Chromecast and Virtual Routers. Any luck? - Google Chromecast

I got my brother a Chromecast for Christmas, and it will work fine while he's at home, but I'd really want to help find him a way to use it while he's at college. His university uses a WPA2-Enterprise network, and I've read that the Chromecast doesn't work with those.
Would something like VirtualRouterPlus allow him to use the Chromecast while at school? I realize that it may not be the fastest or most secure method, but I figure it's better than nothing...

Does it support multicast? If it can handle that, then Chromecast should work on it

RRtexasranger said:
I got my brother a Chromecast for Christmas, and it will work fine while he's at home, but I'd really want to help find him a way to use it while he's at college. His university uses a WPA2-Enterprise network, and I've read that the Chromecast doesn't work with those.
Would something like VirtualRouterPlus allow him to use the Chromecast while at school? I realize that it may not be the fastest or most secure method, but I figure it's better than nothing...
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Click to collapse
I'm curious about this too. My router is all the way on the opposite side of the house from my bedroom TV and the Chromecast won't work there. Trying to find a way to stream from my phone, maybe using my tablet as the router?

tony yayo said:
I'm curious about this too. My router is all the way on the opposite side of the house from my bedroom TV and the Chromecast won't work there. Trying to find a way to stream from my phone, maybe using my tablet as the router?
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Click to collapse
That seems a bit overcomplicated. I'd just get a wireless range extender.
Or if your router allows adjusting the signal power, increase it slowly until you get reasonable signal.
Or the cheapest solution, though not always feasible - relocate the router.

I use Connectify at my University and it works perfectly!

PwnCakes193 said:
I use Connectify at my University and it works perfectly!
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That's good to hear. Hopefully his network is configured to where he can use a similar process.

Related

Connecting to a PSP

I've been reading some threads on turning the Kaiser into a wireless router, and was wondering if anyone had succesfully connected a Sony PSP to it? What am trying to do is use the Remote Play and Location Free features.
ever figure out how to get this done?
I have same setup as you as far as hardware.. for software i am using duttys 6.1 RTM on the kaiser and CFW 3.71 on the psp slim.
Lemme know...
Thanks,
J
Davebravey said:
I've been reading some threads on turning the Kaiser into a wireless router, and was wondering if anyone had succesfully connected a Sony PSP to it? What am trying to do is use the Remote Play and Location Free features.
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The obvious question is why? It (PSP) connects wirelessly to your home network. 3G is fast but is it fast enough for on line gaming?
Remote play mostly just accesses content from your PS3 , pictures, music, not games , thru the internet.
( Mods. feel free to move this thread to the xda gaming forum
the reason why....
denco7 said:
The obvious question is why? It (PSP) connects wirelessly to your home network. 3G is fast but is it fast enough for on line gaming?
Remote play mostly just accesses content from your PS3 , pictures, music, not games , thru the internet.
( Mods. feel free to move this thread to the xda gaming forum
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Click to collapse
1.Having the cell phone (3g HSDPA UMTS EDGE, GPRS in my case) would enable my psp to have an internet connection while mobile in the car. That is the biggest reason.
2.I already use WMWifiRouter to enable my passengers to use wifi on their notebooks while travelling. I would like to stream movies(very doable over 3g) to my psp so my son can watch them on the go.
3. I have a modded psp running CFW and I can do much more than play games on it. Many of the modded features are network reliant or network ready such as VNC, Streaming video from the PSP, youtube, watching Live tv, and of course accessing my media server through my ps3 at home. All on a much bigger screen than my kaiser.
4.Youtube, browsing internet(even with opera), screen size, OS performance still sucks on the kaiser, the graphics still suck(pending the new rom from htc).
5. Cause I just want it.
johndabrit said:
5. Cause I just want it.
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To me this is the only legitimate reason you asking this question.... I often deal with the same issue, just wanting something no mather what it takes. GREAT!!
I'll refere you too this post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=381515
denco7 said:
The obvious question is why? It (PSP) connects wirelessly to your home network. 3G is fast but is it fast enough for on line gaming?
Remote play mostly just accesses content from your PS3 , pictures, music, not games , thru the internet.
( Mods. feel free to move this thread to the xda gaming forum
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Click to collapse
Um, why would you ask this question and how is it the obvious question? I can WoW on edge. (maybe not raid)
thanks for the reference.
Davebravey said:
I'll refere you too this post here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=381515
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but as youll see on there i already posted There is one user who says he got it to work but i highly doubt he was connected to the phone or could even see it during a scan especially if he "didnt set anything up" and "it just worked" mods feel free to merge the threads. This has to be possible. Of course this is coming from somebody who doesnt know how to cook in the winmo world or the psp cfw world. I wish i could give a little less conversation with allot more action but i dont even know where to start learning how to cook.
-J
johndabrit said:
...where to start learning how to cook.
-J
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this i can help with Just simply go to the first sticky underneath the Kaiser-Rom development forum and their you will find instructions on where to download the "kaiser kitchen" and also information about how to dump and reconstruct roms etc. etc.
johndabrit said:
2.I already use WMWifiRouter to enable my passengers to use wifi on their notebooks while travelling. I would like to stream movies(very doable over 3g) to my psp so my son can watch them on the go.
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I have never used WMWifiRouter although it was always my understanding that does exactly what you are asking (make a WAP for access from any device). And indeed you are doing that, so I can only surmise there is something weird with how the PSP accesses it? I know i would have issues with my PSP when trying to connect to a hidden (non broadcast) SSID.
Anyway, it looks like WMWifiRouter had gone commercial..maybe it is updated to work better? You can download a trial and see, and possibly email for support. Tell them you want to buy it if it will work with PSP. I really don't know how it can advertise it is working as a WAP if a device can't connect to it. Assuming the devices all use the same 802.11 standard and support the same encryption protocols. Otherwise, his software isn't really doing what it says... but again I haven't really investigated it.
wmwifirouter creates an on-demand wireless connection, which is quite different from a wireless access point. When you use another laptop to connect through your kaiser's 3G via wmwifi, it's basically like an adhoc wireless connection. The psp doensn't support adhoc wifi for internet,(only for psp-psp communication) or on-demand wifi.
What you could try is using your laptop to connect to wmwifirouter and then using softAP to turn your laptop into a wireless access point and THEN use your psp to connect to your laptop. Then again its way to complicated to be viable, so just forget it
nphil said:
wmwifirouter creates an on-demand wireless connection, which is quite different from a wireless access point. When you use another laptop to connect through your kaiser's 3G via wmwifi, it's basically like an adhoc wireless connection. The psp doensn't support adhoc wifi for internet,(only for psp-psp communication) or on-demand wifi.
What you could try is using your laptop to connect to wmwifirouter and then using softAP to turn your laptop into a wireless access point and THEN use your psp to connect to your laptop. Then again its way to complicated to be viable, so just forget it
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Click to collapse
Right I just downloaded and played with the trial and see what you mean. I think your workaround using ICS on the laptop will definitely work, and you might be able to automate thes setup with some netsh commands...but it would definitely take 5-10 mins to set up manually.
Other than that research the CF on the PSP to see if anyone figured a way to connect ad-hoc... I haven't been on the PSP scene for about 6 months, so I don't know what is new.
nphil said:
wmwifirouter creates an on-demand wireless connection, which is quite different from a wireless access point. When you use another laptop to connect through your kaiser's 3G via wmwifi, it's basically like an adhoc wireless connection. The psp doensn't support adhoc wifi for internet,(only for psp-psp communication) or on-demand wifi.
What you could try is using your laptop to connect to wmwifirouter and then using softAP to turn your laptop into a wireless access point and THEN use your psp to connect to your laptop. Then again its way to complicated to be viable, so just forget it
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Click to collapse
no no.. good thinking.. and not so complicated at that. Thanks for providing a solution and not bashing the attempt. Ill attempt this and let you know. I do have an old POS laptop i can reimage and set in the car with wake on lan active for the remote times.

Can I control Chromecast with my phone without a wifi router?

Can I control Chromecast with my phone without a wifi router? I would like to be able to use just a tv, chromecast, and my phone to stream from my phone. Does anyone know if this is possible or if it will be? I tried downloading a rented movie from Google movie and turn the router off at my house. I tried to stream, but it failed for two reasons. Google movies won't let you stream downloaded movies and Chromecast won't work without my router on. Did I do something wrong here or am I missing something? I would prefer to be able to rely on my phone's data and downloaded files. Doesn't anyone think this would be possible with Chromecast? I guess I'm ultimately looking for portability without the internet.
choosetoride said:
Can I control Chromcast with my phone without a wifi router? I would like to be able to use just a tv, chromecast, and my phone to stream from my phone. Does anyone know if this is possible or if it will be? I tried downloading a rented movie from Google movie and turn the router off at my house. I tried to stream, but it failed for two reasons. Google movies won't let you stream downloaded movies and Chromecast won't work without my router on. Did I do something wrong here or am I missing something? I would prefer to be able to rely on my phone's data and downloaded files. Doesn't anyone think this would be possible with Chromecast? I guess I'm ultimately looking for portability without the internet.
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I'm pretty sure your phone/tablet/laptop need to be on the same subnet as the device so it can be found to cast to, hence the need to have everything on the same wifi router.
I think that you can tether it to your phone. You select which wi-fi network the Chromecast joins using the Chromecast app, so no reason that you couldn't enter your phone's wi-fi network.
I think the salient point from the above answers is that Chromecast seems to need an Internet connection for some things (like youtube). For Web pages the Windows chrome browser sends the content to Chromecast but other times (YouTube) it's pulling content itself from the Internet.
Once Koush's app is out hopefully you'll be able to stream more content right to your phone, so a peer to peer network might work better
Sent from my ADR6425LVW using xda premium
Jason_V said:
I think that you can tether it to your phone. You select which wi-fi network the Chromecast joins using the Chromecast app, so no reason that you couldn't enter your phone's wi-fi network.
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You could, but remember that Casting from your phone, computer, etc removes that device from being in the middle, and the Chromecast does the heavy lifting of grabbing the requested stream from the internet and playing it on-screen. Your phone's WiFi may be sufficient, but remember you're going to be pulling HD data over the cellular connection, and that'll probably be jerky and buffer a lot. It was neat to cast a netflix item from my phone and turn my phone OFF while it was still playing (and didn't skip a beat) to verify it wasn't using my phone for anything.
FractalSphere said:
You could, but remember that Casting from your phone, computer, etc removes that device from being in the middle, and the Chromecast does the heavy lifting of grabbing the requested stream from the internet and playing it on-screen. Your phone's WiFi may be sufficient, but remember you're going to be pulling HD data over the cellular connection, and that'll probably be jerky and buffer a lot. It was neat to cast a netflix item from my phone and turn my phone OFF while it was still playing (and didn't skip a beat) to verify it wasn't using my phone for anything.
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Good point. The handoff is amazing. I just would like the option for when I'm somewhere with no internet. In my opinion, this could be a huge deal breaker for a lot of people. Why make it so small, if it's not meant to be taken everywhere? But, who knows. From my perspective, it goes right back to the DRM issue with Xbox. I buy or rent all of the media I watch, but forcing me to be online anytime I want to view it is just controlling. It removes value.
choosetoride said:
Good point. The handoff is amazing. I just would like the option for when I'm somewhere with no internet. In my opinion, this could be a huge deal breaker for a lot of people. Why make it so small, if it's not meant to be taken everywhere? But, who knows. From my perspective, it goes right back to the DRM issue with Xbox. I buy or rent all of the media I watch, but forcing me to be online anytime I want to view it is just controlling. It removes value.
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Click to collapse
I would tether or use one of those mobile hotspots (I don't have one, but might if I traveled extensively) and stream that way at a hotel or even someone elses house.
Ohh, which begs the question, can the Chromecast store more than one Wifi configuration? I don't think the software can do that at the moment.. Would be VERY convenient to travel to known locations back and forth.
As for direct streaming of local video, i was able to stream MP4 files no problem using a Chrome browser tab. The computer doing the rendering needs to be a higher-end PC, though - right now I have a older 'media PC' set up that my Xbox plays DLNA from and it's just a glorified storage device, it didn't want to render those videos well at all. So if you have a decent laptop, and get Connectify (free PC software that makes your laptop a hotspot) you can stream to the Chromecast directly while out at a remote location.
I believe the ad-hoc wireless functionality was only meant to facilitate initial setup, not to be a content streaming solution.
Plus, I doubt your phone would be able to handle the computing stress required to cast content directly to the Chromecast.
Roberek said:
I believe the ad-hoc wireless functionality was only meant to facilitate initial setup, not to be a content streaming solution.
Plus, I doubt your phone would be able to handle the computing stress required to cast content directly to the Chromecast.
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I stream HD Netflix from my phone's hotspot, perfect. I play my xbox online with parties using my hotpsot...perfect.
My down speeds are better than most peoples ISP down speeds so I don't see this being an issue.
The Xbox Smartglass app works from my phone while my phone is giving my Xbox internet so I don't see why the Chromecast wouldn't be able to work either.
I emailed Google about this because I honestly don't see the problem.
iTreezy said:
I stream HD Netflix from my phone's hotspot, perfect. I play my xbox online with parties using my hotpsot...perfect.
My down speeds are better than most peoples ISP down speeds so I don't see this being an issue.
The Xbox Smartglass app works from my phone while my phone is giving my Xbox internet so I don't see why the Chromecast wouldn't be able to work either.
I emailed Google about this because I honestly don't see the problem.
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let me know if you get a reply because i want to do the same thing but apparently this is the reason why it doesn't work
http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...android-phone-hotspot-ap-isolation-issue.html
seems like if you can disable ap isolation then it would fix it but i'm not sure how you'd do that
Jason_V said:
I think that you can tether it to your phone. You select which wi-fi network the Chromecast joins using the Chromecast app, so no reason that you couldn't enter your phone's wi-fi network.
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Click to collapse
I tried doing this on my Galaxy Note II (Sprint) using WiFi tether. I was able to get it an IP and connect to the network, but it wasn't pushing the DNS info (ie wasn't getting an internet connection). Unfortunately, WiFi tether can be limited in the it's settings and CC has only a few.
Unfortunately, from what I've seen, you are unable to store multiple networks on the CC. I don't believe it was designed for that much portability. I happen to have a laptop with me and was able to do the setup. Since I wasn't able to get an internet connect, I wasn't able to test if I could cast from the GN2. My expectation is most likely not. But I had a tablet with me too, and would have tested it with that.
As for how it would preform, I assume for Netflix and application with CC extension built in, no problem. Trying to cast a Chrome tab, that could be iffy since it would depend on well WiFi tether can handle the that much traffic and the PC.
I haven't fiddled with it since then. But it's definitely possible with some tweaks.
colonelcack said:
let me know if you get a reply because i want to do the same thing but apparently this is the reason why it doesn't work
http://forums.androidcentral.com/go...android-phone-hotspot-ap-isolation-issue.html
seems like if you can disable ap isolation then it would fix it but i'm not sure how you'd do that
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't think there is a way to disable AP isolation. I'm no network wiz or anything but I rally think it would be an easy update on their side to grant access to using our phones hot spot.
I also noticed that the Chromecast itself generates its own hotspot...I'm assuming to let other devices connect to it and cast to it.
I'm not mad that it doesn't work ($35 isn't a wallet breaker) but I am mad that I jumped the gun and used my 3 months free promo for Netflix =(
Well, here it is guys
Hello Troy,
Thank you for contacting Google Play! It was a pleasure getting to speak with you today. Unfortunately you will need an ISP to hook up your chromecast it will not work off of a hotspot connection.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to reply directly to this email. Also, you can visit our help center at:
https://support.google.com/chromecast/
Regards,
Tracy
The Google Play Support Team!
On 08/10/13 00:10:27 ********** wrote:
first_name_req: Troy
last_name_req: Wisniewski
email_req: **********
Chromekey_serial:
description_req: I don't have an ISP at my residence, I use my Galaxy Nexus
hotspot for everything which always works out well. I was hoping that the
Chromecast would work connected to my hotpot but it seems to have issues.
People have stated that it won't work because your phone has to be
connected to wifi as well but my rebuttal to this is that
Microsoft's "SmartGlass" app is used to control my Xbox, through wifi. I
use my hotspot to give internet access to my Xbox and my phone can control
it even though it is technically not on a wifi network, instead it is
providing the wifi. To me it seems this is the same concept and should work
with a bit of back end support on your end. I would appreciate an email
back stating whether this is going to be possible or not. If it isn't
possible I understand. For $35 ($15 with the Netflix promo) it's not
exactly killing me. The reason I don't have an ISP is because I would
rather not be raped (for lack of better words)
P.S. Google Fiber Metro Detroit please
static_subject_line: Chromecast technical question
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I guess the the next step is for everyone to quote this and spread the word throughout the other posts here at XDA and any other forums related to this topic.
iTreezy said:
I guess the the next step is for everyone to quote this and spread the word throughout the other posts here at XDA and any other forums related to this topic.
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bull****. they're just too lazy to do it. there has to be some hotspot app that has this feature or some kind of workaround that will be figured out eventually...this was the whole reason i bought the device, this would be the ultimate portable media center. i bet that kouch guy could do it...
colonelcack said:
bull****. they're just too lazy to do it. there has to be some hotspot app that has this feature or some kind of workaround that will be figured out eventually...this was the whole reason i bought the device, this would be the ultimate portable media center. i bet that kouch guy could do it...
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Listen.. I'm with you man. I meant spread the official word of google so we can move on to focusing on developers trying to help us out
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
iTreezy said:
Listen.. I'm with you man. I meant spread the official word of google so we can move on to focusing on developers trying to help us out
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using xda app-developers app
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lol i know man i wasn't saying bull**** to you just in general. i already linked to this to the other post on androidcentral....hopefully this helps spread the word.
Kinda late to the party here, but just FYI I have my CC tethered to my Sprint SGS4 using the native hotspot app. Did the set up using my N10, using the chromecast app.
Bump - Any new developments?
So, Ive been scouring the internet looking for some sort of simple, portable, wireless method to stream content from my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 to a TV... with the most obvious thought of HDMI adapters and dongles. Obviously one of the leading search results and hype is "Chromecast" which led me here. I was hoping I could confirm the following and see if any progress has been made:
1. Can the Chromecast be used to stream content on a mobile device? Or is it still based strictly on app based media?
2. I doubt much progress has been made in this area, so I really doubt "screencasting" from a mobile device (tablet/phone) is possible, especially without internet connection.
3. Can Chromecast be supported by a portable wifi hotspot yet? or is it still strictly dependent on a ISP to router WiFi connection?
4. If Chromecast doesn't do it, then has any one found any devices that allows you to stream your tablet/phone to a tv wirelessly the same way that you can do if you have the MHL to HDMI cables?
varxtis said:
So, Ive been scouring the internet looking for some sort of simple, portable, wireless method to stream content from my Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 to a TV... with the most obvious thought of HDMI adapters and dongles. Obviously one of the leading search results and hype is "Chromecast" which led me here. I was hoping I could confirm the following and see if any progress has been made:
1. Can the Chromecast be used to stream content on a mobile device? Or is it still based strictly on app based media?
2. I doubt much progress has been made in this area, so I really doubt "screencasting" from a mobile device (tablet/phone) is possible, especially without internet connection.
3. Can Chromecast be supported by a portable wifi hotspot yet? or is it still strictly dependent on a ISP to router WiFi connection?
4. If Chromecast doesn't do it, then has any one found any devices that allows you to stream your tablet/phone to a tv wirelessly the same way that you can do if you have the MHL to HDMI cables?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Read the Stickies first.
3. As long as your hotspot does not isolates clients or the AP itself, does not block or mangle multicast, and has sufficient bitrate to get the Internet-based media you want, it should work.
4. Wireless HDMI transmitter/receiver, but those cost in the $150+ range for good reason - latency is the biggest enemy. That's why applying the same mechanism that desktop Chrome tab casting won't work. It'll overload the CPU of the phone/tablet with compression and it will still have lag.

chrome tab over wifi

So my PC is connected to my router by Ethernet cable. I can cast my chrome tabs and watch video play smooth with no issues. If i use my laptop that has similar specs as my pc and i connect via wifi, video will play very choppy on my tv. I have even tried it right next to my router to ensure the highest speed. A friend of mine is having the same issue with his computer which is also connected over wifi. Even at the lowest video settings its still choppy. Is this a known issue with trying to cast your tab over wifi or am I missing something?
herculese1 said:
So my PC is connected to my router by Ethernet cable. I can cast my chrome tabs and watch video play smooth with no issues. If i use my laptop that has similar specs as my pc and i connect via wifi, video will play very choppy on my tv. I have even tried it right next to my router to ensure the highest speed. A friend of mine is having the same issue with his computer which is also connected over wifi. Even at the lowest video settings its still choppy. Is this a known issue with trying to cast your tab over wifi or am I missing something?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm guess that if your router is not an "N" router (802.11n), it's probably having a hard time taking the stream from your laptop then sending it back to the Chromecast (I could be wrong). I have an N rounter and can stream wirelesly from my desktop to the chromecast with little to no stutter.
Also, make sure your chromecast has a good wifi signal. I had to use the included HDMI extender to give mine a little extra boost in signal.
Instead of telling us it's similar specs, what are the actual specs?
lebeauc said:
I'm guess that if your router is not an "N" router (802.11n), it's probably having a hard time taking the stream from your laptop then sending it back to the Chromecast (I could be wrong). I have an N rounter and can stream wirelesly from my desktop to the chromecast with little to no stutter.
Also, make sure your chromecast has a good wifi signal. I had to use the included HDMI extender to give mine a little extra boost in signal.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes my router is a "N". I have a Cisco E4200V2 which is a pretty good router.
Also, make sure your chromecast has a good wifi signal. I had to use the included HDMI extender to give mine a little extra boost in signal.[/QUOTE]
luega said:
Is your tab configuration a little low? Try another tab one more time,if still choppy,that is not issue of tab but TV.
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My chromecast doesn't move and it has enough wifi signal to stream when using the ethernet connected computer so it should have the wifi signal. How would it be the tv? It works fine with my desktop.
Wireless connection will always be less reliable than a wired connection. I also doubt that your laptop has the same specs as your desktop in reality. Also, keep in mind that the tab/screen casting feature is still under development and not entirely reliable.
Roberek said:
Wireless connection will always be less reliable than a wired connection. I also doubt that your laptop has the same specs as your desktop in reality. Also, keep in mind that the tab/screen casting feature is still under development and not entirely reliable.
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Yea i am hoping that when it comes out of beta it will be better over wifi. my pc (6 years old) is has a core 2 quad and it runs perfectly. My friend has a less than 1 year old mac that is quad core and has the issue over wifi. Theirs no way his 1 year old mac is not strong enough to support chromecast. I was ready to say "oh well it doesn't work over wifi smoothly" however it seems some people on here are claiming it should.
herculese1 said:
Yes my router is a "N". I have a Cisco E4200V2 which is a pretty good router.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Even with good N router, you still need to setup right
For example use only G and N mix better yet N only
Set router to use 40MHz instead of 20Mhz
Use WPA2 AES for security instead of something else
There are tons of optimization that you can do to the network.
Best way is to hack your router firmware and replace it with DDWrt
There is a large community full of people over at DDWrt that know their wireless stuff.
I have a D link router cheap but hack with DDWrt and I am streaming ok
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Chromecast in hotels

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...
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Click to collapse
Riiiiiiiiight :silly:
willverduzco said:
[I have an Alfa AWUS036H that I use for... security testing...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.

Chromecast and CAT5/6

I hate WiFi when it comes to media. Is there any possible way to run some CAT6 to my Chromecast and wire it in?
If not anything other device that works similar that I can hard wire?
Landmine said:
I hate WiFi when it comes to media. Is there any possible way to run some CAT6 to my Chromecast and wire it in?
If not anything other device that works similar that I can hard wire?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not that I ever heard of, honestly, the CC does not have any issues with regard to wifi speeds for me, I too would prefer ethernet over wifi for everything, but never have any issues using wifi with this.
You can always hook up a roku with ethernet, though it won't have some applications like AllCast and the like, but it might be all you need, though I'm not sure what your exact needs are.
You can also buy a slimport adapter and run a hdmi cable from your device to your TV directly.
There are some TV's and devices (Netgear PTV 3000 IIRC) which support Miracast that I think you can get working, ooops nm that's wireless too.
Just looking to keep the wifi dependency limited. I'd like to see less buffering and less loading bars.
Landmine said:
Just looking to keep the wifi dependency limited. I'd like to see less buffering and less loading bars.
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Click to collapse
I never get buffering that's caused by the wifi...ever.
An HDMI extension cable and moving Chromecast away from the TV (out from behind, especially) can do wonders for WiFi reception and overall usability.
Kind of defeats the purpose of Chromecast.
If you are going to use a cable why don't you just run an hdmi from your PC.
No need for any of this unless you have a horrible wi fi connection.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using xda app-developers app
Richieboy67 said:
Kind of defeats the purpose of Chromecast.
If you are going to use a cable why don't you just run an hdmi from your PC.
No need for any of this unless you have a horrible wi fi connection.
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Click to collapse
I'm only going to half-agree here...
A good number of people have experienced much-improved streaming by moving their Chromecast away from the TV. Even with a powerful router, the TV itself is a pretty big obstruction for the signal.
There's a reason why Google includes an HDMI extender, beyond just stupid recessed HDMI ports.
Chromecast doesn't really give you a good indication when its WiFi signal is poor or unstable. So even if your other WiFi devices have great connectivity, that doesn't mean squat for the one WiFi device that is sitting right next to the giant EM-radiating/blocking TV, the Chromecast.
bhiga said:
I'm only going to half-agree here...
A good number of people have experienced much-improved streaming by moving their Chromecast away from the TV. Even with a powerful router, the TV itself is a pretty big obstruction for the signal.
There's a reason why Google includes an HDMI extender, beyond just stupid recessed HDMI ports.
Chromecast doesn't really give you a good indication when its WiFi signal is poor or unstable. So even if your other WiFi devices have great connectivity, that doesn't mean squat for the one WiFi device that is sitting right next to the giant EM-radiating/blocking TV, the Chromecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must have misread the op. I thought he wanted to use a cable instead of wifi. Extending the chromecast away from the tv is different then running a network connection directly to your Chromecast.
My point was just that the CC is meant to be portable and simple..no need for a network cable, etc.
As for the extension cable, this is not really to separate your cc from the tv. It is an antenna to increase reception.
Richieboy67 said:
I must have misread the op. I thought he wanted to use a cable instead of wifi. Extending the chromecast away from the tv is different then running a network connection directly to your Chromecast.
My point was just that the CC is meant to be portable and simple..no need for a network cable, etc.
As for the extension cable, this is not really to separate your cc from the tv. It is an antenna to increase reception.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, you're right - the OP wanted to use a wired network connection rather than a wireless network connection.
Do you have a reference for the use of the HDMI extender as an antenna? I'm curious to know how they've pulled that off.
bhiga said:
No, you're right - the OP wanted to use a wired network connection rather than a wireless network connection.
Do you have a reference for the use of the HDMI extender as an antenna? I'm curious to know how they've pulled that off.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not able to look that up right now but I could have sworn it said something about that right in the CC website in the description. I could be wrong though.
##I think I was wrong on that extender thing. I think you are right as it just being an extender mainly to use if you do not have room to plug in your CC. I am not sure how much reception it will really increase though which is part of the reason I thought it acted as an antenna. lol It seems to me they could figure out how to use the cable that way fairly easily but even if it was an antenna I am not sure how much it would help for the extra money it would have cost.
Fortunately for me I do not have many wifi issues at all. I can get a decent wifi connection at my mail box even but I could see people possible having issues in a big city where there are thousands of wifi signals all around. Here there are only 3 or 4 others I see.
Well I see no reason why it would not be possible to create a network dongle that could plug into the CCast to provide wired Network other than the software (aka OS) not supporting the drivers for the Dongle.
If Google was willing it would be easy for them to create a small dongle (like the HDMI Extender) that could provide power and also add a port for Ethernet. The USB seems to have a full wiring to accommodate external peripherals like a Network Dongle.
As to why you would want this it's to increase the available bandwidth for streaming and I agree with @bhiga that it hardly defeats the purpose of the CCast. I personally think the only reason the CCast doesn't have a wired connection at this point was to keep the price down below $45 where a Roku would be competitively priced option.
I sure expect if Google releases a NextGen CCast it will have Wired network capability...And hopefully more Codec and Container support than the current model does.
bhiga said:
An HDMI extension cable and moving Chromecast away from the TV (out from behind, especially) can do wonders for WiFi reception and overall usability.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
bhiga said:
I'm only going to half-agree here...
A good number of people have experienced much-improved streaming by moving their Chromecast away from the TV. Even with a powerful router, the TV itself is a pretty big obstruction for the signal.
There's a reason why Google includes an HDMI extender, beyond just stupid recessed HDMI ports.
Chromecast doesn't really give you a good indication when its WiFi signal is poor or unstable. So even if your other WiFi devices have great connectivity, that doesn't mean squat for the one WiFi device that is sitting right next to the giant EM-radiating/blocking TV, the Chromecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This is tangential, hopefully not too far off topic.
To see if your signal behind the TV is terrible, check out "Wifi Analyzer" and watch the signal strength -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer
The TV blocking a wifi signal really depends on the geometry of the whole house, as well as the TV design and construction I would think.
Anyway, until there's a wired solution, that may prove helpful to some.
EarlyMon said:
This is tangential, hopefully not too far off topic.
To see if your signal behind the TV is terrible, check out "Wifi Analyzer" and watch the signal strength -
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.farproc.wifi.analyzer
The TV blocking a wifi signal really depends on the geometry of the whole house, as well as the TV design and construction I would think.
Anyway, until there's a wired solution, that may prove helpful to some.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It's usually because the TV itself has a ton of shielding to protect it from outside interference and RF from the many devices that are usually located near it.
The quick and best solution is probably to add an AP range extender on the wall the TV is located.
Most people forget that Router placement is still important even despite the advances of the N Standard...
The new AC standard is supposed to solve that even better than N if I'm not mistaken.

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