Of cabbages and kings

Chromecast vs AppleTV for All the Streams!!!

Posted by

Debating betwixt AppleTV or Google Chromecast for the parents.

  1. I believe that you can use AirPlay to ‘throw’ a youtube or other types of clips that are playing on an iPad over to an AppleTV, right? But can one stream said youtube clip from a PC over to the AppleTV?
  2. Can one stream local files on a PC to a TV via AppleTV?
  3. Let’s try the advanced scenario. Is there a way to stream remote PC files to the Apple TV?
  4. Let’s nerdify a little more – Is there a way to stream those remote files to an intermediate device (iOS, Android or Windows) then ‘throw’ the stream over to the Apple TV?

Scenarios 3 & 4 would be more likely used by me when he’s visiting the parents or a friend with AppleTV. Scenarios 1 & 2 are parental in nature.

Scenarios 1, 2 can also be easily accomplished on a Chromecast without having to worry about interoperability. I’ve read that Scenario 3 can be accomplished by using PlexConnect but it’s not officially sanctioned Appley goodness so it’s something that Apple may someday close off.

I don’t know whether Scenario 4 can be accomplished for Apple TV. (In theory, it would encompass Scenario 3). But it can be accomplished with Chromecast. So, for occasions when I’m visiting the parents, I can setup my HTPC with Plex Server and then use Plex for Android on my phone to load the remote file and then ‘cast’ it to their Chromecast-enabled TV.

Chromecast is also cheaper and more portable than an AppleTV. However, in the parental scenario, I also need to consider ease of use. Not a problem for me personally but the fewer confused emails I get from the parents, the better for all.

Still, I’m leaning towards the Chromecast for the parents. After doing some research I’m not convinced that that it will be a huge step-down in ease of use from the Apple TV and I personally will also have Scenario 4 available when I visit them.

Related Posts

Comments

comments