The Google Chrome Cast is a great way to stream your favorite movies, TV shows, and music to your television.
And while that may not seem feature packed out of the box, Chrome Cast has a lot of hidden features that are just beneath the surface.
Here are five tips and tricks you can try with your Chrome Cast.
Believe it or not, you can use your Chrome Cast to turn on your TV.
That is if your TV supports CEC.
While most manufacturers call CEC something different, it's a common feature on most modern televisions.
just enable this feature, then make sure the Chromecast is plugged in to a power adaptor and not a USB port on a TV.
Then whenever you try to cast something and the TV is off, Chromecast will first turn on the TV before starting the stream.
Were not in use as an added benefit, Chromecast will display various images on your television to help prevent image burn in.
In the Google Home App under Backdrop settings, you can select how fast these images update, and also what sources are displayed.
You can also enable weather and use headlines, as well as your own photos from Google Photos, Facebook, and Flickr.
Using a phone to control what's playing on your television isn't always convenient However if your television remote has play and pause controls, you can use those instead to control the Chromecast without having to reach for your phone.
As a plus if you have Google Home, you can actually use it to control your TV using your voice.
Just say, okay Goggle, stop the TV.
[MUSIC]
After the initial set up of the chrome test, you dont really need to tweak the settings or mess with the hardware.
However, if something goes awry, you may need to perform a factory data reset.
That can be done in one of two ways.
Either press the button along the edge of the chrome test and hold it for approximately Approximately 25 seconds.
Or, in the Google Home, go to Devices.
Tap the action overflow button for that specific device and select Settings.
In the next menu, hit the action overflow button one more time and select Factory Reset.
Finally, you can play mobile games with your Chromecast.
To find compatible titles, open the Google home app and look for games under the Discover tab.
One you install and open a game compatible with Chromecast, tap the Cast icon to begin streaming it to your television.
You can then use your phone as the controller.
And for multiplayer games you can use Android or iOS games together, so long as the game is available on both platforms.
For more tips on Chromecast and other smart home devices, be sure to go to CNET dot com forward slash how to.
