Hi Gene, Thanks for the review. I was just thinking of starting a thread to see if anyone here uses Chromecast and what their thoughts on it is?
I just picked up a new internet radio, GD Mondo Plus, with built in Chromecast. As some might remember, I loved my GD internet radios. I have an eclectic taste in music and most the big music providers just don't go that deep into tracks or even genre's. It takes a little footwork, but you can find some amazing stations out there, with very good quality too. Fusion 101 is one of my favorites.
Going forward, some of the music providers are not allowing built-in (native) apps. Pandora is one of these that is not allowing devices run Pandora as a native app.
The solution for GD was build Chromecast into their devices and then you use your smart phone (i or droid) For those who don't know, there's a little button in the apps that then transmits what's playing on your phone to your Chromecast enabled devices. Actually setup was unbelievably easy. Once you Chromecast enabled devices is running, it doesn't need the phone anymore.
At this time I'm still kind of up in the air about it. There's a wealth of Chromecast enabled apps. I can add a Chromecast dongle for $35 toentertainment systems which will then allow multi room music. The downside is you need your phone, which becomes a remote at this point.
With Chromecast and Chromecast Audio you can connect to just about anything. But, there's extra steps involved; you just can't turn on a device in a room, channel select, and have it work. This may not be an issue when setting up for multi room. It's more of a nuisance when you walk into a room and just want to turn on the device to your favorite selected channel.
Sorry! I went on longer than I thought and probably should have started a new thread.