Chromecast with Google TV as a digital signage player

Only the Chromecasts that run Google TV, which are the ones with a remote and an app store. The Player runs on Android 9 or later.

Google lists these models on its specifications page, and the storage and Android versions come from the Chromecast article. A stick you already own is the cheapest start. If you are buying, the onn. 4K Streaming Device passed our tests and runs the same Player.

Google's setup guide covers it in full. In short:

1. Plug the stick into the TV's HDMI port and into power, and switch the TV to that input.
2. The remote normally pairs by itself. If the TV shows Start pairing, hold Back and Home until the light pulses.
3. Choose a language, then finish setup in the Google Home app on a phone: scan the QR code on the TV. With no phone, choose Set up on TV instead.
4. Wait while the stick installs its apps and updates.

Two of Google's notes matter for a screen in a business:

• Networks. A WPA2-Enterprise network is not supported, and neither is a network with AP isolation, which hotels and public venues often use. Use a normal network, or ask your network team for one.
• Accounts. Google recommends a personal Gmail account. A Google Workspace account you do not administer can limit app installs.

1. On the stick, open the Play Store, search for screenRIG and install the Player (Google Play listing).
2. Open it. The Player fills the screen with a pairing code.
3. Give the code to your agent. It needs the screenRIG plugin, and Start installs it with one paste.
4. Ask for what the screen should show. It publishes, then checks a screenshot of the screen.

Updates arrive through Google Play and keep your pairing.

Three settings keep a Chromecast with Google TV on your signage. All three are in the Player or the TV's own Settings, and the Android TV kiosk mode guide walks through them with the remote:

• Start on boot opens the Player after a power cut. It is on by default. On Android 10 and later, allow Display over other apps once.
• Home screen brings the Player back to the front within about two seconds when Home or another app takes the screen. Google TV's home screen outranks every app, so the Player returns rather than replacing it.
• Screen saver. Choose screenRIG under Screen saver in the TV's Settings, and your content plays where the screen saver would.

Press OK on the remote to open the Player's own menu: rename the screen, switch playlist, step through pages, set brightness and volume.

Casting streams a tab or a screen from a phone or computer, and it stops when the sender does. With screenRIG the Chromecast runs the Player itself. Your agent publishes to it, the stick keeps playing from its own storage if the network drops, and your computer can be off. To put a web page you already have open on it, send the tab, which loads the page on the stick and is not a cast.

Images, video up to 4K on a device that decodes it, live streams including RTSP cameras, web pages, your own apps and 200+ ready-made apps. The Android TV page lists each, and the stick's 8 GB of storage holds the content your playlists use.

Can a Chromecast be used for digital signage?

A Chromecast with Google TV can. It is an Android TV device, so it installs the Player from Google Play. An original Chromecast, or a Chromecast Ultra, has no apps of its own and cannot.

How do I use a Chromecast with Google TV?

Plug it into HDMI and power, set it up with the Google Home app, then install apps from the Play Store. For signage, install the screenRIG Player and read its code to your agent.

Is the Chromecast with Google TV still sold?

Google announced the Google TV Streamer in 2024 as its replacement for the Chromecast line. The Streamer runs the same Player.

Does a Chromecast need a Google account?

Setup signs the stick in to a Google account, and Google recommends a personal Gmail account. The stick plays your signage from the Player once it is paired, whichever account you used.

What does it cost to run signage on a Chromecast?

The stick is your only cost. screenRIG is free, with unlimited screens. Paid plans add business tools, more people, people to talk to, governance and contract terms. See pricing.

Next: make the stick come back by itself after a power cut with Android TV kiosk mode.

• support.google.com/chromecast/answer/10109990
• support.google.com/chromecast/answer/3046409
• support.google.com/googletv/answer/10050570
• en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast
• screenrig.ai/docs/players