Google Cast, a technology that’s used with Chromecast and other devices that lets consumers fling OTT video from smartphones to the TV screen, will apparently become part of the Google Fiber arsenal.
Tech and gadget blogger Dave Zatz notes this week at ZatzNotFunny that he’s hearing that Google Cast will be coming to Google Fiber TV hardware soon, adding that some other evidence appears to back that up, including some Chromecast code and some leaked word from some beta testers.
Google Fiber offered no comment on the speculation and recently surfaced evidence, but integration of Google Cast would add some interesting OTT capabilities to the pay TV platform without having to go through the pain of building in separate apps. Plus, it would expand the reach of Google’s casting technology, which has already been baked into some Vizio-made TVs, Android TV-powered TVs from makers such as Sony and Sharp, and Android TV-based streaming devices and consoles.
In a similar vein, Comcast has been beta-testing a more limited “Send to TV” feature for X1-enabled TVs using a “bookmarklet” app/extension for Chrome browsers (Comcast also supports the feature on Firefox, Safari and Internet Explorer, per this FAQ).
Elsewhere in Google Fiber land, the unit announced it was opening applications for a second year of the Digital Inclusion Fellowship. In partnership with Nonprofit Technology Network, 22 fellowship positons are being offered across 11 cities.
Google Fiber said it will again contribute more than $1 million to help administer the fellowship, noting that this year’s will be more focused on digital literacy. The deadline for applications is May 13.
