Many of our teaching / meeting rooms are equipped with ChromeCast capabilities. ChromeCast allows users to wirelessly share the screens/content on their laptop, tablet or mobile phones with the large multimedia devices (screens) in the meeting rooms room. It removes the requirements for cables or adapters when users wish to display PowerPoint presentations or videos to the wider audience.  The instructions on how to use the ChromeCast feature are below and also in the rooms.

To see a list of meeting rooms with ChromeCast capabilities (or wider AV functions), please click here.

 

1. Switch the main display of the meeting room to the Chromecast input

Use the     button found on the bottom of the PC/Tablet devices to bring up the list of input options, and select HDMI 1.

2.Ensure Chromecast device is on.

Look behind the screen and you should see a device that looks like the below image plugged into an HDMI port.  Power is obtained via a standard micro USB power supply.  When powered on there should be a solid white indicator light visible.

3. Connect your device (Laptop/Tablet/Phone) to the ChromeCast WiFi network
Each media room has a laminated instruction sheet. The password to the ChromeCast network is available on the instruction sheet in each room.

4. Ensure your device has the required software.

Android & iOS devices
Good news! You have it by default so are good to go!
Windows PC and macOS
Ensure Google Chrome is installed. If you do not have Chrome installed, simply search the web for ‘Download Google Chrome’ and install.

5. Stream Media / YouTube
Most media streamers (YouTube, iPlayer etc.) are compatible with ChromeCast.  You can access these through the Chrome browser or through the player’s app on your mobile device.
Search for the cast   icon in the corners of the player.
Click it, and then select Media Room from the list that appears. (Please make sure that you pick the correct Media Room!).

6. Mirror your device’s screen (Not compatible with iPhone/ iPad)

Android
Download Google Home  from Google Play.
Go to the settings  menu in the top left corner of the Google Home app.
Select ‘Cast screen / audio.’
Choose Media Room from the list that appears.

Windows PC & macOS
Go to the settings menu in the top right corner of the Google Chrome browser and choose ‘cast’
Click on ‘Cast tab.’  You may select to cast the current Google Chrome tab, or to cast the whole desktop.
Choose Media Room from the list of Chromecast devices.

7. Stop casting
Do not forget to stop casting, especially if you are mirroring your device’s screen; you may end up accidentally sharing private information with everyone else!

Android & iOS devices
While casting, there will be a cast icon in your notifications bar.  Swipe down to bring up the notifications panel, and press the cross on the casting status banner.

Windows PC and macOS
While casting, there will be a cast icon in the top right corner of your Chrome browser window.  Click it and you will see an option to ‘stop.’

 

Tips & Troubleshooting

1. Volume control is done through your device and the TV screen. If you’re not getting any sound, first check the volume is turned up on your device and on the TV (The Tv’s have remote controls).
2. Attempting to share videos by mirroring your screen while playing the video may result in poor quality video and audio lag. Instead, load the video on your device in your preferred media player (e.g. YouTube), then cast as in step 5.  This will automatically switch the ChromeCast device to streaming mode and result in the highest possible quality video. To switch back to mirroring your screen, just follow step 6 again.