With chrome cast, are you able to stream videos from you PC using network tv websites such as abc.com or nbc.com? What about regular hulu, not Hulu plus.does it work with the network iphone apps such as the abc app or nbc app or watchespn?
Thanks!
for apps, the app itself has to add the ability to cast anything.
whereas using your desktop/laptop, all you need is Chrome and the Google Cast extension. then you can cast any tab you want. this feature is still in beta though.
Yes, most of that stuff works when you cast from Chrome running on your desktop. But it requires Chrome running on the desktop to re-encode and re-transmit the video stream continuously to your Chromecast rather than handing the stream over as happens with the native apps like Youtube and Netflix. That puts a heavy load on your desktop system, and all but the highest performing desktop systems will produce some frame dropping and video stuttering on the Chromecast. I have an overclocked quad-core i5-3570K running at 4.3 GHz, and it misses some frames and jerks a little even on the best streams. My old Core2 Duo dual-core E8400 running at 2.29 GHz can't even manage to stream 480p for more than a few seconds of jerky frames before it loses sync.
My Core 2 Duo doesn't have that problem at all with regular Hulu.
I don't know why, the C2D is far below their minimum hardware requirements so I have some sort of fluke.
Related
Have noticed with my Chromecast that when I go from Netflix or Youtube the streaming is fine from my computer. If I try to go from one of the non-optimized services (such as Hulu) the stream gets very choppy. I am assuming this just has to do with those having been optimized for this but I was wondering if there was anything I could try settings wise to make other sites stream better? I have already reduced the Chromecast setting down to Standard.
yes there's nothing we can do at the moment. it needs more detailed settings. some of them were found inside the extension but they are not connected to anything in the current beta.
Sent from my One S using xda app-developers app
wigginst said:
Have noticed with my Chromecast that when I go from Netflix or Youtube the streaming is fine from my computer. If I try to go from one of the non-optimized services (such as Hulu) the stream gets very choppy. I am assuming this just has to do with those having been optimized for this but I was wondering if there was anything I could try settings wise to make other sites stream better? I have already reduced the Chromecast setting down to Standard.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Streaming from non optimized apps needs a lot of cpu power. If you're using laptop, change power plan to high performance. My c2d laptop running win 8 has no choppy at all after this setting. Desktop with core i5 and above should have no problem.
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
ddang25377 said:
Streaming from non optimized apps needs a lot of cpu power. If you're using laptop, change power plan to high performance. My c2d laptop running win 8 has no choppy at all after this setting. Desktop with core i5 and above should have no problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
true about CPU but I haven't experienced a totally smooth 720 playback yet (especially with HD stuff) no matter how powerful the setup is.
Sent from my One S using xda app-developers app
mannequin said:
true about CPU but I haven't experienced a totally smooth 720 playback yet (especially with HD stuff) no matter how powerful the setup is.
Sent from my One S using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, 720p streaming is pita, lol.
Google says the requirements for 720p is 3rd/4th gen core i5 with windows 7 or 8 (which is too much to me).
I tried 720p streaming with my desktop and the quality is great.
I might be lucky with my setup:
Core i5 desktop run OSX lion, wire internet, ssd hard drive.
Hope to see more optimized apps and chrome extension
Sent from my SGH-T889 using xda premium
I dropped quality down to 480p and at least it wasn't as choppy. I'm wondering though... when you cast from Chrome is it P2P, or does it stream up through the "Chromecast Cloud" and then back down to the CC? Obviously the optimized apps (Netflix, YouTube, etc.) all stream direct to the CC, but I'm wondering if that's why there is such a latency and poor quality when casting something like a video from Chrome. Even at poor speeds, you should be able to achieve a few hundred Kbps, if not a few Mbps, when streaming on your local LAN. If you're going through the internet though, speeds wouldn't be as fast, as well as Google could rate limit the stream to try forcing the use of only optimized apps. Thoughts?
Ninjazx71 said:
I dropped quality down to 480p and at least it wasn't as choppy. I'm wondering though... when you cast from Chrome is it P2P, or does it stream up through the "Chromecast Cloud" and then back down to the CC? Obviously the optimized apps (Netflix, YouTube, etc.) all stream direct to the CC, but I'm wondering if that's why there is such a latency and poor quality when casting something like a video from Chrome. Even at poor speeds, you should be able to achieve a few hundred Kbps, if not a few Mbps, when streaming on your local LAN. If you're going through the internet though, speeds wouldn't be as fast, as well as Google could rate limit the stream to try forcing the use of only optimized apps. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have the same exact questions. I dropped down to 480p as well and it was running smoothly for chrome tab cast. You would think that if it is P2P, it should be pretty smooth as my router could do way over 200Mbps P2P. Now if I have to go thru the internet (cloud), it is only about 40Mbps down and 4Mbps. I think the down part is not a problem as Netflix and Youtube came thru from the internet to the chromecast dongle just fine even in high resolution. I think the 4Mbps up would be a problem if it has to upload the data to the cloud first before going back to the chromecast dongle...
well cloud solution makes 0 sense in this case unless yeah, they did it on purpose to force the use of the official apps.
Sent from my One S using xda app-developers app
So, this is why/how it works.
If you go into one of the supported services (Netflix/YouTube/Google Play) your device just tells the Chromecast what to get, and then the Chromecast uses its own wireless connection to get the content.
When you are casting a tab or screen you are streaming your entire tab/screen straight to your Chromecast which means your computer needs to be grab the content (over your wireless connection) and then send the content over to your Chromecast (over your wireless connection again) through the router. Because of this, you have extra strain on both your home network and your computer (casting a screen/tab is resource expensive). This entire process is requires if you try to use any other service.
From what I can tell (over an 802.11g connection, full bars on both ends) 720p screen/tab casting is too unstable/resource heavy to stream smoothly. 420p works wonderfully for me.
Unfortunately the ability to cast a screen/tab does not come down to just A/V bandwidth requirements. There are control messages that need to be sent, and the code to get it to work efficiently is complex.
For example YouTube video (This one for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61FPSXnTLc ) has 1080p 720p 480p.....
I know on my laptop I could barely stream 720p smooth, let alone 1080p, but most of the time I am at 480p. For some reason the Youtube on automatic default to the 480p or lower, even though I could play with 720p with minimal hiccup.
So when I cast to Chromecast, it is always smooth (so I pretty much know that it is pulling the 720p stream or lower). Is there a way to know which stream it is pulling?
I could always force it to play the 1080p stream by feeding it the direct URL to http://googlecast.github.io/cast-chrome/ but I want to know what it is pulling naturally.
GreenDroidX said:
For example YouTube video (This one for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61FPSXnTLc ) has 1080p 720p 480p.....
I know on my laptop I could barely stream 720p smooth, let alone 1080p, but most of the time I am at 480p. For some reason the Youtube on automatic default to the 480p or lower, even though I could play with 720p with minimal hiccup.
So when I cast to Chromecast, it is always smooth (so I pretty much know that it is pulling the 720p stream or lower). Is there a way to know which stream it is pulling?
I could always force it to play the 1080p stream by feeding it the direct URL to http://googlecast.github.io/cast-chrome/ but I want to know what it is pulling naturally.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Its probably just like the Android app. It'll pull what it is being allowed to pull down due to the bandwidth.
The reason you and I and most people have YouTube issues is the load to those servers is high. Hence why at 5pm streaming YouTube at anything but LQ is pointless.
Google subverted this issue by not actually directing Chromecast to the YouTube servers but instead to another far less congested one. Makes sense to provide the best user experience.
So yes you will get better quality on the Chromecast then any other device using your network.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4
If i buy a chromecast will i be able to go to say movie4k.to with my phone and stream it to my tv using google chrome? i mean i know i can stream netflix or youtube but i want to watch online streaming movies from different websites. the away i watch online movies now is by hooking up a laptop thru hdmi to my 60 inch tv and it works. let me know. thanks
you can Tab Cast. just install this add-on to your Chrome browser:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/google-cast/boadgeojelhgndaghljhdicfkmllpafd
however this Tab Cast feature is in beta. you may notice a few hiccups. like say video stuttering. or even audio/video out of sync issues.
You can do that but android chrome does not support tab cast, only the pc chrome.
I have done it numerous times, depending on your computer and the strength of your wifi, it can play without any hiccups.
Sometimes I did get lags but only when I was running many processes on my pc
Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2
okay, so when I try to cast a tab and play a local video file.. the video freezes on the TV, but continues to play on my computer.. the sound also still comes through the TV while its frozen. Why is this? And is there anyway to cast a local file from your phone?
bewpy said:
okay, so when I try to cast a tab and play a local video file.. the video freezes on the TV, but continues to play on my computer.. the sound also still comes through the TV while its frozen. Why is this? And is there anyway to cast a local file from your phone?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What kind of local file (container format, compression type and bitrate) is it? It sounds like maybe the local file has a "glitch" in it or the file is using variable bitrate compression and the video bitrate exceeds what Chromecast can handle at the point it freezes.
Local file casting currently requires a rooted Chromecast, KyoCast installed on the Chromecast, and an un-timebombed AllCast/AirCast installed on your phone... The phone-local file needs to be a format Chromecast can play, and must be played in an app that allows Share to the AllCast/AirCast app.
Me too the issue happened on my chromecast even on youtube ... other pc work with me but one pc is showing this behaviour
bhiga said:
What kind of local file (container format, compression type and bitrate) is it? It sounds like maybe the local file has a "glitch" in it or the file is using variable bitrate compression and the video bitrate exceeds what Chromecast can handle at the point it freezes.
Local file casting currently requires a rooted Chromecast, KyoCast installed on the Chromecast, and an un-timebombed AllCast/AirCast installed on your phone... The phone-local file needs to be a format Chromecast can play, and must be played in an app that allows Share to the AllCast/AirCast app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So do you think this would work or help cast the Showbox app?
Sent from my HTCONE using XDA Premium 4 mobile app
bewpy said:
okay, so when I try to cast a tab and play a local video file.. the video freezes on the TV, but continues to play on my computer.. the sound also still comes through the TV while its frozen.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That can happen if the transcoding performance of your computer is not sufficient for tab casting. I get that symptom if I attempt tab casting from my 2 GHz dual-core laptop, but not from my 4 GHz quad-core desktop. Google's beta tab-casting code just isn't very efficient.
DJames1 said:
That can happen if the transcoding performance of your computer is not sufficient for tab casting. I get that symptom if I attempt tab casting from my 2 GHz dual-core laptop, but not from my 4 GHz quad-core desktop. Google's beta tab-casting code just isn't very efficient.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have an i5.. with 8 gigs of ram..
It'll still depend mainly on how CPU-intensive the decoding of the video you're watching is. Whatever its left over needs to be enough to compress to whatever Chromecast needs.
It's more than that though. My system runs at only 12-18% CPU utilization while tab casting (depending on resolution), but the video is still a bit jerky, noticeably dropping frames about once a second. Dropping the resolution to 480p doesn't affect that at all. When I play the exact same internet stream via Plex running on the same computer and casting it to a Plex client, the video is perfectly smooth. The only explanation I can see for the poor performance along with low average CPU utilization is that Google isn't using enough buffering, and every time it gets overwhelmed by a momentary peak in transcoding, it stumbles and drops some frames. You can easily see and hear that the lag between the stream on the computer and the stream coming out of the Chromecast is only a fraction of a second, so that would support the insufficient-buffering theory.
DJames1 said:
It's more than that though. My system runs at only 12-18% CPU utilization while tab casting (depending on resolution), but the video is still a bit jerky, noticeably dropping frames about once a second. Dropping the resolution to 480p doesn't affect that at all. When I play the exact same internet stream via Plex running on the same computer and casting it to a Plex client, the video is perfectly smooth. The only explanation I can see for the poor performance along with low average CPU utilization is that Google isn't using enough buffering, and every time it gets overwhelmed by a momentary peak in transcoding, it stumbles and drops some frames. You can easily see and hear that the lag between the stream on the computer and the stream coming out of the Chromecast is only a fraction of a second, so that would support the insufficient-buffering theory.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The flip side to the coin would be that the Cast extension isn't using enough compression. More buffering would create additional lag between what's on the computer and out from the Chroemcast. There's already a fair lag.
More compression would mean higher CPU requirements but lower network bandwidth
More buffering would mean more lag
Being that the Cast extension is still in beta, I'm hoping Google either lets us adjust these settings (the previously-discovered hidden settings would be reasonable) or they are trying to determine the best compromise given the target market. The parameters are narrow enough that a Q&A optimizer would probably work.
My video is lagging: decrease buffering & use looser compression
My video is pausing, skipping or jumping: increase buffering
My video is still pausing, skipping or jumping: decrease compression
bhiga said:
What kind of local file (container format, compression type and bitrate) is it? It sounds like maybe the local file has a "glitch" in it or the file is using variable bitrate compression and the video bitrate exceeds what Chromecast can handle at the point it freezes.
Local file casting currently requires a rooted Chromecast, KyoCast installed on the Chromecast, and an un-timebombed AllCast/AirCast installed on your phone... The phone-local file needs to be a format Chromecast can play, and must be played in an app that allows Share to the AllCast/AirCast app.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I have been able to stream local content from my Plex Server using the Chrome Browser Tab Cast feature...
Open Plex Media Manager in the browser, Cast the tab to the Chromecast, Play the video, make it full screen and all is good.
Perhaps because the Plex Server does transcoding and his local file does not.
Most of my files are H264 MP4 files and AVI and other containers won't work like you said.
Asphyx said:
Actually I have been able to stream local content from my Plex Server using the Chrome Browser Tab Cast feature...
Open Plex Media Manager in the browser, Cast the tab to the Chromecast, Play the video, make it full screen and all is good.
Perhaps because the Plex Server does transcoding and his local file does not.
Most of my files are H264 MP4 files and AVI and other containers won't work like you said.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually it's two-fold in your case.
Plex Server is making sure Chrome can play it (ensures it's browser-friendly)
and
because you're tab-casting, the source doesn't really matter because the Cast extension is recompressing what appears on the screen to a Chromecast-compatible format. The Cast extension doesn't care whether it's video or PowerPoint or an animated GIF - at the point the Cast extension sees it, it's just a series of images for it to compress and send to Chromecast
bhiga said:
Actually it's two-fold in your case.
Plex Server is making sure Chrome can play it (ensures it's browser-friendly)
and
because you're tab-casting, the source doesn't really matter because the Cast extension is recompressing what appears on the screen to a Chromecast-compatible format. The Cast extension doesn't care whether it's video or PowerPoint or an animated GIF - at the point the Cast extension sees it, it's just a series of images for it to compress and send to Chromecast
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ahhh IC...SO the fact that it is playing well has more to do with the file being compatible with the browser...Got it!
Hey guys, i'm looking for best android apps to stream videos to chromecast. The problem is that most of them only support mp4 files. I found only one that supports all file formats, it transcodes the file on the fly on your phone and streams directly to chromecast. its called Megacast. Does anyone know anything similar?
I usually just stream from es file explorer
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
BubbleUPNP and Localcast
Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk
Yeah bubbleupnp is q pretty solid app, especially with transcoding for Chromecast.
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Whats the difference compared to screen mirroring? At least compared with ES Chromecast Player the screen mirroring runs much smoother.
Solid Explorer is IMO by far the best I have used. Plays anything from anywhere. 1080p is laggy, but everything else I throw at it works fine. Streaming from phone, NAS and ftp...
Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
I think people are missing the point of the question about transcoding. While there are many good Chromecast-enabled video players on Android (e.g., Avia, AllCast, BubbleUPnP, LocalCast, Plex, AllConnect being just the few that I have on my tablet), mostly they don't support on-the-fly transcoding because phone processors simply aren't up to handling the task smoothly yet, and it would drain battery power at an alarming rate if they could. Some like Plex and BubbleUPnP support transcoding using a remote server. But really it's easier just to transcode all your videos to a common mp4 format that's compatible with everything instead of worrying about on-the-fly transcoding.
DJames1 said:
I think people are missing the point of the question about transcoding. While there are many good Chromecast-enabled video players on Android (e.g., Avia, AllCast, BubbleUPnP, LocalCast, Plex, AllConnect being just the few that I have on my tablet), mostly they don't support on-the-fly transcoding because phone processors simply aren't up to handling the task smoothly yet, and it would drain battery power at an alarming rate if they could. Some like Plex and BubbleUPnP support transcoding using a remote server. But really it's easier just to transcode all your videos to a common mp4 format that's compatible with everything instead of worrying about on-the-fly transcoding.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sometimes, just the audio track of videos must be transcoded (DTS, AC3) and Android devices are powerful enough for this task (which BubbleUPnP can perform locally).
There are lots of chromecast apps available over the web which you can install on your device. But I find an amazing list of best chromecast apps android. Why don't you check it out.
I like this one:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.videostream.Mobile&hl=nl
ViCast HD Google Cast (Chromecast) player
Guys, please try our new app
ViCast is a simple and stable HD Google Cast (Chromecast) player. Can be found on Google Play Market.
Enjoy casting your favourite media to the big screen!
We are working hard to provide you with a great opportunity to seamlessly watch your favourite HD movies. It’s highly optimized for streaming H.264 encoded videos and allows to play incompatible Google Cast media. Moreover, your media content will also be accessible via DLNA server.
SUPPORTED FORMATS:
Video: MP4, MKV, AVI, WEBM, MOV, WMV, MPG, 3GP, M4V.
Audio: MP3, AAC, FLAC, WAV.
Photo: JPG, PNG, BMP, WEBP, GIF.