Google is putting its video streaming gadget directly inside TVs

Google has signed a deal with television manufacturer Vizio to build the features of its amazing Google Chromecast gadget directly inside the television set, reports Variety.

This is a very wise move for both parties:

Google Chromecast is a best seller, moving more than 20 million units of its first version between 2013 and 2015. In late 2015, Google introduced an updated Chromecast to much fanfare.

By integrating Chromecast straight into the TV, Vizio can offer its customers that same slick, easy, and familiar way to stream online videos - without asking customers to buy a separate device or take up an HDMI port on their TV.

The Google Chromecast's success can be attributed to its ease-of-use, near-invisibility, and low cost of $35.

Just plug the tiny Chromecast dongle into an HDMI port on your TV, connect it to your home's WiFi network, and you're ready to start streaming video, music, and games from YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, Spotify and lots more services to your big screen straight from your phone, tablet, or computer.

(A major absence from the list of Chromecast-compatible services is Amazon, which refuses to support Google TV tech while it pitches its own competing Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick.)

The Variety report also indicates that Google is talking to more TV manufacturers about building in the Chromecast functionality. Google's other TV efforts, including Google Android TV, may have fizzled, but Chromecast has the potential to be the standard for watching video in the living room that the search giant has long sought to create.

An interesting side-note: As Variety also reports, Vizio had previously tried to build its own connected TV gadget, sort of like a Roku. But it was powered by the Yahoo Connected TV product, which is getting shuttered as part of Yahoo's ongoing efforts to streamline its business.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.