Our Chromecast and the one included with TV haven’t been used for years.
However if you’ve used an AppleTV you realise that the Chromecast is actually a pretty terrible solution, compared to just having a device with apps.
1. Connected to a tv in a workplace, anyone on the local network can easily use Chrome to share a screen instead of passing around an HDMI cable.
2. Lately hotel rooms sometimes have a chromecast or apple TV, and it's a welcome feature of the room to open netflix on my phone and cast to the TV. In fact I think I should ditch the HDMI cable I keep in my suitcase and replace it with a chromecast. They are pretty small, too.
In both of those cases, I would prefer to only use casting/mirroring and not actually login to the device and/or install apps.
The Chromecast meant "oh I want to watch a movie tonight" becomes:
1. open chromecast on TV 2. open stream app on phone 3. push chromecast button 4. pick movie
* it creates social actions: A bunch of friends sitting around can share youtube videos with each other. * it vastly simplifies streaming audio (e.g. spotify)
I bought a chromecast so I could put videos on my tv while I eat dinner. That's legitimately 90% of what I use it for. The other 10% is streaming video from Plex/YT/etc or to dunk my screen for jackbox.
It's not a simple system. Technically all you need is upnp to perform all those functions. A raspberry pi with a build of VLC that only always plays full screen and a slideshow of some kind in between use. However, with the google product specifically it is deliberately designed to handicap itself and require all kinds of extra software (google at services, the YouTube app, etc) on the mobile device. It may look simple from the perspective of someone who already has all the added necessities, but try playing a video on the Chromecast with your own choice of software and you'll see it for the nightmare it is.