Chromecast, Google's (News - Alert) new streaming video adapter, has been showing some exciting potential in the field of home theater use, but getting users to bring in the Chromecast system might be a bit difficult—thanks to the lead that smart TVs and devices like the Roku box lineup has on Chromecast. But Chromecast won't be leaving without a fight, and has already reportedly both brought in and is courting some fairly big names to make the changeover worthwhile.

The current reports indicate that both Vimeo (News - Alert) and Redbox Instant are looking to offer Chromecast support, and there are said to be more to follow, with both the Plex media center and HBO programming silo HBO Go potentially in the works. Chromecast already had a pretty sound package in the making with Netflix, Google Play and massive video storehouse YouTube (News - Alert), but these new additions are likely to only improve the picture further. 


Image via Phandroid.com

Chromecast launched last week, and already hackers are digging into the source code, which yielded the possibility that HBO Go may join the lineup. Plex actually expressed an interest, according to reports, and there are further possibilities to come in the forms of Pandora (News - Alert), Revision3 and AOL.

Of course, the impact of HBO Go on Chromecast may be limited—after all, HBO Go is still said to be limited only to those users who already subscribe to a pay TV service that has HBO already in it, and plans to release HBO Go as a stand-alone system for those who have neither cable with an advanced movie channel package nor cable at all seem to have stalled completely. But Chromecast may have quite a bit going for it in the form of its low price—reports indicate the Chromecast dongle sells for just $35—and its ability to work easily with YouTube and Google Play might put it over the top even with users who have other streaming platforms. Its work with streaming from a tablet or other device to a television certainly isn't a point against it either.

Indeed, Chromecast has a lot of competition in the wider market. With smart TV units, Wi-Fi capable Blu-ray players and a host of set-top boxes, Chromecast may not find a lot of users willing to drop the current platform for a new model. But then, given what Chromecast is set to offer, it could find plenty of homes in unexpected places. Since operating a Chromecast seems to be about as simple as plugging a small device into an HDMI slot, it could find itself the new living room king, linking up with laptops and tablets to operate during commercial breaks or the like. Current set top boxes might be moved to man caves, playrooms or bedrooms, while Chromecast gets the living room treatment thanks to its ability to handle things like picture slideshows, which some televisions and the like can also do.

Some reports suggest that Chromecast has already been selling briskly, so it may well have some people eager to try the devices out to see where to best fit same into the current home theater operation. There's certainly no shortage of possibilities connected with Chromecast, so its viability in the market should be sound, and is already being seen as a viable competitor on several fronts.