This is a great option for digital signage because of its small form factor and can easily fit behind any TV Click here to see if the Chromecast is available in your region.Īnother option in this price range are Android boxes. Picture quality goes right up there with other 4K streaming media players and plays content beautifully with minimal issues from our experience. The new Chromecast with Google TV released in 2020 comes with all of the features previous models have such as 4K resolution and casting capabilities, but now with a fully fledged operating system and remote control. Although it has Chromecast in the name, this device is far different from its predecessors. This device only ships in six countries though, so for international shipping you'll want to look at the Chromecast with Google TV, which also costs $49.99 and has similar if not exactly the same features as the Fire TV Stick 4K.Ĭhromecast with Google TV is a great alternative to the Amazon Fire TV 4K stick as it shares the same pricing, is very easy to set up and get started with digital signage. Just plug this little device into the back of your TV and in minutes you can turn a dumb TV into a powerful digital screen. This is a great entry level digital signage device as you don't need anything else other than a TV and HDMI port. We recommend the Amazon Fire TV 4K Stick, which costs $49.99. Our first choice in this price range is the Amazon's Fire TV device. Let's take a closer look at the available options. What media device should you use as an alternative to Chromecast for digital signage?Īs we explained earlier, for around the same price as a Chromecast, there are devices that are more powerful and better suited to digital signage.
For the same price you can get a much more powerful device that is better suited to digital signage in the form of an Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K, the Chromecast with Google TV, Android device, or for a bit more, even a commercial grade device like our ScreenCloud OS device, or for a bit more, even a Chrome OS or Windows device. It costs $35 for the standard Chromecast model and $69 for the Chromecast Ultra, which supports 4K video. So if it's technically possible, you may be asking, why are we still saying that you shouldn't use a Chromecast for digital signage? The answer is in the alternatives.
For ScreenCloud digital signage specifically, the Chromecast doesn't support some important features like offline usage, multi-zone layouts or certain advanced, power hungry apps, which many alternative devices at the same, or lower costs, do.ĭespite the downsides mentioned above, we previously developed a workaround so that our customers, who had already purchased the Chromecast, could still use it to display ScreenCloud.
The other problem is that the Chromecast is really just a display device, and you can't really install apps on the Chromecast. Instead, it mostly relies on the processing power and rendering power of the device you use to fling content to it. Yes, that means that your Android phone probably is a lot more powerful than your Chromecast device. It's not particularly powerful, and has minimal storage. Should you use Chromecast for digital signage?Īt the heart of it, the Chromecast is a pretty dumb device. Here, we give you some alternatives to ensure you're getting the best bang for your buck. Choose the Chromecast device where you want to watch the content.Google's Chromecast is a great, affordable media device, but we don't recommend buying it for digital signage. To connect your computer and Chromecast device to the same Wi-Fi network.Note: To play the audio on your TV, use a Windows computer.