Cool Find: Crunchyroll app for iOS and Android adds Chromecast support

You’re probably wondering where we’ve been and why there haven’t been any new episodes in a while. This year has been pretty bad for me in the health department. Some health problems have finally caught up with me, and could not be ignored any more, and had to be dealt with. This included needing to get surgery. Fortunately I am on the mend, just in time for summer con season and Anime Expo (yay!) so expect a relaunch real soon. In the meantime, we bring you yet another Cool Find!

We’ve spoken quite a few times in the past about our love of Crunchyroll. In our not so humble opinion, it’s the best way to legitimately enjoy low cost (as low as $6.99/month, or even FREE, if you’re willing to put up with a few restrictions) high quality (up to 1080p) streaming anime, straight from Japan (new episodes are published literally hours after they air in Japan!) If you aren’t already a Crunchyroll Premium member, then what are you waiting for?! For less than the price of two fancy coffee drinks a month, you can enjoy beautiful streaming anime at home or on the go, while directly benefiting the companies that bring anime to you, without having to resort to certain, uh, controversial methods. Epic karmic win!

Of course, Crunchyroll streams beautifully on any computer-like device, running Windows, Mac OS X or even Linux. And when you are on the go, you can also enjoy streaming Crunchyroll on a wide variety of mobile devices, including iPhones and iPod touches, iPads, as well as a wide variety of Android smartphones and tablets. But many of us now have nice big-screen HDTVs in our homes. What about those? Fortunately, Crunchyroll has got you covered, thanks to its PlayStation3 and Xbox 360 apps. They have apps available on several other set-top boxes as well. And recently, they’ve added yet another set-top device to their lineup, and an inexpensive one at that: Crunchyroll now supports the Google Chromecast!

The Chromecast, in case you haven’t heard of it, is a very inexpensive (only $35!) yet powerful set-top box released by Google. Based on their Android and Google TV operating systems, the Chromecast attaches directly to any TV’s HDMI port, and allows you to stream content from an ever-growing set of third-party apps on both iOS and Android. And it now supports Crunchyroll as well!

Once you’ve plugged in and set up your Chromecast, just download the Crunchyroll app (available on iOS (iPhone/iPod touch/iPad) and Android) and, once you’ve launched the app and logged in (you did go and get your Crunchyroll Premium Membership, didn’t you?) just tap the Cast button at the upper right of the screen, and you should see your Chromecast appear as a menu option. Tap it, and the app will connect to it. Then just play your desired anime. Instead of showing up on your phone/tablet, it will start playing on your lovely big-screen TV. Playback works flawlessly and the video quality is excellent. Tap the Cast button again to access playback controls (pause/stop.) Easy peasy.

The Chromecast is an excellent addition to the Crunchyroll device lineup, and is by far the most inexpensive way of enjoying your Crunchyroll on the big screen. Go buy yourself one today, and definitely go grab the Crunchyroll app for your mobile platform of choice. And, hello, have you gotten your Crunchyroll Premium Membership yet?! 😉

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