi-Fi network. This step is critical, because for the Chromecast to work it needs to be on the same Wi-Fi network as the devices you want to use it with.

Select your network from the drop-down list, type in any required passwords or let the software pull one over from your password keychain, and if you're feeling saucy, give your Chromecast a personalized name. For better or worse, the Chromecast relies on your computer to determine which Wi-Fi network it will connect to. Screenshot by Donald Bell/CNET But you're not out of the woods yet. In order to use one of the most coveted of the Chromecast's features -- the ability to push any Web content to your TV -- you'll need to take one extra step and install the Chrome extension. Doing so gives you a nifty little button in the upper-right corner of your browser that will toss the currently displayed tab over to your TV, giving you access to the wide world of streaming-video services. In the final step, you'll be prompted to install a Chrome extension that places a Chromecast button in the top-right corner of your browser. Screenshot by Donald Bell/CNET Things get a little confusing with services such as YouTube and Netflix, where a separate Chromecast button is provided directly on the video player, which automatically kicks content over at full screen.