Apple TV vs Chromecast | Which is Better for ‘Casting’ to Your TV?

Many of you are wondering if the cheap Google Chromecast or the Powerful Apple TV is the best media streamer. Media – streaming devices have come crashing down in price over the last few years, with the devices such as the Sky Now TV Box now costs less than the print and the portion of fish and chips. It has become highly popular for people to connect the media streamer to their current household television instead of splashing out the lot extra for a smart TV. In fact, media streamers are probably a better investment because they are regularly updated and offer all the latest content, and if the changes, you can buy another for next to nothing. There are plenty of media streamers available in the market, but the two major players are the Chromecast and Apple TV. There are a lot more things involved in choosing between these devices. The advantages of having the media streamer which is manifold. You can stream the films or TV shows from services such as Netflix or the BBC iPlayer without the need to plug your laptop into the TV or have a noisy PC whirring away –  all these devices are silent in operation and consume very little power.

Related: Apple TV vs Roku – Which is the best media streamer?

Apple TV vs Chromecast: Price

Chromecast is another fantastic value. In fact, it’s almost an impulse spend. Apple TV used to be a highly affordable, and especially when Apple dropped its prices from £79 to £59. You can buy the Apple TV or slightly cheaper through the Apple Certified Refurbished store. I should also mention that there is the new chromecast Ultra (4K streaming) that costs £69.

Cheaper, the Chromecast is a lot more affordable, but with Apple TV you can get a remote control and the box which can be operated as the standalone device, in the comparison, the Chromecast is a receiver.

Apple TV vs Chromecast: Design

Chromecast is on the least prominent media streamer in the market. It plugs directly into the TV’s HDMI ports and is powered via USB, which can come from your TV or via the included wall adapter found in the box.

Apple TV is the small square box, which is still very neat, although you need to find a room to place it next to the TV. While the Chromecast is controlled entirely via the smartphone over Wi-Fi, the Apple TV ships with the remote control and This means that you need to place it so that its IR receiver is in the line of sight to where you’re sitting.

When the Chromecast has only the HDMI port, the Apple TV has HDMI and the optional S/PDIF output so that you can hook it up to the older amp for the better sound. Apple doesn’t provide the HDMI cable in the box, although it sells the soft-touch so that you can hook it up to the older amp for better sound. Apple doesn’t provide the HDMI cable in the box, although it sells a soft-touch black rubber cable to match the bundled power cable. Alternatively, you can use any old HDMI cable you’ve got lying around or buy the new cheap one. There is no point in buying expensive HDMI cables, as they don’t make a difference.

Apple TV vs Chromecast: Networking

Apple’s the hands-down winner for flexibility here. With 802.11ac with MIMO dual-band 2.4GHz and 5GHz) and Ethernet, the Apple TV is the most flexible streamer of the two, connecting to any network. In contrast, the Chromecast has an 802.11n adapter that’s also the dual-band (2.4 and 5GHz) You can also connect it to an Ethernet connection using the USB power adapter. If you are having problems with Wi-Fi, our guide on how to troubleshoot and extended Wi-Fi networks will help.

Apple TV vs Chromecast: Interface and local apps

Chromeacst does not have the interface as such. In fact, it’s just a device, which allows you to send the contents, and This means that it requires another device for it to work, such as a smartphone or PC.

Apple TV, on the other hand, is the complete media streamer in its own right, running tvOS. Apple’s tvOS is the great inclusion and came after years of not running its operating system. You can now browse, download and use the apps directly from your Apple TV device. There is some reasonable range of applications including Netflix, Sky Now TV, Sky News TV, YouTube and Flickr. Also, you can access all of the music and videos are stored on your home computer through iTunes Home Sharing, and all of your Apple TV, movies, and music via the cloud. It even integrates with the iCloud so that you can view your Photo Stream on the TV.

Apple’s interface is both simple and smooth. The remote control ships in the box with just a cursor pad and the buttons for select, back, and Play Pause. Alternatively, the Apple Remote app lets you control the media streamer over your home network using your iPhone or Tablet. Using the application is also mean that you can use your tablet or phone’s touch keyboard to type text into the search boxes, which is much more comfortable and quicker than using the remote and on-screen keyboard. Without having to pull the phone out to access the key apps, You can quickly get started with the Apple TV.

Apple Remote app on iOS lets you control the media streamer over your home network using the iPhone or Tablet. Using the app even means that you can use the tablet or phone’s touch Keyboard to enter text into the search boxes, which is much more comfortable and quicker than using the remote and on-screen keyboard. Without having to pull the phone out to access key apps, you can quickly get started with the Apple TV.

Apple TV vs Chromecast: Airplay vs Casting

Take the Apple TV’s built-in applications away and both it and the Chromecast work in a similar way, letting you use the smartphone or tablet to beam content to them. Apple calls its technology AirPlay while Google calls its technology Casting. Both the technologies are conceptually the same. When using the supported applications, you can tap the button and select the Chromecast or Apple TV which you want to send the content to. Rather than streaming it from your phone or tablet, you pass over the information of where the original stream is, letting the Chromecast or Apple TV take control directly. With this method, you can use the handheld device as usual for other tasks, without disrupting the stream. Crucially, both technologies still let you control the playback from your device. So that you can play/pause, and scrub through an audio file or video.

Apple calls its technology AirPlay while Google calls its technology Casting. Both technologies are conceptually the same. When using the supported app, you can tap the button and select Chromecast or Apple TV which you want to send the content to. Instead of streaming it from your phone or tablet, you pass over the information of where the original stream is, letting the Chromecast or Apple TV take control directly. With this method, you can use the handheld device as normal for other tasks, without interrupting the stream. Crucially, both the technologies still allow you to control the playback from your device. So, you can play/pause, and scrub through an audio file or video. With this method, you can use the handheld device as the norm for other tasks, without disrupting the stream. Crucially, both technologies still allow you to control the playback from your device. So that you can play/pause, and seek through an audio file or video.

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