Fortysomething Geek

A few months ago, I reviewed a 9" Korean made portable HDMI/MHL monitor, the Popad. You can read it here on this blog. It is an iPad/Tablet shaped, sized portable battery powered monitor.



I haven't used it in months and decided to take it out of the box again.

I wanted to play with the Chromecast SDK and I needed something I could pop on my desk without taking up any extra space and this did the trick. I also didn't want to dedicate any of my main desktop pc display for just Chromecast. I think this did the trick.

Have in mind, the resolution isn't that great at 1280x720 (720p) but it does work. The Popad uses micro-HDMI and the MHL port can be used to power the Chromecast device.
As you can see below, everything works out pretty good. Both the white cables (micro USB/MHL and micro HDMI) connect to the Chromecast on both ends. The black cable is standard micro USB to power and charge the PoPad display.









Once it is fully charged, the PoPad can run for a solid 9 hours. I have to say, it could be a handy set-up for just watching Netflix while you are working.

My original Popad review:
Link: http://fortysomethinggeek.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-look-korean-export-9-inch-popad.html

After getting my Motorola Lapdock last fall, I haven't had time to play with it much. Today, I figure I would couple it with a Google Chromecast HDMI dongle.

The result. Amazingly cool. See for yourself.




The install was straightforward if you have the micro HDMI adapters. The Lapdock's USB port powers the Chromecast. Booting is pretty instantaneous. The Lapdock had no issues recognizing the HDMI video feed from the Chromecast.


Wait, I just had a revelation. This would make a cool,portable, low-power Plex media player now that Plex supports the Chromecast.

OK, so I broke down and bought a Google Chromecast. Early on, I figure I didn't have a need for it since all my TVs have some form of Netflix, Youtube playback. I also have an AppleTV for screen casting and iTunes movie playback. The Chromecast appeared to be redundant and un-necessary for my needs.

So why did I get one? Simple. They finally added PLEX support. Yep, the latest updates now support PLEX playback for PlexPass members which I happen to be. I figure I could cut my electricity usage even further. I was using a combination of HTPC, iPad, and GoogleTV to watch PLEX in my living room. With a HTPC, I was still burning un-necessary KwH of electricity leaving it on days and weeks at a time just for PLEX. I was also an inch away from picking up a refrurb ROKU unit for another room just for PLEX. However, the latest updates and recent holiday promos, I decided to just bite the bullet.


So how does it work. Brilliant. I configured everything from my iPhone, browsed PLEX on my iPhone and voila. PLEX via Chromecast. The whole process took less than 5 minutes.




Thats it.

Now, there are some issues. I can't seem to swap audio channels and have no way of knowing DTS or AC3 5.1 surround is enabled. There is no way to swap audio tracks. I figure there will be a future software update to fix this.

Right now, I'm pretty giddy.

Playing PLEX is pretty cool as you can go back on the app and pick up what you are watching and scrub (rewind/fast-forward) your position. With apps like youtube, once you initiate a playback, you can't control it if you end up doing something else.

Speaking of Youtube, the 1080p playback is flawless. I fired up some videos from my Macbook and was generally impressed. The only thing that bothered me was if I closed my browser or swap to my phone, there was no way to control the playback on the television.

There are lots of software/solutions that turns computers, NAS, and other devices into Airplay compatible end receivers. Now, there is one like that for Chrome "casting." It is called Chromecatch. It is a 3ドル app on the MacStore and there is an iOS version that turns your iPad into a chromecaster.

What does all this mean? The same functionality of the 35ドル HDMI Google Chromecast dongle can be replicated on a computer. 3ドル sure beats 35ドル if you want to experiment with this functionality.

The Cast icon shows up on Chrome devices if you are on the same network. I tried it with both computer, iOS, and Android devices. Unfortunately, Google half baked Chrome casting so it isn't available on the Samsung Chromebook.



Here is my Samsung 7" Galaxy Tab casting youtube to a Macbook Pro Retina. The Galaxy tablet is handing off the youtube to the Macbook.

I was thinking about plopping down 35ドル for the Google HDMI dongle, the Chromecast. However, I happen to get a few airplay speakers in which my opinion went 360 degrees. The Chromecast only does video and not a good job at that. I listen to music mostly so audio streaming is pretty important for my use case needs. Yesterday, I got a Klipsch G-17 and a Sony SA-NS500. When I set-up them up, I discovered something I never knew before: Multiple streaming to various speakers simultaneously. Take that AD2P Bluetooth! You don't get that compress AM sound of Bluetooth with Airplay and you don't need to pair if you are on the same network. I live in a house with three floors and approximately 4,000 sq foot and Airplay works everywhere. Bluetooth works at most 15 feet.

I did not pay attention until now but the ability to stream multiple speakers all at once is a stroke of genius.

The Chromecast would have a been a fun toy at 35ドル but I have no need for extra gadgets I often throw away into the sock drawer after 15 minutes of use. The key deterrent was the fact some of the streaming is gimped and not available on the low-end Chromebooks which I have. In addition to video, the key thing I use Airplay for is for music. Airplay is really mature and I can't wait to get my free iTunes radio (iTunes Match subscribers get ad-free playback). This will be pretty cool to listen to all that free music all over the house. This means, I think I will be investing a little more in Airplay and airplay devices.

Now, I think I'm going to invest in some AudioEngine A5+ and an Airport Express set-up. I just ordered a refurb Airport Express station for 65ドル. I think it is well worth it. I may even splurge on some high-end Bowers and Wilkins A7 this Christmas.
Simply brilliant. The ability to walk from room to room, floor to floor, with all the speakers playing the same music track all synchronized is pretty cool indeed.