A Chromecast is just about the cheapest (and best) way to get streaming videos onto your TV with minimum hassle, but one of the tradeoffs is that you have to control everything from your smartphone or laptop — which kinda sucks. But as of now you can at least play and pause without poking a screen.
Chromecast already uses the HDMI-CEC standard to control your TV (for example, switching the TV on and turning the input over the Chromecast), and the latest update just extends that functionality to your TV remote, letting it play and pause apps on Chromecast. At the moment, it seems like most of the big video-streaming services work with the remote, bar Netflix, which has traditionally been slow with Chromecast updates.
It’s a tiny update, but one that goes a long way to making the Chromecast more useable. Although I love most everything about how the little streaming stick works, having to dig into your phone when you get up to answer the door kinda sucks. Or at least it used to. [Reddit via Medium]