On modern Smart TVs it is possible to obtain most of the on-demand steaming services available on the Internet, but manufacturers do not always bother to update their apps, thus providing little support for new features. In these cases we can always focus on Chromecast, the Google dongle useful for transmitting the contents of the apps present on a mobile device or from a web browser tab on a PC. But if we wanted to try more, what alternatives to the Chromecast we can use to send multimedia content (videos, movies and apps), to the TV from a PC or from a smartphone / tablet "> Chromecast guide with 18 tricks and applications to use it at its best Alternatives to Chromecast
1) Amazon Fire TV Stick
The first valid alternative to the Chromecast that we can try is Amazon Fire TV Stick, available here -> Amazon Fire TV Stick and Fire TV 4K .
This device connects exactly like the Chromecast to a free HDMI port behind the TV and offers a large variety of multimedia apps (from Amazon Prime Video to Netflix), all ready to use and manageable via the convenient remote control; with a little bit of tweaking, you can also use it to send videos from your PC or smartphone using Miracast. Compared to the Chromecast, the Fire TV Stick saves the apps inside thanks to the dedicated operating system (based on Android), so we can decide which apps to keep and which not by personalizing our multimedia experience to the maximum. The Fire TV Stick allows you to transmit from compatible apps on mobile and, being a Miracast receiver, it allows you to transmit the full screen of Windows 10.
A guide on the available apps can be found here -> Amazon Fire TV Stick guide with tricks, apps and hidden functions .
2) Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter
Another viable alternative to the Chromecast is the Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter, available here -> Microsoft Wireless Display Adapter .
This HDMI device connects to a free port of the same name behind the TV and provides compatibility with the Miracast protocol, used by modern smartphones and the latest version of the Windows operating system (i.e. 10) to send the full screen.
With this solution then we can see the content of any app from the screen of our portable device or from the PC directly on the TV, without any kind of slowing down or shooting. Windows 10 natively supports Miracast so we can send the full screen of the PC, for example to transmit a browser tab.
3) Apple TV
We have dedicated a separate article to Apple TV, explaining when the Apple TV 4K pays off, with strengths and weaknesses . It is certainly more expensive than the other alternatives to Chromecast, and then it works better if you use other Apple products and if you subscribe to Apple's streaming service.
4) Android TV Box
Android TV Boxes are without a doubt one of the best Chromecast alternatives we can try. TV Boxes with Android offer a large number of apps (via the Play Store), are compatible with Kodi, Plex and any other type of multimedia media center and can be easily customized. There are currently two types of Android TV Boxes: certified TV Boxes and uncertified TV Boxes (in the vast majority of cases Chinese products). Among the certified TV Boxes, the NVIDIA Shield TV certainly stands out, a real multimedia console with support for Android apps and certified to display FullHD and 4K content from the main multimedia apps (primarily Netflix); you can view it from here -> NVDIA Shield TV .
If, on the other hand, we want to focus on an uncertified TV Box, the expense drops considerably (they are also € 50 or less), but many apps may not work properly (such as Netflix will only run with 480p resolution); we can view the best Android TV Box models in the guide available here -> Best Android TV BOX .
If you are interested in deepening the discussion on certified apps, you can read the guide available here -> See Netflix in 4K: which TV Box to buy .
Both certified TV boxes and Chinese TV boxes support Miracast technology (through a special receiving app), therefore they can receive the full screen signal from a PC with Windows 10.
5) Smart TV
The Chromecast or an alternative may not be necessary, if the TV in our possession is equipped with Smart functionality.
We access the Smart features of our TV, connect it to the Internet via WiFi or via Ethernet cable and find out which apps are available with the operating system. We could replicate most of the multimedia apps that we usually use (YouTube, Netflix etc.) and therefore avoid using any additional dongle or TV Box to obtain on-demand content. The more recent the TV, the more apps we can exploit or install on the system; to choose a new Smart TV, please read the guide here -> Best Smart TVs to buy . In order to transmit the full screen of the PC, the TV must be equipped with Miracast or alternatively have Google Cast technology integrated (Chromecast built-in).
6) DLNA
Your TV is compatible with the DLNA standard "> use a DLNA server to send local content on a PC or mobile device.
From PC I recommend using ReadyMedia, freely downloadable for Windows from here -> ReadyMedia .
With this program we can index the multimedia folders of the PC with Windows and make them available on the TV, which will see these as a new source (check the Source button or the Multimedia menu to see the ReadyMedia server appear).
To send content from smartphone to TV we can use Web Video Cast, available for Android here -> Web Video Cast .
Just access the files on the device and send them to the TV (present among the sources that can be used by the app as a DLNA client); alternatively we can also use this app to send the multimedia content of a Web page to the TV, just visit the page with the resource and tap at the top of the association button to send the content. To work properly, however, support is required for all multimedia codecs used on the network or for local files by the TV, so in case of problems most of the responsibilities will be of the TV (probably too old to read the current multimedia streams) .
DLNA currently cannot be used to send the full screen of the PC as Windows 10 allows to use only Miracast to send the signal, but we can still use this technology to send the videos saved on the hard disk.
READ ALSO: Film and video on Smart-TV streaming from PC, web and smartphone
