It’s been about five years since Google first launched a little game changer they called the Chromecast, a clever device that boosts the IQ of non-smart TVs, enhancing them to work with your smartphone and smart home. This year, the tech giant released the third edition of this digital dongle. Read on to learn more about this latest version of the Chromecast, and then enter this contest for a chance to win one of your own.

Google Chromecast makes a standard TV smarter

Some people have a little devil on their shoulder tempting them to do things they know they shouldn’t while a little angel on the other shoulder encourages them to stay on the straight and narrow. The devil on my shoulder tells me I need a smart TV in my life, no expenses spared. And I can’t say I disagree with him. After all, a TV that’s connected to the internet effectively puts an endless stream of content at my fingertips. But then the angel on my other shoulder gets his two cents in, “Come on Kevin, aren’t you trying to save? You’ve got a perfectly good HD TV at home.” And I can’t disagree with him either. If only there was some kind of compromise! Enter: Chromecast. It adds smarts to standard televisions, so I can enjoy a premium smart TV experience while staying savvy about my spending.

If you’ve never heard of the Google Chromecast, then allow me to summarize. This small, Wi-Fi-connected dongle connects to the HDMI port at the back of your TV and lets you cast content from compatible apps on your smartphone to your big screen. By simply tapping the cast icon on apps such as YouTube, Netflix, and thousands more available for iPhone and Android, your smartphone essentially becomes your remote control, letting you stream live TV, movies, sports, news, and much more.

Chromecast works alongside Google Home. Simply tell Google what you want to see and your Google Assistant will communicate this message to Chromecast. Your requested content will start playing on your big screen without you even having to lift a finger! One of our colleagues, Erin Lawrence, wrote a fantastic how-to article on how to pair your Google Home to your Chromecast-enabled TV, so you can learn more about how Chromecast syncs so effortlessly with your smart home ecosystem.

And this 2018 iteration of Google Chromecast is the best one yet. It boasts improved Wi-Fi connectivity, support for 1080p resolution at 60fps for smoother video performance, and Bluetooth integration for advanced interconnectivity with your smartphone and other Google-powered smart devices in your home.

By design, all these tech updates have paved the way for Chromecast to be compatible with speaker groups. Google have recently started rolling out support for multi-room audio across their entire range of Google-powered speakers, and thanks to Chromecast, that includes your TV’s built-in speakers! Picture your next get together: a house full of friends and family charmed by a jazzy playlist that can reach the furthest corners of every room thanks to music playing in sync across all your devices. If you already have a Google Home speaker and a standard, non-smart television, the addition of a Chromecast will help you create a multi-room audio setup and a voice-controlled smart TV. What a difference a little dongle can make!

HOW TO ENTER:

You can only submit one entry for this contest. In a comment below this article, tell us what a difference this Google Chromecast would make to your home life? Would a voice-controlled TV be a game changer for you? Would streaming content revolutionize your downtime? Would a multi-speaker audio setup change the way you enjoy music? Maybe it’s a feature not mentioned in this article? In a sentence or two, tell us one thing you like to do that this Chromecast could improve.

WHAT YOU CAN WIN:

We will randomly draw two winners. Each winner will win a Google Chromecast (third generation). The prizes are outlined in the Rules and Regulations posted below.

This contest runs from November 27th until December 11th.

Remember, you can only enter once. However, you probably know someone who would love to smarten up their home entertainment setup, so please share this contest and they too will have a chance to win one of these prizes.

Google Chromecast Contest Rules and Regulations

Good Luck.  

We frequently have many contests running at Best Buy so check out the “contests in progress” page for more great contests to enter.

 

Kevin McElligott
Kevin McElligott
Kevin cut his teeth as a journalist writing articles for trade publications in Dublin. He moved to Vancouver and honed his craft first as a copywriter, and now as an Editor at Best Buy. He enjoys cooking when he has the time, playing soccer, and just recently ran in his first marathon. Fitness is important to him, and he needs the exercise thanks to his fondness for donuts.
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432 COMMENTS

  1. The Chromecast would allow me to easily mirror my content from my laptop to the TV with the need of using an HDMI cable and performing the tedious task of removing a device already plugged in the TV to free up an HDMI port. Did I mention that my laptop doesn’t have an HDMI port?

  2. I would give the Chromecast to my mother. She doesn’t see as good now so she could watch Netflix and look at photos on her TV. 🙂

  4. As a college student I really hate to juggle around multiple remotes and controllers. For what I need to do, a single remote (my phone) would work wonders.

    • I do the same thing. Chromecast, in conjunction with Google Home, is ideal when you’ve got your hands full!

  10. The enjoyment of even having a chromecast would be a joy. Instead of sharing photos with a tiny 5 inch screen with family gatherings (passing the phone around), I would be able to blow it up on the big screen for everyone to everyone to watch.

  17. Being able to game from my phone onto my TV and experience no lag would be the best feature upgrade for the Chromecast. Thanks!

  18. The Google Chromecast would allow me to mirror my content from my laptop to my TV wirelessly and without the use of an HDMI cable, which always requires me to unplug one device from the back of my TV to free up an HDMI port.

  23. I would be able to stream content from my laptop to the tv without the tedious task of hooking up an HDMI Cable from my laptop to the TV, and my laptop dosen’t have an HDMI Port!

  24. I would just love to gift a chromecast to my 3 teenage grand-children for Christmas. It would open their world to such a diverse entertainment package that they have never experienced before.

  26. it would be great to have the voice content for streaming services like Netflix so if searching for a particular film it’s not the old doing it with the remote. I also like the multi-room music feature that can be used with Chromecast and Chromecast audio or home mini speakers. it gives a great ambiance when having people over.

  28. The chrome cast would make my home more complete. As right now when I I want to cast anything now as it is I have to do it on the main tv. With the second Chrome cast I could cast in my bed room as well.

  29. I’m really interested in using the Chromecast as part of a multiroom audio setup in my home in combination with my google home mini and my Chromecast audio in the kitchen!

    • Me too, I can’t wait to try out the new support for speaker groups! I looked into it the other day and it’s quite easy to set up too!

  30. One of my TVs has no smart connectivity. So installing Chromecast would allow me to watch Netflix and YouTube on this tv.

  31. I’m a single mom and I can’t afford to buy a smart TV where I can connect my android phone to watch movie, that’s why if I can win the chrome cast that would be great so I can finally connect the phone through google home app and enjoy the movie!

  32. I don’t use or own a television. But something better. I use a projector for all my movie needs and Chromecast removes all the clutter of wires on my ceiling attached to the projector

  33. It would save me from plugging my computer into HDMI every day and having to walk to the TV to change anything or pause.

  34. I have a few speakers set up with my smart home devices, but the ability to add mukti-audio setup threw my tv audio setting would be awesome! Looking forward to the contest!

  35. I would like to stream pictures on my phone to my tv. I also enjoy music and streaming through my home would be great.

  40. I often do video call with my parents who are in India and with chromecast I can watch them on a bigger screen instead of the tiny laptop screens.

  41. I would love to integrate my tv and its speakers into my audio group (google home minis). This would be awesome for that.

  49. I work in a care home and we cant leave out remote controls or our mobile phones, having the voice control would be ideal for there,.

  50. I’d be able to cut the cable cord and stream train videos from you tube… which would help in my hobby – model railroading.

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