No more worries about casting to TV, Google adds built-in Cast button on Chrome

Now you can cast movies without an extension as Google adds native Cast option to Chrome for desktop

Smart TV users had to use the Google Cast toolbar icon to cast movies or images but now they will get a native button on Google Chrome with cast support. Google is rolling out some changes to Casting in the desktop version Chrome with the latest release, 51.

If you have downloaded the Chrome 51, you simply have to right click a tab or click the hamburger button on the right-hand part of the desktop browser to find a line in the menu that says “Cast…”

Unfortunately, the new Chrome 51 with Cast option is being rolled out in phases so it could be a while before this version reaches your desktop. If you still don’t have access to it, you may want to hold off on uninstalling the extension and checking your menus every now and then.

Announcing the new Cast version, Google Blogpost says,

Google Cast functionality is now built in as part of the Chrome browser itself, so you no longer need to install the Google Cast toolbar icon ?in order to use your Google Cast device from Chrome.

If you previously installed the Google Cast toolbar icon, there’s no need to remove it.  The toolbar icon will continue to provide quick access to Google Cast functionality.

Google Cast functionality will be available through Chrome’s Tools menu in the upper right corner of the browser window, in the same section as functions like Print and Find. Additionally, you can right-click a page’s tab to get an option to cast.

Chrome 51 also lets you cast to a Hangout. This allows you to mirror the contents of any tab to a Hangout.  As said above, not all Chrome 51 versions have this new functionality so it could be a little while before you can use it yourself.