Chromecast

Author
Discussion

h0b0

7,597 posts

196 months

Thursday 27th March 2014
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Just to add that Plex is fantastic. I have a NAS casting to 2 chromecasts from Apps on 6 iOS devices. So easy that my wife can easily use it

richtea78

5,574 posts

158 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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Bit of a bump, I currently have an older TV in my bedroom that I really only want to use Netflix on. Am I correct in thinking I can plug one of these in and for £30 I can send video from Netflix on my iPad straight to my TV without having to by a fancy smart TV?

Eventually Ill buy a new TV but for £30 this could extend the life of the TV for a couple of years!

boxst

3,716 posts

145 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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Only if your TV has a HDMI input.

NH1

1,333 posts

129 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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What are they like at playing .mkv files, my mate is having issues. He has got XBMC to cast to it and play the "live" films but all his downloaded films are in .mkv format and stored on a HDD plugged into his router. They play on his phone but wont cast to the chromecast no matter what he tries.

On another note, does anyone use showbox and cast it to their TV? you need the showbox app, the paid for avia app (about £2) and a little bit of knowhow and it all works. Unfortunately I am on talktalk and they seem to have blocked it, works fine with things like BT infinity etc.

KTF

9,805 posts

150 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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I dont think .mkv are supported. If you are moved to a PC then Plex can transcode it to the right format on the fly and cast it to the chromecast.

The Plex app is .59p from the Amazon store at the moment (or free if you jump through a hoop):

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/plex-app-for-andro...

james_tigerwoods

16,287 posts

197 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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I'm looking forward to an app that can read from my NAS in " \\server\share\file.mp4 " format directly as my NAS doesn't support Plex (or any other 3rd party apps) - Localcast will do it but it pulls it from my NAS to the phone first.

KTF

9,805 posts

150 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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You mean this localcast?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2...

I didnt think it needed to have the companion device still switched on after you have cast the file?

I will try it tonight to check though.

NH1

1,333 posts

129 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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The best thing they could do would be to put the XBMC app directly onto the chromecast, how much memory do these things have.

KTF

9,805 posts

150 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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NH1 said:
The best thing they could do would be to put the XBMC app directly onto the chromecast, how much memory do these things have.
512MB Ram, 2GB storage:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromecast

james_tigerwoods

16,287 posts

197 months

Thursday 3rd April 2014
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KTF said:
You mean this localcast?

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2...

I didnt think it needed to have the companion device still switched on after you have cast the file?

I will try it tonight to check though.
I just tried it and it seemed to leave a "server" applet running.

Although, on the TV, it showed the SMB path. Odd.

Broccers

3,236 posts

253 months

Friday 4th April 2014
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NH1 said:
What are they like at playing .mkv files, my mate is having issues. He has got XBMC to cast to it and play the "live" films but all his downloaded films are in .mkv format and stored on a HDD plugged into his router. They play on his phone but wont cast to the chromecast no matter what he tries.

On another note, does anyone use showbox and cast it to their TV? you need the showbox app, the paid for avia app (about £2) and a little bit of knowhow and it all works. Unfortunately I am on talktalk and they seem to have blocked it, works fine with things like BT infinity etc.
Ezcast - move movie into downloaded files folder and play using Ezcast - no stuttering and brilliant. Just been updated to solve issues so if he tried before try again after downloading latest version.

james_tigerwoods

16,287 posts

197 months

Friday 4th April 2014
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Localcast seems to bring it from NAS to Chromecast direct - However, it seems that file support is a little limited - I'll have a play tomorrow to work out what I can't do.

woody2846

1,367 posts

150 months

Saturday 5th April 2014
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Hi chaps.
Is there any way I can get my US Netflix to cast from my ipad. I seem to be able to watch on the iPad but it will not let me cast.
Any ideas?

jjr1

3,023 posts

260 months

Sunday 6th April 2014
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How do you get US netflix on an ipad?

kev1974

4,029 posts

129 months

Sunday 6th April 2014
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The wifi reception seems a bit ropey on my Chromecast. Plugged directly into the back of the TV it gets nothing. Via a 1m HDMI extension so that the Chromecast can sit out front of the TV, it's better, but still not as good as my laptops and other devices. I guess it is due to the size of the thing restricting the size of the antenna.

forest172

687 posts

206 months

Tuesday 8th April 2014
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This was well worth the £30, kids love drawing on their tabs and it coming on TV, but playing my movies via the AllCast app is great

james_tigerwoods

16,287 posts

197 months

Tuesday 8th April 2014
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forest172 said:
This was well worth the £30, kids love drawing on their tabs and it coming on TV, but playing my movies via the AllCast app is great
What are you using to draw on the screen?

Guffy

2,311 posts

265 months

Tuesday 8th April 2014
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I'm using one with old TV in the garage that sits in front of an exercise bike, it's worked out great as running a cable would be really messy due to the layout of the house. Now i get to watch endless box-sets on Netflix smile

onyx39

11,123 posts

150 months

Sunday 13th April 2014
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Just trying to set mine up... The tv cannot see it frown

Eta now fixed ... Great piece of kit!

Edited by onyx39 on Sunday 13th April 14:00

JulianHJ

8,743 posts

262 months

Monday 14th April 2014
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Just ordered one of these as I've been given a small TV which I'm going to use in the kitchen. Looking forward to it!