CHROMECAST DEVICE LIKELY TO BOOST MOVIE VIEWING ON TV

Google’s tiny Chromecast device, which streams movies and TV shows on the Internet to TV sets in the home from a smartphone or tablet without a settop box is likely to boost business for Netflix, Amazon Instant, and other streaming services, attendees at Broadcasting & Cable‘s NextTV Summit were told. Today’s (Wednesday) Los Angeles Times observed that even while Apple was unveiling its newest iPhones, the device that was generating the greatest enthusiasm among the media executives attending the conference was the 2-inch-long $35 Chromecast. Brightcove Chief Technical Officer Albert Lai was quoted by the newspaper as saying that the device renders the question of whether to buy a new “smart” TV set with built-in streaming technology moot. “Do you buy another receiver? Pay more money?” said Lai. “Google comes out, you have a dongle that costs $35. Now you can buy three of them” for every TV set in the home.