The Chromecast, the legendary HDMI stick to transmit on TV from your PC or phone, now has a new function to show, on the connected TV screen, a slideshow of personalized backgrounds that rotate slowly . This new wallpaper feature comes with the Chromecast app update for Android and iOS.
The first time you open the application after the update, you will be asked to customize the Chromecast through the new feature and just touch on YES to activate it.
From the updated app you can immediately activate the backgrounds by following the wizard, allow the Chromecast to access location data and the Google account and enable the slideshow of various categories of images: art, satellite images, foreground photos and photos personal .
Then there is also the option to view the weather conditions on TV always, near the clock.
The only important thing to know is that, to use personal photos, they must be included in a published album, even privately, on Google Photos.
If you are not using Google Photos, go to the photos.google.com site, log in with the same Google account used on your smartphone, go to the photos section via the "home" button at the top left and upload the photos to an album, (maybe calling it "for chromecast") by dragging them from the folder.
From the Chromecast app, go to the Wallpapers section, activate your personal photos and select only the album created.
The Chromecast must obviously be connected to the smartphone and to the TV that must be turned on.
In addition to personal photos there are also photos from the Art gallery, taken from Google Cultural Institute and Google Open Gallery, satellite images taken from Google Earth and close-up photos that are taken by Google+ users.
To try viewing the slideshow of a category of photos, just disable all the others and wait a few seconds.
Unfortunately there is no way to browse photos manually and change images.
To have more control and see the personal photos that flow on TV you need a different app like Castify or AllCast for Android or Photocast for iPhone.
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