While reserving a room at your favorite weekend destination can be a welcome retreat, you may be disappointed to learn that many hotels offer guests only basic cable TV. This leaves many of us without access to our precious Netflix or Hulu subscription. Fortunately, if you’re already a Google Chromecast or Chromecast with Google TV user, you can overcome this shortcoming quite easily and connect your Chromecast to your hotel TV. Don’t forget to pack your Chromecast in your luggage! Here’s how you can start streaming while you’re away.
Google
Connect Chromecast to TV
This first step is critical. Your hotel room TV should have an open HDMI port that you can access (many of them don’t). Otherwise, it’s game over. While searching, pay attention to see if the HDMI cable is already connected to the TV. If so, you may need to turn it off in one of the following steps. Once a free port is found, turn on your Chromecast.
Step 1 – Check the sides of the TV or, if you can access it, the back. The inputs must be clearly labeled as HDMI 1, HDMI 2, etc.
Step 2 – Connect the Chromecast to the HDMI port. It doesn’t matter which one, just write down if it’s HDMI 1, HDMI 2, etc.
Step 3 – Connect the power cable to the Chromecast and the other end to a wall outlet. (The TV’s USB port may work to power the Chromecast. It may not work if it’s not supplying enough power to the Chromecast, so it’s best to use a wall outlet if possible.)
Pro Tip: Bring an extra-long USB power cable in case there isn’t a free power outlet near the TV.
Step 4 – Change the input on the TV to match the one you connected the Chromecast to. (You remembered to remember, right? HDMI 1, HDMI 2, etc.)
If it was successful, you should see the Chromecast default setup screen. If you can’t find an open HDMI port, try the next step.
If there is no open HDMI port
If there’s no free HDMI port or you’re having trouble switching inputs (perhaps because your TV doesn’t allow it), it’s time to try plan B. If you found a cable already connected to the HDMI port in step 1, unplug it and replace it. your Chromecast. Of course, this means you’ll lose your hotel TV channels, but you can always replace them once you’re done drinking. Strange things.
Keep in mind that many hotel chains will purchase HDTVs that are connected to the hotel’s media servers. In many cases, this means that the TV’s HDMI ports may be blocked.
So even if there are one or two ports available to connect your Chromecast to, the ports themselves may not work. If you run into this problem, there is a quick fix you can try.
Look at the back of the TV. If you see a cable that looks like an Ethernet cable connected to the TV, go ahead and unplug it. This is the data cable (or RJ11 cable) that the hotel uses to deliver cable transmissions to each TV. Once this cable is disconnected, you should be able to use the HDMI inputs on the TV.
Google
Connect to the Internet
If you’ve made it this far, this is (hopefully) the last step.
Step 1: Connect your phone or tablet to the hotel’s Wi-Fi network. This can be done through an open link or by setting a password that is provided to you when you register. Check with reception if you need help connecting your phone to the hotel’s Wi-Fi network.
Step 2 – Now that you’re connected to the internet, if you haven’t already, download the free Google Home app from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Then launch the app and follow the onscreen instructions to set up Chromecast on the same Wi-Fi network.
If you need more help setting up Chromecast, check out our detailed Chromecast setup guide.
Congratulations, you’re ready to start streaming!
Caleb Denison/Digital Trends
When Chromecast won’t connect
If you still can’t get Chromecast up and running, you should try other things.
Step 1 – Set up a Wi-Fi hotspot.
If you can’t connect your Chromecast to your hotel Wi-Fi network, you can set up your own Wi-Fi hotspot.
If you have a Windows laptop, you can share your Wi-Fi connection with your smartphone and Chromecast.
You can do the same thing on a MacOS laptop, but only if you can connect the laptop to an Ethernet connection in your hotel room, and that’s increasingly rare.
The same applies to using the phone as a hotspot. Keep in mind that if you have limited data, you will use it up quickly when streaming video.
Step 2: Bring your travel router.
A travel router offers the most reliable way to create a Wi-Fi hotspot that you can then share with the devices in your hotel room, including Chromecast.
There are plenty of them on Amazon and elsewhere, and they’re usually under $75. However, some require access to an Ethernet jack; as we mentioned above, this can be hard to find. A model that can operate in Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) mode (or bridge mode) will allow you to log into your hotel Wi-Fi and then share that connection as a normal Wi-Fi network, with a name and password of your choice.
One more thing
If none of these options work for you, or you just don’t want to bother with HDMI ports and Wi-Fi hotspots, you may not need to bring your Chromecast. More and more hotels are starting to install Chromecast-enabled systems like RoomCast. If your hotel has it, all you need is a phone, tablet or laptop and you’re good to go.
Travel locations may only offer you basic cable, so bringing your own Chromecast and connecting the Chromecast to the hotel TV is a great option. If your hotel television allows it, you will be able to watch all your favorite shows by following the steps above. Just remember to unplug your Chromecast when you leave and turn anything you changed on the TV back on.
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Source: newstars.edu.vn