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I created this thread for people to suggest features they like to see the chromecast do. Whether it be the chromecast device itself, the chrome browser extension, chromecast app on the phone, or even just to give ideas to developers to create an app for or integrate into apps they already have.
Suggestions:
1) Cast embeded videos like youtube videos in google+ straight to chromecast? I'm currently watching a video on google+ and went to cast it but there is no button in the video. I'd have to start playing it first, click to watch it in youtube, then cast it from there.
2) Be able to use chromecast with Picture-In-Picture. I haven't tried thus yet so it might already work.
3) An app that integrates chromecasting into the android share menu so you can cast any app straight to your T.V. I know Koush is working on sharing the gallery but being able to cast almost any app would be huge! Cast pdfs, facebook pictures, instagram, etc.
Control Control Control
1) When controlling the chromecast from my phone, if a call comes in, it would be great if the Chromecast would record the time the call started and when I hang up, ask me if I want to rewind to that point or optionally pause what's playing when I pickup the phone.
2) I would like a generic app in the notification bar to control ffw/rwd/pause of any media playing on the Chromecast. The idea being it would be a standardized interface for all media apps (instead of the per app notifications like netflix uses) and any device on the wifi network could control any chromecast (rather than having to start up netflix or whatever app the chromecast is servicing on another device.
3) Queuing/queue control either in apps or in the generic app in #2. Watching Mad Men on netflix is a PITA because as a episode ends, I have to open up the phone and then open the series, then scroll to the next episode and hit play. Would be nice if it was easier to just skip to the next episode, song, whatever.
4) Android Netflix App - it's obvious that Netflix app on android is not (yet) optimized to be a remote control. As mentioned in #3 managing the queue is a PITA. Also the lack of FFWD/RWD buttons and the accuracy of the slider in portrait mode only leaves something to be desired. Landscape orientation when controlling chromecast, FFWD/RWD/NEXT/BACK, a better timeline (maybe a gesture to scrub fwd/back?) and most importantly a queue/automatic play of the next episode (like the browser app, PS3, most TVs already do) would all go to making the user experience greater. (While the lock screen overlay controls were a pleasant surprise, why it doesn't have more control buttons is beyond me).
kernelhappy said:
2) I would like a generic app in the notification bar to control ffw/rwd/pause of any media playing on the Chromecast. The idea being it would be a standardized interface for all media apps (instead of the per app notifications like netflix uses) and any device on the wifi network could control any chromecast (rather than having to start up netflix or whatever app the chromecast is servicing on another device.
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I believe RemoteCast does this already. I know it does within the app but I can't remember if it adds any controls to the notification bar.
Two more suggestions:
1) Add an option for auto power off of the device after a specified amount of inactivity. (saw this in another thread)
2) Add caller ID so we can see who is calling when casting from the phone. Pause the cast when the call is answered.
supernova_00 said:
I believe RemoteCast does this already. I know it does within the app but I can't remember if it adds any controls to the notification bar.
Two more suggestions:
1) Add an option for auto power off of the device after a specified amount of inactivity. (saw this in another thread)
2) Add caller ID so we can see who is calling when casting from the phone. Pause the cast when the call is answered.
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Yes, I learned about remotecast about 20 minutes after posting here, gonna check it out in a little bit.
I do like the Caller ID though.
kernelhappy said:
Yes, I learned about remotecast about 20 minutes after posting here, gonna check it out in a little bit.
I do like the Caller ID though.
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This would be soooo easy to do with Google Voice since the Hangouts app already supports it on the chrome PC extension
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk HD
Suggestions:
1) Cast the clock app to your TV to display the current time, alarm notification, and/or display the countdown timer.
2) Cast daydream to the TV (I'm not sure the usefulness of this as I have never used the feature on the phone)
3) Cast google earth to the TV. That would be beautiful to have that on a huge screen!
4) Cast specific google now cards to the TV
Soundcloud
Amazon Cloud Player
Tab casting from Android devices.
How about having it work with a wifi webcam or something for a video hangout (similar to kinect)? May not be feasible but I like the idea.
Native chrome tabs
I would like to be able to cast a tab, but instead of it mirroring my screen over the local network, run it locally on the Chromecast. A remote control interface would similate a trackpad and buttons, and only send the pointer coordinates (oh, and keyboard entries) and button clicks over the local network.
I would think that this would give us a higher quality experience, especially when viewing a streaming site that is not "Chromecast optimized".
Another suggestion:
Please for the love of god make chromecast switch the input back to what was on before I casted. This is by far my single biggest gripe.
1) Split audio and video into two separate synchronized casts. That would allow you to send the video only to your TV and then listen to the audio on your PC/phone/tablet using headphones (i.e. similar to the roku 3). Also, it would allow you to send video to your TV but cast to a second device connected to a receiver.
2) Add the option to restrict casting from certain devices. That way you could put the chromecast on a semi-public network (i.e. hotel) and others on the network would not be able to hijack your chromecast.
3) If a cast is in progress, display a warning if you attempt to start a new cast. This would prevent you from accidentally terminating someone elses cast. I could easily see people getting a chromecast for every TV, and without this, you could accidentally cast to the wrong TV which already has a cast in progress.
4) It has been mentioned before, but add a sleep mode option.
5) User defined URL for chromecast backgrounds. This would allow the chromecast to display a sideshow of your pictures when not casting.
6) Cast to remote device. This would allow you to cast if on a network with access point isolation enabled. It would also enable casting to a different subnet. Lastly it would also allow you to start a cast for someone else if you were not at home.
Casting content from SMB shares
I'd like the Chromecast to be able to pull directly from an SMB share, rather than just HTTP.
I'd then also like a companion app on my phone that can browse SMB shares and allows me to select a file to be casted so that the Chromecast fetches and streams the file directly from the SMB share. An existing app that already supports browsing of SMB shares (such as ES File Explorer or XBMC) with the added casting ability would do the trick.
netflix should go to the next tv episode automatically. this is my number one request
UPNP and DLNA
The UPNP and DLNA support would simply be a killer feature for the chromecast. The bigest problem wold be the codec support
uncola said:
netflix should go to the next tv episode automatically. this is my number one request
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I thought I wanted it too but I'm not sure if I trust that to work properly. What if it skips an episode by mistake?
Chromecast Playlist Bridge
I mentioned this in my review at ChromeCastCentral.Com, but one of the big drawbacks for the Chromecast is that while it is cross-platform, it still has a single-user mindset. All my friends can send stuff to it, but only if THEY take control over it. There is no good way to have multiple people/apps add things to a playlist. So what we need is an app (on the PC preferably) that is both a RECEIVER and a TRANSMITTER. It could be called something like Chromecast Playlist. Multiple people/apps could cast to IT and it could build up a playlist queue that it casts to the actual Chromecast on the TV.
Casting content from SMB shares
boffo123 said:
I'd like the Chromecast to be able to pull directly from an SMB share, rather than just HTTP.
I'd then also like a companion app on my phone that can browse SMB shares and allows me to select a file to be casted so that the Chromecast fetches and streams the file directly from the SMB share. An existing app that already supports browsing of SMB shares (such as ES File Explorer or XBMC) with the added casting ability would do the trick.
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It occurs to me that perhaps the Chromecast is already able to pull directly from an SMB share. Apparently Chrome browser itself (in Win7) can play mkv files directly from a share using URL formatted as file://host/share/file.mkv, so perhaps the Chromecast can too? If so, then I'd just need a companion app to support casting a file from an SMB share.
Btw, I don't actually have a Chromecast yet
Turn off TV/AMP after idle, or device disconnect.
Mine turns on and switches inputs automatically using HDMI-CEC, which is fantastic for putting music on in the house, but it would be nice if it would all turn off again when I'm done.
Ensure all app 'home screens' use burn in prevention techniques. The YouTube one is a ***** on our plasma.
Netflix app improvements as mentioned.
Google music on CC to store a playlist so source can disconnect from WiFi without stopping the music.
Various Options for visual stimulation whilst playing music, yet still indicate what's playing. Or even show screenshare /web stuff whilst playing music. Hogging a large screen just for music isn't super efficient, may as well use the Bluetooth method we have used till now and free up the tv.. here using the TVs optical out, can't change input or turn screen off.. Must be quite common.
Google photos /g plus incorporation. photos as screensaver etc..
Uh..
Sent from my Nexus 7
I can't try this right now so I'm curious if anyone has tried this.
I am looking to stream the same thing from my PC to 2 different chromecasts, I am able to open two individual chrome sessions (both can cast separately) but I cant login to the application I need twice (NFL sunday ticket). So I wondered if it would work to cast the tab (with sunday ticket) to one chromecast and then while the tab/sunday ticket is fullscreen, use the other browser to stream entire screen. In theory, the entire screen cast should include the sunday ticket stream.
Has anyone tried something similar? Haven't tried casting entire screen yet so I have no idea if that even works well.
When i connect my iphones pandora to my chromecast the tv plays the music like it should, and the music on the tv matches what is displayed on my iphone, volume works, skip, pause all works like it should. However, when i go to the ipod app on my iphone and press play the iphone stops pandora and plays the ipod like it should, but the chromecast on the TV keeps playing pandora. when i go to the pandora app on the phone it has to restart (like it wasnt running in the background) and starts playing a song, but the song is different than the one chromecast is playing. the iphones controls no longer control chromecast like it did before and chromecast will continue to play song after song even when the iphone is turned off completley. when i change the input on the tv to cable or something else the chromecast will make the tv switch back to it when the next song starts, it will also turn my tv on if i turn the tv off. the only way i can get the chromecast to turn off is to unplug the power. does anyone know why its doing this? as far at i know the chromecast is just to transfer media from another device to a tv, not make its own media. where is it getting the pandora from?
shordinges said:
as far at i know the chromecast is just to transfer media from another device to a tv, not make its own media. where is it getting the pandora from?
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That's where you're wrong, you aren't 'slinging' the actual content to your Chromecast, just the login/tokens and content SELECTION to the chromecast... then it takes over, it runs a regular instance of chrome on the chromecast and does all the streaming of the media directly on the chromecast over the internet... for instance, I can start watching Netflix on my Chromecast from my Android phone... I can then put my phone into airplane mode (which turns off wifi), it will continue playing Netflix... luckily, on Android, when I reconnect, and open Netflix, it realizes that my Chromecast is already playing, and gives me control again. Probably just an iOS bug with Pandora, I would just stop playing it before jumping over to the standard music app, or... Use an an Android device.
*edit*: the exception to the above is if you're casting a tab from a desktop/laptop browser, then you are encoding whatever is on the tab to video, then decoding it on the Chromecast.... This would require the computer as a intermediary as the page itself will always be rendered on the PC.
jmhalder said:
*edit*: the exception to the above is if you're casting a tab from a desktop/laptop browser, then you are encoding whatever is on the tab to video, then decoding it on the Chromecast.... This would require the computer as a intermediary as the page itself will always be rendered on the PC.
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Or if you have a rooted Chromecast and you are using AllCast to play media from your Android phone/tablet.
(depending on what you are watching)
Sent from my Nexus 9 using XDA Free mobile app
which app can I use on Android to cast from a NAS without transiting through my phone (Galaxy S4)??
I've tried LocalCast and the ES File Manager chromecast plugin and both stream my files to my phone and then on the chromecast... What a useless loop...
NAS -> wireless N router -> phone -> wireless N router -> chromecast
How can I make it stream directly from the NAS in that sort of way: NAS -> Router -> chromecast, and the phone as remote controller????
Thanks you
mathieums said:
How can I make it stream directly from the NAS in that sort of way: NAS -> Router -> chromecast, and the phone as remote controller????
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If your NAS supports DLNA you might have more luck. If it strictly supports only CIFS/SMB/AFP type file-sharing, I don't know of any apps whose Chromecast component can browse those.
bhiga said:
If your NAS supports DLNA you might have more luck. If it strictly supports only CIFS/SMB/AFP type file-sharing, I don't know of any apps whose Chromecast component can browse those.
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well, I say NAS but in reality it is a HDD conencted to a Asus RT-N16 router running tomatousb which (I think) runs minidlna of something similar.
My smart TV, xbox, ps3, computers... they all see the files and stream it no problem.
mathieums said:
well, I say NAS but in reality it is a HDD conencted to a Asus RT-N16 router running tomatousb which (I think) runs minidlna of something similar.
My smart TV, xbox, ps3, computers... they all see the files and stream it no problem.
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OK. Check BubbleUPnP or maybe Avia. I'm pretty sure there as one early app that later started pulling directly, but I can't remember which one it was at the moment. I think it was discussed in a thread here.
bhiga said:
OK. Check BubbleUPnP or maybe Avia. I'm pretty sure there as one early app that later started pulling directly, but I can't remember which one it was at the moment. I think it was discussed in a thread here.
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Thank you. I'll look into it right now!
If you're lucky @Asphyx might remember
I think Bubble may be the answer provided no transcoding is required.
I know the dev was dabbling in limited in device transcoding as well but not sure where that is at or if it is even needed for Music.
aVia most definitely runs everything through the phone if I'm not Mistaken but that too could have changed since I least used it.
Pretty much everything I stream to CCast now is via Plex which does not require the launch device to stay on.
Most 3rd party Content providers whose content is on the web and who support CCast via the casting icon will send the stream direct.
That would include Pandora, Hulu Etc...
Bubble or Plex is probably the best option but both will require a PC to handle the streaming.
It doesn't take much or affect the PC's ability to function but it will require an always on PC.
I think last time I checked (which was more than a year ago, probably closer to 2), Avia kept streaming from my server running Serviio (UPnP server) even after I rebooted my phone, but I'm not in a spot that I can retest this.
Asphyx said:
I think Bubble may be the answer provided no transcoding is required.
I know the dev was dabbling in limited in device transcoding as well but not sure where that is at or if it is even needed for Music.
aVia most definitely runs everything through the phone if I'm not Mistaken but that too could have changed since I least used it.
Pretty much everything I stream to CCast now is via Plex which does not require the launch device to stay on.
Most 3rd party Content providers whose content is on the web and who support CCast via the casting icon will send the stream direct.
That would include Pandora, Hulu Etc...
Bubble or Plex is probably the best option but both will require a PC to handle the streaming.
It doesn't take much or affect the PC's ability to function but it will require an always on PC.
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I've just tried Bubble and it works with the launch device turned off. Exactly what I was looking for :good:
Avia is a paid app, I didn't try it. I'll look into Plex, thanks!
mathieums said:
I've just tried Bubble and it works with the launch device turned off. Exactly what I was looking for :good:
Avia is a paid app, I didn't try it. I'll look into Plex, thanks!
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In some respects Plex is a semi-paid app...
You don't need to pay to use it with a CCast but to get everythig requires a Plex pass account which has grown very expensive from the day when I bought my lifetime membership.
If Bubble works and the interface is not an issue then stick with it...
Plex is a little prettier and does full scraping of titles for a better display but if all you want to do is fling content you might not need all of that.
I don't have a chromecast but I just updated to TMO 4.4.2 for Moto X and I noticed that under display in settings, there is a cast screen option. I don't think its miracast as that is the option above Cast Screen. Does anyone know if this works with a chromecast? Screenshot:http://i57.tinypic.com/3027uqr.png
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Yes, it is for Chromecast. You have to set up Chromecast by installing the Chromecast extension in the Chrome browser on a PC. Follow the instructions to connect the Chromecast to your wifi network. Then with certain apps on your mobile device, you can 'cast' or stream content to the tv. It is still limited by available apps and does not yet mirror the screen for mobile devices, but you can get most local pics, videos, and music to the tv. And you can cast from cloud storage or from Chrome browser media content.
Groid said:
Yes, it is for Chromecast. You have to set up Chromecast by installing the Chromecast extension in the Chrome browser on a PC. Follow the instructions to connect the Chromecast to your wifi network. Then with certain apps on your mobile device, you can 'cast' or stream content to the tv. It is still limited by available apps and does not yet mirror the screen for mobile devices, but you can get most local pics, videos, and music to the tv. And you can cast from cloud storage or from Chrome browser media content.
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Sorry, I might have worded it the wrong way. I know about casting app content such as Youtube and Play music. That being said, a separate option has appeared on my phone in Settings > Display. If you look at the photo that I attached earlier, there is a list item called "Cast screen". This item is separate from "Wireless Display", leading me to believe it is for the chromecast. I realize that currently there is no known NATIVE way to mirror the phones screen onto a chromecast (Other than Allcast/shou?/etc.). That is why I decided to post here to ask if anyone with a chromecast has tried the option or if it is even available on other devices. Thanks nevertheless.
I have a CC, but when I select "cast screen" it simply tells me no devices found. Guessing this is a work in progress that may work in the future.
Hi, this might be a silly question as I am not entirley sure how the ChromeCast works. I understand it is basically just the phone sending a link and token/authentication to the chromecast so it can go and play whatever you are requesting, but once it is playing music using say Google Music is it aware of the whole playlist and what is next?
I guess what I am asking is once music is initiated to the Chromecast and it's playing music is there anyway to send a next song command to the Chromecast itself so it can skip to the next song in teh playlist without the command having to come from the phone? The reason I ask is I am doing a very cutomized home automation setup for my buddy and this would be great if we could send a next song etc to the chromecast itself from Eventghost or just commandline or something.
Thanks in advance!
Keenana said:
Hi, this might be a silly question as I am not entirley sure how the ChromeCast works. I understand it is basically just the phone sending a link and token/authentication to the chromecast so it can go and play whatever you are requesting, but once it is playing music using say Google Music is it aware of the whole playlist and what is next?
I guess what I am asking is once music is initiated to the Chromecast and it's playing music is there anyway to send a next song command to the Chromecast itself so it can skip to the next song in teh playlist without the command having to come from the phone? The reason I ask is I am doing a very cutomized home automation setup for my buddy and this would be great if we could send a next song etc to the chromecast itself from Eventghost or just commandline or something.
Thanks in advance!
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It is possible but to answer the question more directly, NO the CCast really has no idea what is next (in most cases) because it is not playing a playlist it is playing the song itself.
The CCast has no playlist functions of it's own so it is up to the App to work this out and it appears to be more difficult to do that I thought it would be.
Keenana said:
I guess what I am asking is once music is initiated to the Chromecast and it's playing music is there anyway to send a next song command to the Chromecast itself so it can skip to the next song in teh playlist without the command having to come from the phone?
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I'm not 100% sure, but I think the playlist remains on the casting device in most cases. That's why playlists can fail if the casting device goes to deep sleep or otherwise becomes unreachable by Chromecast when the song ends. Some of the apps may have worked around this by buffering part of the playlist on Chromecast.
Since you mentioned EventGhost, I assume your automation system has a controller of some sorts. In that case I would look toward "driving" Chromecast from the controller, and letting the phone/tablet/computer send requests to the controller, rather than to Chromecast itself.
But the general availability of Chromecast on the network opens it to a lot of unknowns. If you go with centralized control of Chromecast, I would definitely put it on a different network from the general clients to avoid confusion or accidental control hijacking.
bhiga said:
I'm not 100% sure, but I think the playlist remains on the casting device in most cases. That's why playlists can fail if the casting device goes to deep sleep or otherwise becomes unreachable by Chromecast when the song ends. Some of the apps may have worked around this by buffering part of the playlist on Chromecast.
Since you mentioned EventGhost, I assume your automation system has a controller of some sorts. In that case I would look toward "driving" Chromecast from the controller, and letting the phone/tablet/computer send requests to the controller, rather than to Chromecast itself.
But the general availability of Chromecast on the network opens it to a lot of unknowns. If you go with centralized control of Chromecast, I would definitely put it on a different network from the general clients to avoid confusion or accidental control hijacking.
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Thanks for prompt replies guys, this makes sense. I didn't think it would be possible, but figured if anyone knew it would be on here.
I'll look more into managing everything centrally as suggested, that was my other plan I just thought if it was possible I could get some pretty cool stuff going but this will work.
Thanks!
i think in the end the playlist functionality has to be done on the server side of things where CCast is concerned...
So the Playlist is built on the server side and the CCast Receiver merely notifies the server it is done playing a file and the server then sends the next file in the list.