Chromecast is one of the best devices launched by Google. It is used to cast or mirror media files from your smart devices like smartphone and PC to TV. Chromecast is one of the best innovations in the tech industry. After the success of Chromecast, many smartphone applications have been updated with built-in Cast icon to cast video contents to Chromecast. But, if you are wondering, how does Chromecast work and casts contents from your smartphone to TV wirelessly? To know the answer to those questions, read the rest of the article.
Google Chromecast Components
To get a better understanding of how does Chromecast works technically, you need to know the components that are present inside a Chromecast device. Chromecast 3rd Gen doesn’t need any extra components, but Chromecast Ultra requires an Ethernet adapter to get sufficient internet connection for 4K streaming.
The internal components include,
- Micro USB port for power supply
- HDMI output port to connect to the TV
- Dual-band WiFi 80.11 b/g/n/ac adapter
- NFC and FM receivers
- 512 MB of SDRAM (the size may differ among devices)
- 2 GB flash memory.
Set up Chromecast
When you set up Chromecast for the first time, you will get the basic outline on how does Google Chromecast work. It is powered by the micro-USB port and receives the signal from the same WiFi-connected casting device and transmits it to your TV. Know more from our guide on How to Setup Chromecast.
Chromecast Working
Here comes the techie part of Chromecast. Chromecast is featured with some advanced tools that you might not aware of.
Google developed the Chromecast with DIAL (DIscover And Launch), which eliminates the requirements of having the app on both devices. This means that you don’t need to have the Netflix app on both smartphone and TV to cast its contents.
Other than DIAL, Chromecast has Software Development Kit (SDK) and APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) to control the volume and playback settings.
Many think that the casting device is streaming the content and sending it to the Chromecast, but it’s not true. When you cast a YouTube video, your casting device screen will display the “Casting to Chromecast” screen. From this, we can ensure that your casting device is not streaming content. The moment casting is made, the casting device is the remote control to your Chromecast.
When the casting is made, three things are happening between your Chromecast and casting device.
1. The casting device sends an HTTP request to the Chromecast, stating the URL content you want to cast.
2. Then, Chromecast receives the request and uses the internet connection to find what is in that URL. It finds the content of the URL within micro-seconds.
3. The moment When Chromecast gets the content from the URL, it starts streaming the content on your TV. Now you can use your casting device to control the streaming content.
This is how Google Chromecast works.
Related: How to Reset Chromecast
Final Words
Now, you have learned how Chromecast works and technical aspects of the device. Tell your friends the mystery of Chromecast and impress them. If you have any doubts about the working of Chromecast, tell us in the comments section below.