I don’t know if you’ve noticed this thing that showed up on YouTube a while back. When you’re playing a video on a mobile device and you’re in the vicinity of a TV set that’s on the same WiFi network, you can hit the Cast icon and watch the video on your TV set.
That’s especially fun if your spouse happens to be watching something else and you’re in the next room like the first time I hit the icon wondering what the heck it was. Good thing what I was watching at the moment was PG.
Here’s how to do that in case you need further assistance.
There’s always been the thought that when people want to watch video, they’ll go for the highest quality on the biggest screen they can find. Out at an event? No problem, I’ll use my phone to watch the clip. At a coffee shop? I’ll use my tablet or laptop on their WiFi. At home, I’ll watch it on that 60-inch HDTV set.
We’ll get to find out whether that hold true as more online content providers make content available to watch on your TV.
Facebook is getting in on the action
Facebook has jumped into the fray by letting users stream videos on Facebook to your TV set as well. Maybe doesn’t make sense for that :15 cute kid video, but it opens the door to longer-form, higher quality content – like what Twitter is doing by streaming NFL games.
As a quick aside, I watched a good part of the NFL Thursday night game on Twitter. The quality of the stream was as good as anything I’ve ever seen online and it was rock solid.
For now, Facebook allows you stream to your TV through Apple TV, Apple Air Play, or Google Chromecast. Here is how you do that.
The fun part of the Facebook streaming to your TV is that while you’re watching the video on your big TV set, you can see the reactions and comments in real-time on your device.
Paul Dughi.com 