Google announced today that it can now stream HBO Go to Chromecast from both iOS and Android devices. Google is slowly adding the pieces together in making Chromecast a formidable streaming option. Priced at just $35, it’s an attractive buy considering the competition from Roku, Apple TV and others.
At this moment, Chromecast can now stream from Pandora, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and YouTube. In time, more and more services will be added in the future. In a year or two, we will see a much longer list of streaming services. Google should add sports programming next. NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and MLS would be nice.
My only gripe about Chromecast is streaming local files. Technically, it’s possible by dropping them into the Google Chrome browser, but it’s not optimized for streaming. Video quality and delays are common issues. Chromecast initially supported access to local files, but Google removed it, but they did promise to put it back.