Google Drive is getting more Chromecast integration thanks to a new feature under development for Chrome OS. Right now, anyone using the latest developer version of Chrome OS can stream videos stored in Google Drive cloud storage directly to their Chromecast device (and by extension, their televisions).
The functionality only works if you are using the dev channel version of Chrome OS and have Google’s Chromecast extension installed. If that describes your set-up, all you have to do is start playing a video stashed in Google Drive and you’ll see a Chromecast icon appear in the upper right corner of the video player. Click the icon and you’ll be able to choose where to start casting your video, François Beaufort, a Chromium evangelist at Google, announced via Google+.
The new feature appears to be a Chrome OS-only feature as the functionality was not available on the dev version of Chrome for Windows at this writing.
Since Google Drive video casting is only available in the developer build right now, there are no promises this experimental version will be built into the regular stable build of Chrome OS. But it’s hard to imagine Google not rolling out this feature more broadly once the kinks are worked out.
Drive video casting is the second big Chromecast integration for Google Drive following presentation casting that rolled out in April.
It’s also yet another nice feature addition for Chromebooks—albeit in an early form. Last Thursday, Google introduced the long-awaited ability to run Android apps on Chrome OS. Currently, only four Android apps work with Chrome OS including Vine, Evernote, Duolingo, and Sight Words.