I have a Tilt and expect to stay in a hotel that has Internet access via Ethernet, but no WiFi.
Any ideas on how to best connect my Tilt to their Ethernet?
First idea is maybe a WiFi travel router or AP like the DWL-6730AP, but I hate the idea of carrying along extra equipment when the whole point of the Tilt is to avoid bringing my laptop.
Is there some sort of Ethernet-to-USB dongle?
The Tilt has Ethernet support native. Go to settings, select Wifi & switch to NE2000 Compatible Ethernet Driver.
capite said:
I have a Tilt and expect to stay in a hotel that has Internet access via Ethernet, but no WiFi.
Any ideas on how to best connect my Tilt to their Ethernet?
First idea is maybe a WiFi travel router or AP like the DWL-6730AP, but I hate the idea of carrying along extra equipment when the whole point of the Tilt is to avoid bringing my laptop.
Is there some sort of Ethernet-to-USB dongle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
1. welcome to xda-devs
2. there is no memory card- or USB-based Ethernet interface for the Kaiser, sorry. Ethernet cards have only been produced as CF cards.
You could use something like a Linksys (or any brand, for that matter) WiFi router to do the trick and then connect to it.
You may run into an issue, though, because most hotels have an entry page where you have to accept their terms of service (yes, even the free ones do this) before getting out to the internet. It is possible that your router will not forward that properly to your phone, or that PIE won't render it properly and you won't be able to finish the signup.
Also note that unless you have something like a WRT54G Linksys router with custom firmware (like DD-WRT), you will be double-NATted, which may, in itself, cause problems.
@GSLEON3 - sure, the IP stack in the Tilt supports Ethernet, but you have to get Layer 1 out of the way first - the physical layer. If you can't physically connect an ethernet cable to the phone, how are you gonna get to the internet?
A lot of hotels have WiFi bridges so that you can use wireless-only devices on their network. Maybe they have one available? Then again, now that I think about it, maybe not. I'm thinking of the other way around where you don't have WiFi in your laptop and they only have WiFi, not ethernet connections. Nevermind. It's late...
I *think* this might work.....
Eithernet-to-USB cable
(http://www.ipenabled.com/netusb.html)
Then patch to a female-female USB coupler (http://www.revealcable.co.uk/acatalog/info_1_AA1582.html)
Then connect that to your normal PC sync cable.
Eithernet at one end, microUSB at the other.
The USB on the Kaiser doesn't work that way. It can act like a client (think ext. hard drive) but not a host (your PC). It's the same reason you can't connect an external hard drive to your phone.
capite said:
I have a Tilt and expect to stay in a hotel that has Internet access via Ethernet, but no WiFi.
Any ideas on how to best connect my Tilt to their Ethernet?
First idea is maybe a WiFi travel router or AP like the DWL-6730AP, but I hate the idea of carrying along extra equipment when the whole point of the Tilt is to avoid bringing my laptop.
Is there some sort of Ethernet-to-USB dongle?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use the 3COM Travel Router (3CRTV10075/WL-534) as its a small portable router with NAT and Firewall (stops others in the hotel from seeing your devices). It can be configured as Router, AP or Client so that in AP mode it will connect directly to the Ethernet connection in a hotel room and you have access for both your phone and laptop.
Thanks for the welcome and the ideas, everybody!
It's a shame the USB port won't work for an Internet connection. Has anyone ever tried just in case?
I guess it's a travel router then, I'll go with the 3Com unless anyone can confirm they have used the tiny Netgear WGR101 successfully.
Is the microSD conector I/O capable?? If so, we can plug there normal ethernet card....
Related
I was thinking of using my kaiser to connect my pc to a wireless network,
I have a wireless router in my house but i dont have a wire that goes to my room, so i want to connect my Kaiser via usb to the computer and the Kaiser to the wireles router via WIFI so i can use the internet in my room in my computer.
Is it Possible?
I have a wireless modem option on my dutty 6 hybrid rom. I would think that that option could be tweeked to add an option to use wifi instead of cellular and then you would be able to recieve over b.tooth and wouldnt need a cable either. I would donate and then ask one of the devlopers very nicely if they knew of or could write a tweek for me. But thats just what my plan of attack wood be
It is possible and there is a reg hack that allows wifi sharing over ICS - but sticking a wifi usb dongle in the pc would be a lot easier.
As a second thought, it dawned on me that i hacked a linksys wrt54gs and changed the flash/os to dd-wrt`s 3rd party software
http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Wireless_Bridge
By switching to dd-wrt i then had an option to make the AP a wireless bridge and thats how i connect my slingbox to my network. I would recommend that anyone with a linksys router re-flash to this 3rd party software which enables TONS of features to this device. Hope this helps. PEACE!!
These might help you.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=341398
http://www.jongma.org/WMWifiRouter/
holy crap !
the jongma thing works perfectly with dutty's rom.
im amazed, my computer is connected to the internet via wifi signal that my phone is broadcasting. thats incredible.
on 3g its fffffffffffast!
Is there any way to use wifi instead of 3G etc? I have a Wii here at school with wireless. It wont connect to the schools wireless network because of the routers used. Im thinking if I could use the Kaiser to brodcast wifi and connect the Wii that way then maybe it would work? Any thoughts?
Guys and gals...
i've searched my query here in this forum but still couldn't find the exact solution.
Im pretty new to this entire "android" platform. just got my nexus one rooted and unlocked.
my only concern here is regarding "wifi Problem". I've got linksys Compact wirelss-G USB adapter (WUSB54GC).
Now I don't know how to access it just like a router.
Secondly, When i started using it with nexus one it connected without any flaw. But some days after It's not connecting with N1, having said that
I've also used this adapter with Ipad2 and sometimes the wifi doesn't connect to the ipad2 properly.
Now how I was connecting like I always delete the existing adhoc connection and create another one and then try to connect... after few tries it connects but after few days N1 says obtainig IP address... and in windows 7 the status says connected with "no network access"
I tried "WEP and other protocols" and also without any encyption as well but nothing is working here.
Actually In our country we dont have 3G network we're still on EDGE and that costs us much so here I'm relying on my home USB 1MB connection to use it via adapter.
Currently Im using Oxygenmod FINALE
Please help me whether it's my N1 or the adapter or should there be anything wrong with the Radio i've got v4.06. with oxygen1mod finale
Ask me anything If u feel.
And yeah BTW I didn't know that Android is an open source so u can call me a "Nwwwwweeeeebbbb"
I am not familiar with Oxygenmod, but if it is Gingerbread based, I would highly recommend updating your radio to 5.08.
bassmadrigal said:
I am not familiar with Oxygenmod, but if it is Gingerbread based, I would highly recommend updating your radio to 5.08.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks... But let me update it that I've just updated to 5.12 radio... I was too curious that's y i played the bet. after update nothing seems to me different network signals are same i.e 100% blutooth working and havnt tried EDGE. WiFi still not working and stuck at "obtaining IP address"
Actually In our country we dont have 3G network we're still on EDGE and that costs us much so here I'm relying on my home USB 1MB connection to use it via adapter.
I don't believe these phones have proper support for ADHOC, but it seems it is more of a computer problem if the ipad is having issues as well. Is there a reason you are trying to do an adhoc wireless network instead of getting a cheap wireless router?
bassmadrigal said:
I don't believe these phones have proper support for ADHOC, but it seems it is more of a computer problem if the ipad is having issues as well. Is there a reason you are trying to do an adhoc wireless network instead of getting a cheap wireless router?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
well it's the first time I've got this USB adapter so I only know of this adhoc connection being made in win 7. havnt experienced a router though.
but could u please confirm if any cheap router supports my USB internet connection? (i dont have a DSL connection rather wireless)
Gablu said:
well it's the first time I've got this USB adapter so I but could u please confirm if any cheap router supports my USB internet connection? (i dont have a DSL connection rather wireless)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I doubt any router would support the usb wireless adapter, but you can use windows internet connection sharing to share the connection through the wired connection. Then you can hook the router into your ethernet port on your computer and share the connection that way.
Definitely not the easiest, but I have never tried sharing an internet connection through an adhoc wireless connection.
bassmadrigal said:
I doubt any router would support the usb wireless adapter, but you can use windows internet connection sharing to share the connection through the wired connection. Then you can hook the router into your ethernet port on your computer and share the connection that way.
Definitely not the easiest, but I have never tried sharing an internet connection through an adhoc wireless connection.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think I need to clear something here....
My ISP gave me a USB called (EVO), I just plug that "EVO" into my computer and I can download upto 3.1Mbps and browse and surf yada yada...
then I bought "linksys USB adapter" to make my internet connection WiFi.
Now how would I connect my N1 to internet via WiFi when u say "adhoc" is not supported.
Is there anything apart from what "Bassmadrigal" suggested.? (caz it sounds too technical for me)
I don't know if ADHOC is actually supported (and if it is, how well it is supported) on Android. But if you are having issues with devices other than your phone, then I think it is going to be a computer issue that probably won't be able to be fixed with any devices on your phone.
I can try to make it a bit more non-techincal...
Buy a cheap wireless router and use the router's guide to get a wireless network set up
Plug in the network cable from the computer's network card to the "internet" port on the router
Follow this guide to get Internet Connection Sharing up and running on your computer
???????
Profit
Hello.
Since XDA is the only forum I'm loyal to I decided to ask you guys.
I've get my broadband directly from ethernet ports integrated in my walls, and all those ports are connected to a switch. The problem is that I've got a wifi router that I'd like to use so I can connect my laptop and my phone to the network, which works fine if I connect it to one of the ports in my walls, but I also have a XBox 360 connected to one of these ports. And since I always stream music and video from my laptop to my XBox this gives me a problem.
I've temporarily solved this by setting up the router right beside my XBox and hooking the XBox to the router, and it works fine, but I can't connect to the wifi if I leave my livingroom.
Also tried to connect the router inbetween the switch and the cables that goes to the wall ports, but this was totally useless because then I only had acceptable wifi connection in my hallway and my kitchen.
So my question is this, is there anyway to have the router connected to one of these ethernet ports, my computer connected to the router and the XBox connected to another ethernet port and get them to be able to communicate?
EDIT: Disabled DHCP on the router as I've found in a guide, but that was only possible to do on the LAN part of the router, no such setting on the wireless page, so still the same problem.
Sounds a bit compilcated I guess, but I think it should be possible to use this router as some kind of extender for the already existing network.
Regards
Izaac
Tell me, how large is your living room again? -____-
Jk, alright, from my point of view, just place the router at the farthest point between those three gadgets, and buy a wifi extender for the other two. That thing just a couple of bucks anyway. Problem solved. No need for another router.
What is your switch currently connected to for internet access?
If you have it hooked to a modem, then it is probably a 1 port router/modem since you don't have problems drawing an ip on your other items.
You are on the right track. Turning off DHCP is correct. There is no dhcp on the wireless portion so don't look for it. Then you want to set your wireless router with a static ip on your lan side so you can get into it if you need(use something out of the normal range like xxx.xxx.xxx.200). Make sure the static IP is part of your LAN subnet. Those two things turn your wireless router into a switch/wireless access point. From here on out forget about the WAN or Internet port on the router. Use only the LAN ports.
You can now use this wifi router anywhere you want. Place it where you get the best wireless signal.
Wire things up this way wherever you place it:
Connect wall ethernet port to one of the LAN ports. Then connect any other devices needing internet access to the other LAN ports.(Computer, XBOX, whatever...)
Then connect wirelessly with your wireless device.
If you need to modify the router settings, you can browse to xxx.xxx.xxx.200 ( or whatever you set the router static lan ip to) from your computer .
Any devices that need DHCP will draw the address from further upstream from the modem/router.
I live in a two floor appartment with the router on the second floor, most of the building is made of concrete, my router is on the second floor, and i have excellent reception all over the place.
- How long is your cable (from the router to the wall 1 meter? 5? Make it as short as possible)
- Are you using 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz? The most common frequency is 2.4, so if your neighbours are using 2.4, it might disrupt your connection from time to time, so try to change the channel.
- Move the router if your wireless phone or any wireless things are operating on 2.4 GHz nearby. They will disrupt the signal.
Oy..... I forgot to tell him to get Wi-Fi Analytics from the play store to check his signal and find the best channel to use.
Whenever I travel, by biggest grouch is that some of the hotels/motels only provide a hard wired ethernet connection and you cannot (Well, there are ways you can) connect anything other than your laptop with an ethernet port to the internet via the hook-up.
So I ordered this - http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wirel...UTF8&qid=1343871357&sr=8-2&keywords=TL-MR3040 which I found on buy.com for $40 shipped (Price has gone up now!). I am thinking that I will flash openwrt on it and then use this - http://www.frys.com/product/5923844?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG plugged into the USB port on the router as a wifi network HDD and also as a travel router. The router can be powered by a mini-usb cable hooked up to it and it also has an in-built 2000mAh battery which apparently keeps it juiced for about 5 hrs if you believe the specs. I think you can hook-up an even larger external HDD to the router if you choose to (within power restraints).
I looked thought the forums, but couldn't find anyone who has chosen to go down this route. Has anyone had any success with a similar setup?
Cheers.
Saurabh said:
Whenever I travel, by biggest grouch is that some of the hotels/motels only provide a hard wired ethernet connection and you cannot (Well, there are ways you can) connect anything other than your laptop with an ethernet port to the internet via the hook-up.
So I ordered this - http://www.amazon.com/TP-LINK-Wirel...UTF8&qid=1343871357&sr=8-2&keywords=TL-MR3040 which I found on buy.com for $40 shipped (Price has gone up now!). I am thinking that I will flash openwrt on it and then use this - http://www.frys.com/product/5923844?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG plugged into the USB port on the router as a wifi network HDD and also as a travel router. The router can be powered by a mini-usb cable hooked up to it and it also has an in-built 2000mAh battery which apparently keeps it juiced for about 5 hrs if you believe the specs. I think you can hook-up an even larger external HDD to the router if you choose to (within power restraints).
I looked thought the forums, but couldn't find anyone who has chosen to go down this route. Has anyone had any success with a similar setup?
Cheers.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I went with an Asus Travel Router which I reflashed with DD-WRT. This will also do wifi rebroadcasting if you are in a hotel and want to share the wireless connection. It still does AP and router modes. Its a smallish thing and has one issue with the firmware which I have learned to live with. I've used it in Japan, India, Singapore in the past where the hotels had either wireless or wired ethernet so I could share the connection with multiple devices. I think that this is the one I got:
http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Wireless...1343874836&sr=1-2&keywords=asus+travel+router
Never used a portable storage thing like you linked to though.
The wireless sharing was quite nice when I wanted a second laptop or even my android phone to be on the hotel network in my room.
The main thing that I was hoping to do with Chromecast was to use it in hotels while travelling. From what I'm reading, there are 2 major problems that would make this not a good option for hotels:
1. Sounds like there's not a way currently to accommodate wi-fi hotspots that require a web page login. This is the situation you find in most hotels.
2. The DNS is hard-coded to Google's DNS servers. This means that if you're travelling away from your home country and you need to use DNS proxies to reach restricted sources, (e.g., Netflix, BBC, Spotify), you're out of luck.
Those two restrictions make the Chromecast not very useful for my purposes. Root access would have been an approach to fix item #2, but now that's gone. So, I'm wondering if anybody knows of any development that's underway to deal with these issues? I took a quick look at the Chromecast API and I didn't see any way to manage the wi-fi connection or to change the DNS settings. I'm hoping some clever developer will figure out a way to deal with this.
Interesting, I was hoping to do the same thing. Some hotels don't require login but most do now. Has anyone tested it?
You could use a laptop and a micro router. I carry a mini tplink router to hotels to use. You can put it and a laptop on that router then stream from the browser to the chromecast. Not perfect but a workaround. Not sure if there is a way to stream directly from a phone or tablet yet.
Virtual Router should work, as (I believe) it supports multicast. Unfortunately, quite a few wifi cards will crash when using it, though. I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing... but that unfortunately can't sustain a connection with the software enabled.
I've used my rooted phone as wifi hotspot/router and then connect tablet or laptop to control chromecast. Unfortunately if a phone is in hotspot mode, chromecasting on same phone won't work so need to use second device to control chromecast.
Using a travel router would work, and maybe using a second Android phone as well, but all of that is defeating the purpose of using the Chromecast device. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well just use an HDMI dongle with my Android phone instead of the Chromecast.
The advantage that the Chromecast would have over phone+dongle is that the Chromecast is small and easy to attach to the TV and I wouldn't have to disconnect it when I was finished. That plus the fact that I would be able to use the phone as a remote control.
But if I've got to pack a travel router and set it up to run Chromecast, the convenience factor is gone. Also, unless there's a wired connection available, putting the 2nd phone or router in the picture would provide only half of the wi-fi bandwidth and slow the connection. Hotel wireless connections are usually pretty slow to begin with.
If somebody comes up with a solution to fix these issues on Chromecast, then I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I'll stick with the phone+hdmi dongle.
One advantage to using the CC is quality. The mhl adapters just don't have the quality and at a hotel with decent speed the router is not an issue. Besides you will not loose speed if you are plugging your router into the LAN.
woody1 said:
Using a travel router would work, and maybe using a second Android phone as well, but all of that is defeating the purpose of using the Chromecast device. If I have to go through all of that, I might as well just use an HDMI dongle with my Android phone instead of the Chromecast.
The advantage that the Chromecast would have over phone+dongle is that the Chromecast is small and easy to attach to the TV and I wouldn't have to disconnect it when I was finished. That plus the fact that I would be able to use the phone as a remote control.
But if I've got to pack a travel router and set it up to run Chromecast, the convenience factor is gone. Also, unless there's a wired connection available, putting the 2nd phone or router in the picture would provide only half of the wi-fi bandwidth and slow the connection. Hotel wireless connections are usually pretty slow to begin with.
If somebody comes up with a solution to fix these issues on Chromecast, then I will definitely use it. Otherwise, I'll stick with the phone+hdmi dongle.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
life is better with r00t
willverduzco said:
Virtual Router I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Riiiiiiiiight :silly:
willverduzco said:
[I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
lol i have one of those too, and we all know exactly why you have it
http://readwrite.com/2013/08/06/chromecast-hotel-travel-wi-fi-challenges#awesm=~ofCmrzdqug8DvB
http://www.connectify.me/hotspot-chromecast-best-friend/
yeah connectify gives my really inconsistent results. so far only netflix and youtube have worked. music hasn't at all. If I could figure out the cause I'd buy the pro version while its still on sale.
At one point I was planning to get a WL-330NUL mini router. Watch video here. (Supposedly the world's smallest) Given that it's a WiFi router... I believe it could work with the chromecast dongle using a WiFi connected smartphone/tablet/laptop. Looking at the video it appears that in standalone mode it can route using Ethernet on the WAN end and using a laptop it can route using WiFi in the WAN end. In the later scenario the laptop is used to authenticate with the hotel WiFi network and the router dongle appears to act as an AP. Not 100% sure of the second scenario, but it "appears" to be so. The router can be found online for the same price you paid for your chromecast. If I get a chance, before the end of the week, I might stop by B&H Photo-Video and pick one up.
Edit:
Here is another video that shows the features a bit more clearly
I really think that the Chromecast was designed as a way to turn your TV into a "smart" TV... not so much to be a portable device for media streaming. Even bringing it between three houses is annoying as you need to go through the full setup process each time you move between wireless networks since it only stores the most recent network.
Even if you could get it to connect to a hotel's WiFi I would not use it that way, since there's no option to restrict who on the network can cast content to the device.
raptir said:
Even if you could get it to connect to a hotel's WiFi I would not use it that way, since there's no option to restrict who on the network can cast content to the device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In hotels all the WiFi connected devices are segregated. Try it. Connect two devices to "most if not all" hotel WiFi networks and the two devices can not connect to each other even while connecting from the same room. This is done for security purposes. With the set up I mentioned with the mini WiFi router any devices connecting to the wireless network created by the mini router needs to authenticate with the AP function of the router.
I use a tplink micro router. I plug into the ether net and it still requires that I log in. So I'm not sure if that will even work.
Life is better with root.
tamanaco said:
In hotels all the WiFi connected devices are segregated. Try it. Connect two devices to "most if not all" hotel WiFi networks and the two devices can not connect to each other even while connecting from the same room. This is done for security purposes. With the set up I mentioned with the mini WiFi router any devices connecting to the wireless network created by the mini router needs to authenticate with the AP function of the router.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, that would work. You're relying on the hotel having a wired connection in addition to wireless, which I do not see as often unless you're staying in business hotels.
Still, my post was more trying to point out that design decisions like only remembering one wireless hotspot make it seem like they did not intend this to be used for travelling.
raptir said:
Yeah, that would work. You're relying on the hotel having a wired connection in addition to wireless, which I do not see as often unless you're staying in business hotels.
Still, my post was more trying to point out that design decisions like only remembering one wireless hotspot make it seem like they did not intend this to be used for travelling.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I was not clear enough in my previous post... when "combined" with a laptop the mini router-laptop setup can act as WiFi LAN to WiFi WAN router. The "Laptop's" WiFi adapter links and authenticates with the hotel's WiFi AP and acts as a bridge to the USB connected mini WiFi router. The mini router then acts as a wireless AP for the wireless nodes in your room. Your chromecast and smartphone/tablet would then link and authenticate to the AP in the mini router and talk to each other as they would be in the same WiFi LAN segment. Both of them will then go out to the Internet using the WiFi connection of the laptop WiFi adapter. Take a look at the second video that I added at the end of my initial post.
tamanaco said:
Maybe I was not clear enough in my previous post... when "combined" with a laptop the mini router setup can act as WiFi LAN to WiFi WAN router. The "Laptop's" WiFi adapter links and authenticates with the hotel's WiFi AP and acts as a bridge to the USB connected mini WiFi router. The mini router then acts as a wireless AP for the wireless nodes in your room. Your chromecast and smartphone/tablet would then link and authenticate to the AP in the mini router and talk to each other as they would be in the same WiFi LAN segment. Both of them will then go out to the Internet using the WiFi connection of the laptop WiFi adapter. Take a look at the second video that I added at the end of my initial post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah. I guess I'm just not seeing why you would go through all of that hassle when an HDMI cable would do the same thing. The Chromecast is great for convenience, when you remove that it just doesn't seem like a good solution to me.
raptir said:
Ah. I guess I'm just not seeing why you would go through all of that hassle when an HDMI cable would do the same thing. The Chromecast is great for convenience, when you remove that it just doesn't seem like a good solution to me.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It might not be a good solution for you, but for those of us that carry a laptop when we travel having two extra dongles would not be much of a hassle. Remember, even if the chromecast had its own browser to authenticate to the hotels WiFi and access the Internet your smartphone/tablet would not be able see it. You need to create your own wireless LAN segment in your hotel room for both devices to connect and a way for both to have access to the Internet via a router in order for the chromecast to work You need to replicate an environment similar to your home wireless network for the chromecast to work as designed.
Edit: Btw, I agree that having a laptop or tablet with separate HDMI port an HDMI cable is a better solution, but since this thread was about chromecast in hotels I was trying to keep the discussion relevant while exploring a "possible" solution.
tamanaco said:
It might not be a good solution for you, but for those of us that carry a laptop when we travel having two extra dongles would not be much of a hassle. Remember, even if the chromecast had its own browser to authenticate to the hotels WiFi and access the Internet your smartphone/tablet would not be able see it. You need to create your own wireless LAN segment in your hotel room for both devices to connect and a way for both to have access to the Internet via a router in order for the chromecast to work You need to replicate an environment similar to your home wireless network for the chromecast to work as designed.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess it just comes down to a matter of opinion. I do carry a laptop when I travel and I still think that plugging it into the TV with an HDMI cable would be easier than going through all that. The chromecast is less capable but more convenient than an HDMI cable, but if you've got a setup that causes the chromecast to be the less convenient option I just don't see why you'd go with it.
raptir said:
I guess it just comes down to a matter of opinion. I do carry a laptop when I travel and I still think that plugging it into the TV with an HDMI cable would be easier than going through all that. The chromecast is less capable but more convenient than an HDMI cable, but if you've got a setup that causes the chromecast to be the less convenient option I just don't see why you'd go with it.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I had updated my post before your reply. In essence we're in agreement about having an HDMI cable, but I believe that the possibility exist for making this work with just a smartphone with bluetooth and the chromecast dongle. My understanding is that the chromecast also has bluetooth capabilities. So a firmware update and basic browser in the chromecast can be use to authenticate with the hotel's WiFi network while the smartphone can act as a remote via Bluetooth. Just speculating here... but who knows.