Chromecast/Allcast questions

[funkylogik]

So, will this enable someone to write an app to mirror your whole device to the tv?

 

[brosko]

It must, there's gotta be a reason everybody is so excited about this.

 

[EarlyMon]

So, will this enable someone to write an app to mirror your whole device to the tv?

Koush did last summer, but it got pulled because it used the beta SDK and the software calls were changed.

The last I examined the SDK, separate methods were being broken out for allowing normal sources and inhibiting DRM-protected content.

The battle cry across the forums and Google+ is for supporting "our" content from our phones.

Except every conversation includes references to using avi files and codecs never created on phones or by the usual consumer ripping products - in other words - pirated sources.

I predict that next that those won't play, people will complain, all the while insisting on their innocence.

Anyway, it's existed before, it may again, but this time there will be changes.

 

[funkylogik]

understood man
Think im gona start checkin out prices. We recently finally got home broadband and wifi so i can use one but until todays news i didnt really see the point since we can stream netflix and youtube through the wife's old wii. Hopefully this will open up some imaginative uses for it

 

[EarlyMon]

understood man
Think im gona start checkin out prices. We recently finally got home broadband and wifi so i can use one but until todays news i didnt really see the point since we can stream netflix and youtube through the wife's old wii. Hopefully this will open up some imaginative uses for it

The apps to stream your local media from your home system exist already but are in their infancy, so be on the lookout for some of these to expand or improve.

Netflix picture quality really surpasses that built-in to the Samsung Smart TV and the YouTube video quality is better than that from my HTPC feeding the TV.

So even though you don't need it, you may find the same results and switch over from your Wii.

Let me know what you find.

 

[funkylogik]

Cool

 

[El Presidente]

understood man
Think im gona start checkin out prices. We recently finally got home broadband and wifi so i can use one but until todays news i didnt really see the point since we can stream netflix and youtube through the wife's old wii. Hopefully this will open up some imaginative uses for it

Not to go too OT, but I got one via Amazon before Xmas for

 

[funkylogik]

Lol well thats good enough for me mate. My heart is set on it. Now to persuade my luddite other half. Wish me luck

 

[EarlyMon]

Koush confirms Allcast app update coming.

https://plus.google.com/110558071969009568835/posts/iZeNf4noPjZ

 

[El Presidente]

AllCast update brings Chromecast support

Allcast updated, you need version 4.2.34 of Google Play Services though.

 

[funkylogik]

So does allcast require you to have home internet and a router or does it just "beam" straight to chromecast?

 

[El Presidente]

You need a home internet or router, but you tether that tab to your phone don't you?

That would probably work.

Need me to mess about with my setup later on? I'll need to wait till folks aren't watching the TV.

Edit - I don't have the correct version of the GPS Framework, so you'll need to wait a bit, sorry.

 

[funkylogik]

Thanks mate. We actually got a 2month free trial of home internet but not sure if were gona keep it yet. Ill have to do some reading on the chromecast lol i dont think i understand it fully.
I get that cloud services get streamed to it over wifi and the android device is really just a controller but what would be cool is if allcast worked by your device beaming straight to the dongle.
So what youre saying is even without home internet, i should be able to use phone hotspot for the tab and dongle and do it that way?

 

[EarlyMon]

Thanks mate. We actually got a 2month free trial of home internet but not sure if were gona keep it yet. Ill have to do some reading on the chromecast lol i dont think i understand it fully.
I get that cloud services get streamed to it over wifi and the android device is really just a controller but what would be cool is if allcast worked by your device beaming straight to the dongle.
So what youre saying is even without home internet, i should be able to use phone hotspot for the tab and dongle and do it that way?

How Chromecast works:

It's essentially one app - a specialized browser - and the services and apps needed to support that (updater, wifi, etc).

The original Allcast worked by creating a web/media server on your phone.

But I understand that Chromecast always needs to be able to access the Google DNS server at IP address 8.8.8.8 or it thinks it's not networked and ready to receive casts.

I guess we'll see pretty quickly though, you know a lot of people are trying this out right away.

Note that the new Allcast still does NOT transcode according to those trying it at XDA.

Only the supported codecs work.

As expected.

 

[EarlyMon]

AllCast update brings Chromecast support

Allcast updated, you need version 4.2.34 of Google Play Services though.

You can sideload that by visiting Android Police if there's any trouble getting it from the Play Store.

Be sure to use it only with a compatible Android version and make a backup first.

 

[funkylogik]

Cool cheers Emon :beer:

 

[El Presidente]

You can sideload that by visiting Android Police if there's any trouble getting it from the Play Store.

Be sure to use it only with a compatible Android version and make a backup first.

I'm holding off for the moment, I need to return to stock and reroot so I'll do that before I start messing about with anything else.

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/0...mes-adds-cast-api-signs-of-auth-enhancements/

There's a link if folks want to update though.

 

[EarlyMon]

Tbh, I'm just going to stick with MHL for my phone-to-TV needs.

It works *perfectly* even in hotels, doesn't require any gyrations and looks more than fair enough coming from my HD phone (@ 720p screen on my phone, but 1080p to the TV).

I even remote controlled it last time from another phone over either wifi or Bluetooth, I honestly don't remember.

And that was more trouble than it was worth imo.

I guess I'm a fuddy duddy on phone casting even though I'm a Chromecast poster boy.

Chromecast may be the best hammer ever made but imo that doesn't mean that every problem is a nail.

MHL - still killing it.

Put that together with vGet + Moboplayer (yeah, I know about MX Player) and that goes beyond killing it.

 

[Gmash]

MHL, is that just using a cord to plug into the tv?

 

[El Presidente]

I like the idea of being able to cast local media from the phone/tab, but I don't really have any practical need for it.

There is stuff on my phone it would be nice to cast, but plex and tabcasting generally work ok for me.

I thought about MHL, but I'd need to mess around with cables every time I wanted to watch something AND according to my other half, we don't need any more cables.

I'll probably mess about with allcast at some point, see if it gives better streaming results than plex and tabcasting.

 

[jhawkkw]

I like the idea of being able to cast local media from the phone/tab, but I don't really have any practical need for it.

There is stuff on my phone it would be nice to cast, but plex and tabcasting generally work ok for me.

I thought about MHL, but I'd need to mess around with cables every time I wanted to watch something AND according to my other half, we don't need any more cables.

I'll probably mess about with allcast at some point, see if it gives better streaming results than plex and tabcasting.

plex now supports chromecast directly if you have their paid membership. I tried to get plex set up but kept having connection issues and thus had to give up on it. I tried to play some movies that I've ripped for playing on my tablet, but have been met with various issues (either no picture or no sound). I'm think the no sound is the same issue as always with .mkv files, but I think the no picture on other files might be allcast.

 

[EarlyMon]

MHL, is that just using a cord to plug into the tv?

Yep. Some micro usb ports really aren't - they're Mobile HD Link ports that can work as either micro usb or output to HDMI with a powered adapter.

Mine sits just in front of the TV on the pedestal stand, it's not noticeable, and easy to just plug in my phone when I want.

If it plays on your phone or tablet without DRM (and sometimes even if it has DRM), it'll play through MHL to HDMI.

Not all devices have MHL or HDMI ports, many are just micro usb.

With cables you're looking at about $20 or less.

plex now supports chromecast directly if you have their paid membership. I tried to get plex set up but kept having connection issues and thus had to give up on it. I tried to play some movies that I've ripped for playing on my tablet, but have been met with various issues (either no picture or no sound). I'm think the no sound is the same issue as always with .mkv files, but I think the no picture on other files might be allcast.

And Avia is filling this role as well.

In addition to codecs matching, you have to limit the bit rate to whatever the casting app will support.

Container, codecs and bit rates lining up - required for Plex, Avia and Allcast.

~~~~~

I understand the point of getting device casting to work, and I can dig it.

It's less hardware and more convenient to just have one hardware setup and then do everything else with software.

Once you get through the requirements.

I'm not knocking it, it's just not for me because I've been using MHL for years, it's cheap, and it just works for me.

My home media goes through a third HDMI port from my HTPC and I have a remote for that. Been doing that since 2008.

If you don't have all that, casting probably makes a lot more sense.

But if you have spare hardware, there are alternatives, that's all I meant.

 

[jhawkkw]

Yep. Some micro usb ports really aren't - they're Mobile HD Link ports that can work as either micro usb or output to HDMI with a powered adapter.

Mine sits just in front of the TV on the pedestal stand, it's not noticeable, and easy to just plug in my phone when I want.



And Avia is filling this role as well.

In addition to codecs matching, you have to limit the bit rate to whatever the casting app will support.

Container, codecs and bit rates lining up - required for Plex, Avia and Allcast.

~~~~~

I understand the point of getting device casting to work, and I can dig it.

It's less hardware and more convenient to just have one hardware setup and then do everything else with software.

Once you get through the requirements.

I'm not knocking it, it's just not for me because I've been using MHL for years, it's cheap ($20 or less with cables) and it just works for me.

My home media goes through a third HDMI port from my HTPC and I have a remote for that. Been doing that since 2008.

If you don't have all that, casting probably makes a lot more sense.

But if have spare hardware, there are alternatives, that's all I meant.

Yeah, it's not a huge deal because my tablet has regular hdmi out that I can use. I just like to still be able to use my tablet while I watch something. First world problems, eh?

 

[EarlyMon]

Yeah, it's not a huge deal because my tablet has regular hdmi out that I can use. I just like to still be able to use my tablet while I watch something. First world problems, eh?

Are you casting from your home media server and controlling with your tablet, or using the tablet as the server?

You probably know this, but for those that don't, there's no such thing as a free lunch, so - for the second case, you can't expect high device response for normal use while having it serve high-density media.

 

[jhawkkw]

Are you casting from your home media server and controlling with your tablet, or using the tablet as the server?

You probably know this, but for those that don't, there's no such thing as a free lunch, so - for the second case, you can't expect high device response for normal use while having it serve high-density media.

I was using the tablet as the server. I was more just testing it out to see how it works since I couldn't get plex to work. I must have spent an entire Saturday troubleshooting all the different possibilities and got no where. Part of the issue I think is that my modem doubles as a router, but Time Warner won't provide admin access into the router settings. So I have my own router attached to it so I can control things. If I could get into the TWC router settings, I could probably make it work.