To set up Chromecast, you have to use the Google Home app on mobile devices, or Google's Chrome web browser on a computer. This dynamic allows you to turn off your mobile device without stopping whatever is streaming from the Chromecast to your TV. Once an app is launched, it runs on the Chromecast, but a communication channel will be open that allows the client device to act as a sort of remote control.

The applications on the device are web applications that receive the aforementioned HTTP requests and react accordingly. The basic Chromecast runs a pared-down version of the Chrome browser. All this allows for functionality such as pausing and volume control, as well as additional features that app developers are free to implement. There are Google Cast APIs (application programming interfaces) for each compatible operating system. It developed the Google Cast SDK (software development kit) to enable developers to add related functionality to third-party apps that can be used to launch media from the client device to the Chromecast. Google created Google Cast screen-sharing technology to work on top of DIAL, adding a lot more functionality than DIAL could offer alone. Like its brother, the Chromecast with Google TV has an HDMI connector to plug into the TV, but the power cable uses a USB-C connection rather than micro USB. The remote control for each is color coordinated and offers voice control in addition to physical buttons. It comes in three colors: snow, sunrise and sky.

It is 6.4 inches (162 millimeters) long, 2.4 inches (61 millimeters) wide and 0.5 inches (12.5 millimeters) thick.

The Chromecast with Google TV has a similar form factor, although the device itself is ovular. It comes in two colors - chalk and charcoal. In addition to its HDMI connector, it has a micro USB port for power. It's 6.4 inches long (162 millimeters) from end to end with the cord included, but the device itself is 2 inches (51.8 millimeters) in diameter and half an inch (13.8 millimeters) thick. Although the original Chromecast looked a lot like a bulbous flash drive, the third-generation model is disc-shaped with a cord permanently attached that you plug into your TV.

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