Google recently unveiled Chromecast, a HDMI dongle that lets use “cast” content from your mobile device or computer to your TV over a Wi-Fi network. We recently reported that the dongle didn’t have support for public Wi-Fi networks, meaning that you wouldn’t be able to use it on a hotel’s wireless connection, which is certainly a huge drawback for travelers. It is now being reported that Google’s $35 dongle doesn’t support YouTube live streams, so if watching the next Google event on your big TV was on the agenda, you’ll have to make some other arrangement.
AndroidPolice reports that for now, YouTube live stream support is not present in Chromecast. Google has mentioned this in a support page as well, but a clear reason has not been provided as to why Chromecast is unable to support YouTube live streams. Moreover, YouTube videos that are set to “private” or disabled for mobile viewing will also not be playable via the dongle. One may try to work around this by accessing the live stream on their desktop or laptop via the Chrome browser and then “casting” it to Chromecast, in that case apparently only the audio and a few choppy frames are beamed to the TV. Despite all of these shortfalls, there seems to be genuine interest in Google’s dongle. The company sold out of its initial stock within one day of launch.
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