Google adds Chromecast video streaming to dev version of Chrome OS

By Konrad Krawczyk September 15, 2014

google adds chromecast video streaming dev version chrome os cast — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Google is working on adding the ability to stream videos stored in your Google Drive account from your Chrome OS computer, to whatever device your Chromecast is plugged into. Google’s Francois Beaufort, who is the tech giant’s “Happiness Evangelist,” made the announcement in this Google+ post.

Related: Vine, Evernote, and other Android apps come to Chrome OS

To pull this off, Beaufort says that all you need to do is open the Files app, go to Drive, and start playing a movie. From there, a new Chromecast button should appear in the upper-right hand corner of the video player, directly to the left of Minimize, Maximize, and Close. You’ll need to have the Google Cast Extension installed and enabled for this to work.

Keep in mind that, at this point, this feature is only enabled in the development version of Chrome OS. That’s not the one that ships with Chromebooks, and Chrome OS desktops. However, we expect this feature to eventually roll out to the full version of Chrome OS, but there’s no way to know when that will happen exactly.

Related: Chrome OS lets you watch Google Play movies and TV clips offline

Just a few months ago, a Google exec talked about how the company plans to add more and more functionality to Chrome OS with fairly frequent updates. Last week, Google added the ability to run Android apps like Vine, Evernote, and others on Chrome OS computers. This is a feature that was talked about during Google I/O 2014.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Konrad Krawczyk

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Konrad covers desktops, laptops, tablets, sports tech and subjects in between for Digital Trends. Prior to joining DT, he…

Computing

Google teases a true video editor for its Chromebooks

Luma Fusion Running on Chrome OS

Chromebooks might have better battery life, security, and performance when compared to MacBooks and Windows PCs, but video editing has always been their weakness. That might soon change, though, as Google recently teased a true video editor for Chrome OS during the annual I/O developer conference.

As mentioned at around the 18-minute mark in a "what's new in Chrome OS" video, Google says it is planning to bring LumaFusion to Chromebooks. This video editor is already quite popular on iOS, yet Google says it has worked closely with the developer of the app to create a "powerful multi-track video editing experience on Android optimized for large screens" on Chrome OS.

Computing

All the new Chromebook features quietly announced at Google I/O

A beta showing off Google's plans for Android and Chromebook app streaming.

At the annual Google I/O developer conference, Google announced several new features coming to Chrome OS later this year. The majority are designed to bring Android phones and Chromebooks closer together with cross-device synergies like communication and app streaming.

As discussed in a 23-minute-long breakout session video, one of the top talked-about features coming to Chrome OS soon is Camera Roll. With this one, you can open and share recent photos from your Android phone on your Chromebook. It will be coming "later this year" and will live in the Chrome OS Phone Hub. From there, you can simply drag and drop the listed photos as needed.

Computing

How to share a video on Google Drive

Side view of a person using a laptop while sitting at a table and wearing headphones.

Sharing videos via Google Drive is pretty simple, but you'll need to know how to do two things: Upload them to your Google Drive and then share them. In this guide, we'll go over exactly that, and we'll address a couple of common issues that may come up while uploading those videos.