Using the Chromecast with Google TV for Digital Signage

Before “Google TV” was added to the name, Chromecast devices were very limited. Processors were slow, memory was minimal, and there was virtually no user interface to speak of. Business use cases for Chromecasts rarely extended beyond casting a presentation from a laptop’s Chrome browser to a meeting room TV.

Then, in September 2020, Google released the fourth generation of its Chromecast hardware with massive improvements. The hardware and software updates were so significant, in fact, that the Chromecast with Google TV is now our top pick for digital signage hardware on a budget.

What the Chromecast with Google TV can do for digital signage

After you set up your Chromecast with Google TV and install a cloud-based digital signage app (like the ScreenCloud Player), you can log in from a laptop or desktop computer to add images, videos, and app integrations to playlists shown on any screen connected to your account. The Chromecast with Google TV can handle all of that with relative ease.

You could, for example, upload a canva design of an HR announcement or restaurant menu board (or create one on the fly in ScreenCloud Canvas) and add it to a company TV channel to play alongside a 4k video file or YouTube link. Beyond static media, Chromecasts are great for displaying real-time updates from live feeds.

A low-cost digital signage player can go a long way to boosting internal communications with integrations for Slack, Teams, Instagram, and information-sharing tools. Or, if you’re comfortable with more technical instructions, ScreenCloud’s Embeds and Dashboard features can connect third-party apps to your screens. For instance, you might set up a Notion dashboard in the breakroom. With dynamic content, whenever it is updated elsewhere, you’ll see the changes on your screen almost immediately. 

You shouldn’t hit Chromecast’s processing power's upper limit until you start carving your screen up into multiple independent zones. In our tests, the $50 media player could just about handle a four-zone layout with two zones playing 4k video without any noticeable lag or stuttering (which is way more information than you should show on screens based on current signage best practices). 

What the Chromecast with Google TV can’t do for digital signage

Where the Chromecast with Google TV falls behind is that it lacks remote device management and fleet deployment features. You cannot remotely update or change system or network settings, set up advanced security settings like custom hostnames or site certificates, or load template device configurations from a USB drive. 

Chromecast with Google TV will let you remotely take screenshots of what’s on your screen, reboot the player app, and clear cached content stored locally on the device (if you’re using ScreenCloud, at least). Cached content allows your signage to continue working after a network outage. As long as your slides don't require more than the Chromecast's 4GB of storage, your signage can keep going even if the WiFi goes down.

Finally, there’s the possibility of software updates that alter the Chromecast’s capabilities and permissions. We saw that with Amazon’s February 2024 operating system updates to their Fire TV Stick devices, which broke several ScreenCloud Player’s features, including the ability to bypass the device’s default home screen and remotely clear the cache. Google could do the same—we don’t expect it would happen, but it’s something worth keeping in mind with consumer-focused media players.

How to set up digital signage on a Chromecast with Google TV

It takes about five minutes to go from zero digital signage experience to publishing your first playlist on a Chromecast-connected screen. All you need is a free 14-day trial of ScreenCloud and a Chromecast with all the latest updates and the ScreenCloud Player installed. Log into your ScreenCloud account on your computer, open the Screens tab, and click New Screen. 

Then, open the ScreenCloud Player on your Chromecast and type the six-character pairing code on your computer. With your Chromecast ready to sync content from your ScreenCloud account, all you have to do is upload an image or video in the Media tab or add an app integration from the Apps tab, clicking the Set to Screen button (an up arrow inside a box) to send it to your Chromecast. 

For a more detailed step-by-step walkthrough, watch this video:

When you should choose purpose-built hardware over a Chromecast with Google TV

The last thing you want to realize too late is that you’ve picked the wrong digital signage player; wasting time configuring and troubleshooting devices that aren’t optimized for what you’re asking them to do. 

For up to five screens running relatively simple content, Chromecast with Google TV may be sufficient. But if you plan to scale your digital signage network in future, or are thinking of starting with more than 5 screens, you might want to consider choosing a different media player setup.

Once you start to approach a 10-screen deployment, budget hardware is going to start causing serious headaches. If you anticipate hitting that threshold within the next year, we don’t recommend investing in the Chromecast ecosystem. Especially when significantly better players aren’t that much more expensive - with some roughly the same cost.

Pixi ($65)

Our very own budget media player is designed with small businesses in mind, especially those who want to start small but want the option to expand in the future. Pixi is a custom built digital signage player which comes pre-loaded with ScreenCloud. It's powered by Android and features enterprise-grade features such as remote device management, powerful processors, plenty of storage and is super secure.

This lightweight and compact player offers quick digital signage setup. And with ScreenCloud digital signage built in, you'll be able to display content in no time.

Get Pixi now

Pixi is designed as a device for less demanding environments such as offices, schools, shopping centers and hospitality. If you're looking for a hard wearing digital signage player, for example for a factory or other industrial setting, you might want to consider our other device....

The Station P1 Pro ($199)

Our purpose-built ScreenCloud OS device, the Station P1 Pro, is built with commercial-grade components able to withstand 24/7 hour operation and provide granular security controls. It’s equipped with a Rockchip RK3399 six-core processor and Mali-T860 Quad-core GPU, making it far faster and more powerful than Chromecast’s specs. 

Setting up from scratch takes under three minutes, even less if you provision each new player from settings saved to a USB drive. Once a Station P1 Pro is connected to ScreenCloud, you can use our Remote Device Management tools to ensure its operating at its best.

Amazon Signage Stick ($99)

For years, the Amazon Fire TV Stick was seen as the best choice for low cost digital signage players. But in 2024, support for the Fire TV Stick was discontinued and Amazon launched their own media player, the Amazon Signage Stick.

While this does offer similar spec to the Chromecast devices, the benefit of the Signage Stick is that it comes pre-loaded with digital signage applications, including ScreenCloud, straight out of the box. So it is essentially a plug and play device, similar to the ScreenCloud Pixi.

The benefit of the Amazon Signage Stick is it's relatively low cost and ease of setup, as well as the options for expansion.

Find out more about Amazon Signage Stick.

Your hardware, your signage

One of our top priorities is ensuring that ScreenCloud works on as many TVs, media players, and devices as possible.

The ScreenCloud app worked with the first three generations of Chromecast hardware despite their underwhelming specs. And now that the “with Google TV” lineup has enough power to stream 4k–even across multiple screen zones–it’s a superb entry point for digital signage. 

Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Chromecast with Google TV for a more detailed overview of the device.

If you're looking for the best option for budget digital signage, with potential to scale, we strongly recommend our Pixi device.

Try a free 14-day trial of ScreenCloud and start building out your first signage playlist today!