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Disney+ will have apps for iOS, Apple TV, Android and Xbox One
The debut of Disney's highly anticipated streaming service, Disney+, is almost here. But, leading up to the November 12th launch date, the company is starting to share more details about it. Today we're learning about how you'll be able to watch content on Disney+, which includes new original series like The Mandalorian, every season of The Simpsons and Disney's entire movie library. And while we knew Disney was planning to bring Disney+ to "your favorite" smart TVs, phones, laptops, tablets and gaming consoles, the only devices it had actually named were Roku and Sony's Playstation 4. Now, in addition to those, Disney's making it official that Disney+ will support iOS, Apple TV, Android, Android TV, Google Chromecast and Xbox One at launch.
Google Chromecast celebrates its second birthday with freebies
Today marks two years since Google debuted Chromecast, the small and affordable streaming device. To celebrate its second birthday, the company's letting owners get in on a couple promotional offers: a free movie rental and access to 90 days of Play Music. Google did something similar last year, but back then it only included the complimentary subscription to its audio-streaming service. For those of you who don't have a Chromecast yet, the deal will be available until December 31st, so there's still some time to take advantage of it.
TuneIn brings over 100,000 radio stations to your Chromecast
Today is a great day to be a Chromecast owner. Joining Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, Sesame Street Go and others, TuneIn is now also making its mobile apps compatible with Google's budget-friendly streaming dongle. Now that TuneIn has added support for Chromecast, you can start casting more than 100,000 radio stations, including local and international, as well as a ton of different news, music and sports podcasts. Oddly enough, the TuneIn Radio Pro applications don't appear to have been updated, but nothing's keeping those users from going to the non-paid version to get their Chromecast fix. Update: Looks like TuneIn's Radio Pro apps have been updated as well.
Use YouTube to queue videos for Chromecast viewing
Chromecast and YouTube are like a match made in heaven. And, since they're both part of Google's big picture strategy, it makes sense for both things to be as friendly as possible with each other. To that end, YouTube's taken to to Google+ (how meta, eh?) to reveal that Chromecast owners can now use its site (as in YouTube.com) to queue videos -- essentially, this is meant to simplify the process, since it lets you arrange what to play next from a single tab on your browser. Just as well, there are more changes coming to the YouTube watch page on the web (pictured below), including an easier way to create playlists and share videos across social networks, plus a new description box. The Chromecast feature is available now, while the other tweaks are expected to rollout over the next few days.
Google+ puts your social feed on a TV with Chromecast
Just when you think the Chromecast can't get any better, it does. So, with more and more services offering support for the diminutive (and very cheap) device, it's only natural for Google to make its own apps work better with it. To that end, Google+ on Android now lets you display photos from your social stream on a nearby television, thanks to a newly added button in the search giant's networking application. Technically, doing that was already (sort of) possible with Android's screen mirroring on Chromecast, but this is something actually designed to be viewed on a TV. Once it starts casting, the Google+ app can cycle through posts from your feed and put them in a loop -- that said, you also have the option to pause, in case there's a photo you really like and want to use as a wallpaper of sorts. Right now, the feature appears to be limited to Android, though it wouldn't surprise us to see it come to the iOS version of the app later on.
Google brings WatchESPN, MLS and more to Chromecast
The response Google's received since opening up its Chromecast SDK has been phenomenal, as more and more services continue to bring support for the tiny streaming device. As of today, we can add some extra entertainment options to the list. WatchESPN, Major League Soccer, Crunchyroll and the search giant's own Google+ are all welcoming Chromecast compatibility, thanks to updates to their respective apps on iOS and Android. WatchESPN and MLS Matchday join MLB.tv in letting you Cast live sports right from your smartphone or tablet -- that's assuming you have the right subscription, of course. Additionally, the Google+ iOS and Android applications now let you use the $35 dongle to display photos and videos on a TV near you; Crunchyroll, meanwhile, does the same, but with popular anime shows instead of your own media.
Batter up: Chromecast now live streams every pitch with MLB.tv
Google's little $35 dongle is like a fine wine: it just keeps getting better with age. Today, the Chromecast is adding support for MLB.tv, letting you push out live out-of-market games right to your TV from a smartphone or tablet. The only caveat is that you'll need an MLB.tv Premium subscription to do so, but chances are most of you hardcore fans of America's pastime already have one of those. If you do, the only thing left to do is grab the MLB At Bat app from Google Play or the App Store -- an update that brings Chromecast support to these apps should be rolling out as we speak. And while you're at it, perhaps you may want to download R.B.I. Baseball 14, so you can have an all-baseball day to yourself.
Rdio support for Google Chromecast is in the works
Now that Google has finally opened up the Chromecast SDK to developers, we can expect a whole lot of different applications to start being friendly with the $35 dongle. With this in mind, Rdio, via the RdioHelp Twitter account, let it be known that its dev team is already working to offer native support for Google's Chromecast. As it stands, Rdio subscribers do have the ability to stream music by casting a Chrome tab on the web, though this would indicate that a solution compatible with the service's mobile apps is on the way. The tweet doesn't mention any details about when Rdio for Chromecast could be available -- but, hey, at least we know it's coming.
Google optimizes web versions of Play Movies and Music for Chromecast
The Chromecast is the tiny dongle that just keeps on giving. A mere couple of days after announcing support for a number of new applications, Google has let it be known that its $35 streamer is now compatible with Play Movies and Music on the desktop in a more native way. What this means is you will no longer have to rely on casting a Chrome tab to watch videos or listen to tunes ; instead, a Cast icon shows up within the Google Play web player and allows content to seamlessly be pushed to the device. Of course, there's still a requirement to have the Google Cast extension installed on your Chrome browser -- but this is a small price to pay in exchange for such useful functionality.
Google Chromecast adds 10 new apps to its streaming arsenal
For users of Google's $35 Chromecast dongle, the inclusion of HBO Go was pretty much the final piece of the holy streaming trifecta (the others being Netflix and Hulu Plus). Now, however, Google's opting for quantity over quality and adding 10 new apps to its Chromecast-friendly suite. So what's in that grab bag of apps? Well, beyond just supporting its own Chrome browser, Google's now made media casting easier by supporting Plex, RealPlayer Cloud and Avia. But there's also a host of music and video content hubs, like Revision3, VEVO, Red Bull.TV, Viki, Songza, PostTV and BeyondPod, that can now cast straight to your HDTV. Don't fret if you're not seeing the apps update just yet -- Google's said the roll out should take place over the "next few days."
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