Chromecast Update Allows You to Use Your TV Remote to Control Certain Programs

In recent years, a number of companies have begun moving away from traditional television remote controls, allowing users to control their equipment with their smartphones and mobile devices instead. While some people have likely found this to be convenient, many others have found it to be inconvenient; after all, when these devices are used for so many different things, can you really blame a family member when they wander away with the tablet in the middle of a show, leaving you unable to change the channel? Now, one company seems to have adapted their system, allowing customers to use normal TV remote controls.

Since its introduction, one of the biggest issues with Google’s Chromecast is that it could only be controlled with a phone, tablet or laptop. However, the latest firmware update for the system extends basic controls to regular TV remotes. While these functions will be limited to play/pause controls, if your television supports HDMI-CEC, you won’t always have to rely on your mobile devices to control this system. Fortunately, most televisions produced in the past few years have this capacity, although you might have to dig through your settings and input your TV remote codes to set up this new change.

The update was first noticed by Reddit users, who have reported that the remote control change seems to apply to Chromecast’s WatchESPN, HBO Go, Plex, and Youtube apps. However, the new feature is clearly limited: in addition to only offering the most basic functions, it doesn’t apply to popular apps, such as Netflix. Still, this change alone will likely cause plenty of people to buy replacement remotes simply for the convenience.

For generations, people have dreamed of being able to control every aspect of their lives with all in one remote controls, and now that mobile technology is an integral part of our everyday routine, we seem to be closer to that goal than ever before. However, mobile devices seem to lack convenience when it comes to using them as remotes. Whether you use Chromecast or not, don’t give up on your TV remote codes just yet: while some companies are still pushing mobile devices, traditional remote controls still seem to be what the average consumer wants.