Chromecast

[Zoon]

Has anyone had any joy streaming a nexus 7 (chrome browser) to one?
I'd like to stream video from within the browser window if possible but not sure how qood it'll be.

[james_tigerwoods]

Zoon said:

Has anyone had any joy streaming a nexus 7 (chrome browser) to one?
I'd like to stream video from within the browser window if possible but not sure how qood it'll be.

Have you used the Chrome Beta app - that should do it (not tried it myself though), but you need to tweak some of the settings first:

http://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/enable-chromecast-st...

And if you had a Nexus 5, you could do screen mirroring:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/05/mirror-for-andr...

[Zoon]

james_tigerwoods said:

Have you used the Chrome Beta app - that should do it (not tried it myself though), but you need to tweak some of the settings first:

http://www.cnet.com/uk/how-to/enable-chromecast-st...

And if you had a Nexus 5, you could do screen mirroring:

http://www.engadget.com/2014/03/05/mirror-for-andr...

Thanks for that, reading that cnet review makes me think it may not be great for what I want to do.

[Finlandia]

daemon said:

A little.

For youtube and netflix, you send the link to what you want to stream to the chromecast. Its connected to your wireless router and streams directly.

Ah, so if I have a movie stored on my pc, it can't be streamed to the TV? It's for online content only?

[ZesPak]

Finlandia said:

Ah, so if I have a movie stored on my pc, it can't be streamed to the TV? It's for online content only?

Have a dig into "Plex", I've been using it for a couple of weeks and it's pretty amazing.
You do need a server/computer that's on though.

[james_tigerwoods]

Another thing to consider here is to use the Chrome Browser (PC version) extensions for casting a web page to the Chromecast. The steps are:

• Install Google Chrome
• Install the Chromecast extensions
• Verify connectivity to the Chromecast
• Open the video in the Chrome browser*
• Cast that tab to the Chromecast
• You could, if you wanted to, use an RDP session to control the video and play others if you wanted

* You may need VLC installed, but I don't know for sure as I already have it installed

In addition, you can use Chrome to share your whole screen with the Chromecast.

Me, I use Localcast to read from my NAS and play (direct) to the Chromecast (My NAS won't run Plex) too - but it, at the moment, doesn't play AVI so I use the above method for playing .AVIs (Or I convert them).

[Finlandia]

Thanks chaps, will have a look into the Plex.

[edeath]

Finlandia said:

Thanks chaps, will have a look into the Plex.

Plex is great imo. Also currently you get £4.99 Google Play credit and the Plex App is £2.39 iirc so will cost you nothing . While others cant see you scrolling through the list of videos - when you select one it does display on the Chromecast with full info, synopsis, cover art etc.. prior to you hitting play.

[PurpleTurtle]

My Chromecast arrived yesterday, have to say I'm impressed.

I must qualify this by saying I'm not a home-cinema/computer nerd, I just wanted something with a simple plug and play connection, it does that very well. I have a very fast broadband connection, which may help. My only minor gripes are that it doesn't (yet?) cast films from Amazon Prime, and doesn't work with a 1st Gen iPad .... needs iOS 6.0 or higher, the 1st Gen can only go up to iOS 5.0. iPhone will do for now though.

Only grief I had in set-up was getting it to display anything on my 8yo Pioneer Plasma screen in intial set-up. It transpires that the TV's HDMI input socket was set to a default <DISABLED>, I had to manually enable it to get the TV to detect the dongle, only found out by scouring every possible menu on the remote.

It did occur to me that having bought the Google dongle from Amazon, streaming it on a Vodafone mobile I was only a Starbucks away from being in total wedom to Britain's most-unliked companies!

Edited by PurpleTurtle on Friday 25th April 14:31

Edited by PurpleTurtle on Friday 25th April 14:32

[croyde]

Bought one of these today, mainly for Netflix. Set up was quick but it won't cast Netflix from either my phone or my tablet yet YouTube works. Netflix says that the title I want is currently unavailable, try again later, yet it all works on my devices and iMac.

A quick Google shows that it is a Global problem since a software update.

Anyone else got this problem?

I can cast from my iMac but the volume stays on my computer but the telly is silent.

About to take it back and get an Apple TV or Roku.

[oobster]

marctwo said:

Actually, there may be another option:

Assuming you are running XBMC on your Pi, enable the UPnP/DLNA server function and then use a UPnP/DLNA client app on the Chromecast.

Would appreciate more. Info on this if you can Marc, bought a chromecast today and got it all connected & set up in minutes but currently can only use it to cast from YouTube to my daughter's TV.

Want her to be able to 'see' & play the content on the external hard drive plugged into the Pi downstairs - Pi is running raspbmc.

[croyde]

Well after spending a couple of hours fiddling, resetting and Googling, I still can't 'cast' Netflix, the main reason for buying this. Weirdly it has no problem with streaming TV series from errhmmm sites, quality looks fine on the Plasma but I'll be taking it back tomorrow.

Worldwide forums full of people with the same problem but no answer from Google.

[marctwo]

oobster said:

marctwo said:

Actually, there may be another option:

Assuming you are running XBMC on your Pi, enable the UPnP/DLNA server function and then use a UPnP/DLNA client app on the Chromecast.

Would appreciate more. Info on this if you can Marc, bought a chromecast today and got it all connected & set up in minutes but currently can only use it to cast from YouTube to my daughter's TV.

Want her to be able to 'see' & play the content on the external hard drive plugged into the Pi downstairs - Pi is running raspbmc.

Keep in mind that this is theory, I have not tried it myself.

Enable the DLNA/UPnP server in XBMC:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Fl1JO3Elg

Then install a DLNA/UPnP client on the Chromecast. There are serveral available e.g. BubbleUPnP.

Then you should be able to see the content on the drive connected to the Pi.

[oobster]

Many thanks Marc, I will give that a try when I get home this evening.

[croyde]

So it seems that the Chromecast has hard wired DNS so that even with my router set to Unblock-Us DNS servers, there is a conflict thus US Netflix does not work but UK Netflix is OK.

Not taking it back now especially as I was able to watch 3 episodes of True Detective 'cast' from my iMac in the bedroom to the Plasma in my lounge. So I can now watch all those TV shows on the big screen on a comfy sofa rather than sitting on my desk chair in front of a computer screen

[onyx39]

croyde said:

So it seems that the Chromecast has hard wired DNS so that even with my router set to Unblock-Us DNS servers, there is a conflict thus US Netflix does not work but UK Netflix is OK.

Not taking it back now especially as I was able to watch 3 episodes of True Detective 'cast' from my iMac in the bedroom to the Plasma in my lounge. So I can now watch all those TV shows on the big screen on a comfy sofa rather than sitting on my desk chair in front of a computer screen

I cannot get mine to broadcast Netflix (UK) to work.
Everything else works, and nexflix works on the iPad.. tried to advised reset of the Chromecast, still not working, will carry on trying to sort it tonight when I get in.

[croyde]

Does appear to be a worldwide problem since an update not long ago. I could only get it to work on UK once I had flushed the US DNS servers from my router. I can still watch US Netflix thru my Wii as I have set that separately but it's in ropey old SD, the main reason why I got the ChromeCast.

Did Netflix ever work with yours?

Looks like I'll be keeping it just for it's 'casting' abilities yet still be getting a Roku or Apple TV.

[kiethton]

Hopefully this'll work, just ordered one

[kev1974]

Good old Techmoan reviewed it on Youtube yesterday
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gKUkmJEBDQ

[onyx39]

onyx39 said:

croyde said:

So it seems that the Chromecast has hard wired DNS so that even with my router set to Unblock-Us DNS servers, there is a conflict thus US Netflix does not work but UK Netflix is OK.

Not taking it back now especially as I was able to watch 3 episodes of True Detective 'cast' from my iMac in the bedroom to the Plasma in my lounge. So I can now watch all those TV shows on the big screen on a comfy sofa rather than sitting on my desk chair in front of a computer screen

I cannot get mine to broadcast Netflix (UK) to work.
Everything else works, and nexflix works on the iPad.. tried to advised reset of the Chromecast, still not working, will carry on trying to sort it tonight when I get in.

Anyone else having this issue? I have been talking to Google on a Google Forum, and they just keep continually asking the same questions??? I have dissapointedly cancelled my Netflix subscription, there is really no point in me having this unless it works as it should. It's handly for iPlayer and Casting Youtube etc, but the thing I really want appears to not work!