Soon you can Chromecast without an extension

Soon you’ll be able to use your Chromecast without a browser extension

Story by

Owen Williams

Former TNW employee

Owen was a reporter for TNW based in Amsterdam, now a full-time freelance writer and consultant helping technology companies make their word (show all) Owen was a reporter for TNW based in Amsterdam, now a full-time freelance writer and consultant helping technology companies make their words friendlier. In his spare time he codes, writes newsletters and cycles around the city.

A new feature hidden in beta builds of Google Chrome hints that soon you’ll be able to send music, videos and more to your Chromecast without an extension.

Right now, you need to install the Chromecast extension to send anything to your TV, but the new feature builds it into the browser itself. To access it, you’ll need to enable the experimental Media Router at chrome://flags/#media-router and restart your browser.

Chrome Beta Cast Menu — The new Cast menu in Chrome Beta

Then you’ll see the new ‘Cast…’ option when you right click on any page. From there, you can quickly cast any media or the entire tab directly to your Chromecast, no extra friction.