[preppystud]

i sometimes watch tv shows directly from their tv web sites. i usually connect a hdmi cable from my laptop to the tv. then i won't be able to use the laptop to do anything else during watching.

i know that chromecast can cast videos from youtube.

are there currently any machines that will allow me to cast videos from regular web sites instead of youtube, etc?

and i suppose that during that time, i can't put my laptop to sleep while watching, can i?

[B. Diddy]

As long as you use Chrome, you can cast the whole Chrome screen to the TV using any laptop. So if you're on a streaming website, start casting, and then go fullscreen on the laptop, it will be fullscreen on the TV as well. It generally works well, although casting the Chrome browser itself to Chrome can sometimes be a little less smooth than casting a website or app that is specifically optimized for Chromecast.

Casting the whole Chrome browser to the TV also means you can't do anything else with the laptop or device while it's casting, because that stuff will also be seen on the TV.

Certain mobile devices can cast the whole screen to the TV as well. Here's the list of compatible devices: https://support.google.com/chromecas.../6059461?hl=en

Remember that the device or laptop itself doesn't matter as much as your wi-fi LAN. If you have a slow or buggy router, then the casting might not be very smooth.

[preppystud]

so basically, it is like an expensive hdmi cable?

if i cast a tv show by using my tablet, will that tablet be on all the time as well? or can i do it with a tablet at all?

thanks.

[B. Diddy]

Chromecasts cost $35 at the most, and often as cheap as $25 on sale or refurbished, so I wouldn't consider them expensive. Especially compared to the unnecessarily expensive Monster HDMI cables that Best Buy tries to sucker people into buying.

For apps that are optimized for Chromecast, you can start casting something to the screen, then start doing something else on the tablet. The casting app (like HBO Go, for example) will continue streaming and casting in the background while you do something else. It's similar on your Chrome browser on the computer as well. If you start casting a tab using a site that is optimized for Chromecast (like Google Play Music), then you can do something else on the browser or computer while Google Play Music continues casting to the Chromecast.

[preppystud]

cheaper hdmi cables are selling for 99 cents at those dollar stores now.

thanks for the answers. from what you wrote, it seems that, if i want to watch a tv show from a regular tv web site (not those apps or site for chromecast), i will have to keep the latop on and can't use it for anything else.

i don't think that abc, cbs, nbc, etc, those sites are made for chromecast, or are they? or are those tv shows are also on those casting apps already?

thanks.

[B. Diddy]

Now that I think about it, I think I misspoke earlier. On your laptop, if you use Chrome to cast the screen, I believe it will only cast what's on the Chrome browser. So you could actually cast a show using Chrome, then open a different browser like Firefox and use that to continue doing other stuff on your computer while the TV show still casts.