Pros: Simple effective tech, does what it should and does it well.

Cons: Local media streaming apps would be the clincher, there are a few that will do it (Plex and Avia IIRC), but it's not as idiot proof as it needs to be.

Overall Review: I love these things, I have 3 dumb TVs in my house each with a googlecast plugged into it. The grandkids love the fact they can cast their minecraft (groan) videos onto the big screen. I like the fact I have another doohickey to play with

Pros: Works great with the Plex app to stream media from my Plex media server to my tv's. Have two of them so far, and they are awesome! Also with the appropriate HDMI settings on properly equipped tv's, these little guys can actually turn the TV on and flip to the correct input when you hit Cast. Very very cool!

Cons: Could not figure out how to insert it into my car to upgrade my car into a self-driving Google car. Google should make the documentation regarding this clearer.

Pros: Great idea! Love it!

Cons: Why is the price here, almost twice where it is everywhere else?

Pros: This is a cheap and easy way to stream content from your phone or computer to your TV. The few apps that are available for it are optimized for it, so streaming HD works better than with most smart TV's/Blu-ray players/DVD players. Regardless of what you may have read from negative reviews, you CAN stream local content. This isn't supported on phones (yet) but you simply drop a video onto your Chrome browser and cast that tab to your Chromecast. It's simple, if not robust. You can control it from pretty much any smart phone or computer on your network, so with Netflix for example, you don't have to share one profile for everyone in the house. The device itself feels very sturdy. The HDMI extension is handy for crowded port panels, and it's powered with a standard micro USB port, so no proprietary hardware is necessary. You can leave the stream from your phone to make calls, text and even browse what movie you want to queue up next without interrupting the playback on your TV. I love it so far.

Cons: Few apps are available at this time.

Overall Review: People trashing this device because it won't stream local content are not only incorrect, they're missing the point. Chromecast is an open source platform and many developers have apps ready to release, but Google is holding back for the time being. I feel certain they will open the gates soon enough, but for now they're making sure that only the best quality, completely functional apps are released. I don't blame them for that, or for making sure their own software gets a head start. It IS their platform after all.

Pros: I bought this because it was cheap and I'm all about google products. I plugged it into the tv and set it up on my phone within 3 minutes. It plays my netflix and music from my phone with ease and it doesn't use the battery life down on my phone because it's actually being streamed through the device rather than on the phone. As an added bonus, it plays my music from my desktop to my tv which has a great sound system hooked up to it. It can also mirror my chrome tab that's open on my desktop. I got it when they were offering three months of netflix free so it really only cost me $11. Fantastic purchase.

Cons: No Hulu

Pros: When it works, good for streaming.

Cons: Died after 3 months and Google tech support is designed to do one thing, prevent them from having to replace it.

Overall Review: It powers on and will show the "screen saver" images. However, once you try to stream an app to it, the Chromecast simply locks up and can no longer be detected by any device until a reboot is done by unplugging it. Called Google and after explaining to them all the troubleshooting I had already done including rebooting, factory reset, tested on a different TV, and even tested with a friend's phone to make sure it wasn't mine (I do it for a living so I know how to diagnose a defective product) but they insisted on "additional questions/steps." After an hour of listening to the guy do nothing but read his script, I finally told him I had enough. I was not going to do factory resets on my phone, router, and tablet to prove the problem was not with all three of those devices. He insisted that I had to do these things, plus make numerous changes to my phone, tablet, and router's WIFI setup, also to prove that the problem was not with my other devices. He also tried to blame "outside interference" for the problem, implying that someone outside my house was intentionally messing with the Chromecast. I know this thing is cheap, but Google needs to honor their warranty, not try to blame everything else I own and just admit that the thing is defective.

Pros: - Small, lightweight Wireless b/g/n DLNA device - Very good Audio/Video (A/V) quality including surround sound on Home Theater - Easy to setup on Home network - Works well with apps (Netflix, Hulu, Localcast, YouTube, etc.) on Android phones & tablets, & Windows 8 PC's (haven't tested it with iPhone IOS or Mac OS X). - Can turn any basic HDTV into a Smart TV by streaming A/V from apps on your device.

Cons: If your home network is not configured properly then your Device apps might keep losing connection to the Chromecast every 10 min. or so. See the resolution to this that should work for most home networks in the comments below.

Overall Review: This was easy to setup with the Chromecast app installed on my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro. However, like many other users I experienced the problem where the apps on my phone and tablet would lose the connection to the Chromecast after about 10 min. It would continue to play the video on my TV, but I could no longer control it from the app. On your Internet provider's Wireless router (and any other wireless router you may have), login in to the Router Configuration IP in your browser (mine is http://192.168.1.1 but could be different depending on brand. Verify this by opening a Command Prompt and entering ipconfig. Look for the Default Gateway IP. Make sure you know the Password for the Admin account.) and do the following: 1. Verify the AP Isolation mode is Disabled. This can be found under the Wireless Advanced or Professional settings (the location depends on the make & model of your router/s). Normally this is Disabled by default on home routers, but you should check this setting. If it is Enabled it prevents Wireless clients from talking to each other on the same network. 2. Verify the IGMP Proxy is Disabled. Chromecast uses DLNA and DLNA/UPNP uses Multicast packets to communicate on the network. IGMP Proxy is supposed to filter out Multicast packets from going to every client on the network except for the clients that specifically requested them. However, my Verizon FIOS Actiontec MI424WR (Rev. I) Wireless-N router has this Enabled by default. There is a bug in their IGMP Proxy and it filters all Multicast packets even for clients that requested them. On the FIOS router this option used to be in Router Config Advanced options, but Verizon pushed a firmware update that hid the IGMP Proxy and UPNP settings because they don't want customers changing them. IMHO – IGMP Proxy is not that important on a small home network. This can be accessed after logging into the Router Config with the Admin account and changing the active_page parameter in the URL to 6059 (e.g. http://192.168.1.1/index.cgi?active_page=6059). 3. Now you are ready to follow the instructions for setting up Chromecast. Initially the Chromecast setup app wants the device (phone, tablet, or PC) its on to be on the same 2.4Ghz Wireless network as the Chromecast. Follow the setup instructions on your TV and it may ask you to update the firmware. Follow all setup steps carefully. If you have multiple Wireless networks, it just easier to leave your Device on the same network as the Chromecast. Overall I am very happy with this device and would definitely recommend it to others looking for a cheaper alternative (under $40) to Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, or any other Internet streaming media player. This does everything I want with my Phone & Tablet. Hopefully you find the information above helpful if you ran into the same problem where your device keeps losing its connection to Chromecast.

Pros: Works as advertised. Low one-time fee.

Cons: The set up was very easy but took my tv (Internet?) about 48 hours and multiple attempts to recognize it and complete the initial set up.

Overall Review: Only one other review so far but did anyone else notice their tv screen becoming quite dark while watching through this Chromecast device? I can change the settings on my tv but I'll get tired of that real quick if I need to play with brightness settings every time I use this. I watch OTA tv and I have an HTPC for hulu, netflix, dvds,dvr'ing and any other sites and the brightness level does not need adjusting between the OTA tv option and the HTPC option. I do, however, need to alter the brightness level when using the Chromecast.