ES File Explorer Chromecast plugin - Google Chromecast

I didn't see any previous mention of this in the forum although it has been out for more than a month:
A Chromecast Player plugin for ES File Explorer is now available: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.chromecast
Casts local or network-accessible photos/video/music to your Chromecast from within ES File Explorer. It works, although as always there may be some video streaming performance limits. Update to the latest version of ES File Explorer is also required.

DJames1 said:
I didn't see any previous mention of this in the forum although it has been out for more than a month:
A Chromecast Player plugin for ES File Explorer is now available: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estrongs.chromecast
Casts local or network-accessible photos/video/music to your Chromecast from within ES File Explorer. It works, although as always there may be some video streaming performance limits. Update to the latest version of ES File Explorer is also required.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The Video player in the ESFile explorer is remarkably versatile I have to say....
And now that MX Player has dropped some codec support I have found myself using it more often.
Never really played with the CCast though since I have Plex and Bubble that will transcode where ES will not but it is a nice way for some to play movies to a CCast that isn't available or don't want to pay for aVia...

Anyone tried this plugin with Chromecast audio? It wouldn't cast.

Same issue here, the plugin does not work together with chromecast audio.

Related

[Q] play xvid over SMB wireless network share?

has anyone managed to do this?
es file explorer seems to be the best app for viewing SMB folders, but i can't pick which media player plays which file. they will only open with es's own local player which doesn't support as many formats as the SGS.
i also tested file expert and astro + SMB module, neither work either.
my 3-year-old archos 605 wifi can do this without problems (linux-based OS), surely the SGS is capable of doing this???
are there no people out there who want to stream their libraries to their phone on their home wifi network without transcoding or downloading to the phone first?
Be patient. Someone just recently compiled a samba driver thingy. It won't be long til we can naitively mount smb shares. Have look in the dev forum for it.
Sent from my Apple Newton 2100
O Yeh. Have you tried astro with smb patch?. It might do what you want. Look on market
Godsped
Sent from my Apple Newton 2100
Yes, i did try astro + smb as i stated in my original post. It actually behaved the worst out of all the options.
Cheers to the community for their help...i also made a feature suggestion on the EStrong forum to allow us to choose which media player plays which files. if anyone else cares to, the EStrong developers are listening: http://forum.estrongs.com/thread-263-1-1.html

Network Drive on galaxy s

hi all,
i'm pretty new in this forum, i would like to know is it possible to map network drive on galaxy s ?
thanks alot ?
Try Astro SMB module or ES File Explorer. You can get SMB servers and browse files. ES File Explorer is exceptionally useful.
thedesolatesoul said:
Try Astro SMB module or ES File Explorer. You can get SMB servers and browse files. ES File Explorer is exceptionally useful.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thank you so mutch.
How can I disable ES Video Player? I would like to use default Video Player over LAN. 10x

[Q] Stream videos from pc to phone over wifi

I have MKV files on my pc which I want to watch on my phone. Is it possible to stream and watch them on my phone using wifi and without any internet?
deastr said:
I have MKV files on my pc which I want to watch on my phone. Is it possible to stream and watch them on my phone using wifi and without any internet?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
you can try apps like
ORB Live
VLC Direct Pro
Tonido
here you'll have to install a client in your computer & then you can stream your media from the comp in your phone via wi-fi (no internet required)
For VLC Direct pro no additional softwares or clients are required other than the VLC player in your computer
I use nero media home 4 for PC
and skifta + Diceplayer for SGS
try ES File Explorer & Rock Player. Create a SMB connection to your PC -> browse to the MKV file -> long press -> Open as video then choose Rock Player..
It does not work with MVideoPlayer which I hope it would.
DaRkMyk said:
try ES File Explorer & Rock Player. Create a SMB connection to your PC -> browse to the MKV file -> long press -> Open as video then choose Rock Player..
It does not work with MVideoPlayer which I hope it would.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This was just what I needed thank you!
Any idea which player to use for external subtitles? I use mVideoPlayer for the files on the phone but mVideoPlayer doesn't work as you said.
Rock player can read .srt subs. but I haven't tried it over smb.
I Swyped this on my Galaxy S

Playing video from netgear readyshare storage

Background:
I have a netgear WNDR3400v2 router that has a readyshare USB port (no DLNA server though). I have loaded a few chromecast compatible video's on a usb drive and plugged it into my router. I have also copied the exact same files on my android device.
I am using avia for casting.
Scenario 1: (when video is stored locally on my android device) - WORKS
I open avia, lookup the video to play and cast it to chromecast. all works well.
Scenario 2 (Same video is stored in my router storage. Avia is NOT casting to chromecast) - WORKS
I open ES file explorer, and lookup the network storage. Locate the video and play it to avia player from ES file explorer.
AVIA window opens and video is played flawlessly.
Scenario 3 (Same video is stored in my router storage. Avia is casting to chromecast) - DOES NOT WORK
I open ES file explorer, and lookup the network storage. Locate the video and play it to avia player from ES file explorer.
AVIA window opens and only casts audio to chromecast. No video is displayed on my TV, only audio is casted.
Has someone faced this issue and solved it? please share how did you make it work.
Ideally, I would like to store all my local media on a USB device and attach it to my router, and then be able to cast it to chromecast.
Appreciate any help.
Thanks and a very happy new year to you all!
smrsxn said:
Background:
I have a netgear WNDR3400v2 router that has a readyshare USB port (no DLNA server though). I have loaded a few chromecast compatible video's on a usb drive and plugged it into my router. I have also copied the exact same files on my android device.
I am using avia for casting.
Scenario 1: (when video is stored locally on my android device) - WORKS
I open avia, lookup the video to play and cast it to chromecast. all works well.
Scenario 2 (Same video is stored in my router storage. Avia is NOT casting to chromecast) - WORKS
I open ES file explorer, and lookup the network storage. Locate the video and play it to avia player from ES file explorer.
AVIA window opens and video is played flawlessly.
Scenario 3 (Same video is stored in my router storage. Avia is casting to chromecast) - DOES NOT WORK
I open ES file explorer, and lookup the network storage. Locate the video and play it to avia player from ES file explorer.
AVIA window opens and only casts audio to chromecast. No video is displayed on my TV, only audio is casted.
Has someone faced this issue and solved it? please share how did you make it work.
Ideally, I would like to store all my local media on a USB device and attach it to my router, and then be able to cast it to chromecast.
Appreciate any help.
Thanks and a very happy new year to you all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only a few Options for you right now...
1 - Re-Encode (Transcode) All of your video Library to MP4/H264/AAC 4-8Mbps VBitrate. All files in that format should play without issues on the CCast (exception bad Network congestion or Reception. aVia should work for you in this example as will anything that has CCast support. (See #3 as an add on to this Option as it might give you a better Interface)
2 (and obviously the BEST Option) - Run a DLNA server that does Transcoding on the fly. Map the drives on your Router to the machine running the DLNA server and add that drive to the DLNA Server Library, Plex and Twonky are both considered the best DLNA servers out there and Plex gets a plus for having an Android App that is far superior as far as Display and it supports CCast directly. Twonky doesn't have an App that supports CCast but you can use aVia with both of those DLNA Servers. But Ples Server with Plex app is probably the best most complete solution right now (Transcoding and a few bugs not withstanding)
All Options that follow will require you doing Option 1 because they do not Transcode, and having aVia Player installed
3 - Get Movie Browser UPnP (another Paid App), Set up sources via UPnP (Your router seems to support this and if not) or Samba. When you try and play a Video for the first time it should ask you what Player to use, Select aVia.
(sorry forgot to add #4)
4 - Install Playon Server on your Desktop, It will aggregate all media the Desktop can see and if you use aVia as a Player for now that will work. PlayOn is promising CCast support in their App soon so when they do aVia will no longer be needed. PlayOn I hear DOES do some transcoding but aVia doesn't and until they support CCast natively I can't say for certain if you could skip Option 1 using this method.
So you pretty much have two choices. Re-Encode all of your Library or Set up a DLNA server that will transcode the source files for you on the fly and as needed.
Thats the best method for supporting media streaming to ALL of your devices.
If you have an old computer laying around that has more than a Pentium 4 Proc then Throw Linux on it, get Plex for Linux and it should be powerful enough to transcode for you. Windows would take up too many resources but Linux is lean enough to get away with an older proc.
smrsxn said:
Background:
I have a netgear WNDR3400v2 router that has a readyshare USB port (no DLNA server though). I have loaded a few chromecast compatible video's on a usb drive and plugged it into my router. I have also copied the exact same files on my android device.
I am using avia for casting.
Scenario 1: (when video is stored locally on my android device) - WORKS
I open avia, lookup the video to play and cast it to chromecast. all works well.
Scenario 2 (Same video is stored in my router storage. Avia is NOT casting to chromecast) - WORKS
I open ES file explorer, and lookup the network storage. Locate the video and play it to avia player from ES file explorer.
AVIA window opens and video is played flawlessly.
Scenario 3 (Same video is stored in my router storage. Avia is casting to chromecast) - DOES NOT WORK
I open ES file explorer, and lookup the network storage. Locate the video and play it to avia player from ES file explorer.
AVIA window opens and only casts audio to chromecast. No video is displayed on my TV, only audio is casted.
Has someone faced this issue and solved it? please share how did you make it work.
Ideally, I would like to store all my local media on a USB device and attach it to my router, and then be able to cast it to chromecast.
Appreciate any help.
Thanks and a very happy new year to you all!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I read your scenario 2 and scenario 3 a number of times and I can't figure out what's different in the setup between the two.
The result is different, but both lead up with opening in ES File Explorer and playing it via Avia?
I must be missing something...?
I find that DNLA feature on many routers is often buggy. My USB drive connected to one of my routers will show mp4 files as music on any Android DNLA media player. However, mkv files will show up as a video file.
My solution was to rename mp4 extention to mkv. Now Avia sees it as video and cast away.
bhiga said:
I read your scenario 2 and scenario 3 a number of times and I can't figure out what's different in the setup between the two.
The result is different, but both lead up with opening in ES File Explorer and playing it via Avia?
I must be missing something...?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Differnce is that avia is not casting in scenario 2, but casting in scenario 3.
When avia is not casting, then video plays fine on my device.
When avia is casting same video, then only audio plays on chromecast.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk
Asphyx said:
Only a few Options for you right now...
1 - Re-Encode (Transcode) All of your video Library to MP4/H264/AAC 4-8Mbps VBitrate. All files in that format should play without issues on the CCast (exception bad Network congestion or Reception. aVia should work for you in this example as will anything that has CCast support. (See #3 as an add on to this Option as it might give you a better Interface)
2 (and obviously the BEST Option) - Run a DLNA server that does Transcoding on the fly. Map the drives on your Router to the machine running the DLNA server and add that drive to the DLNA Server Library, Plex and Twonky are both considered the best DLNA servers out there and Plex gets a plus for having an Android App that is far superior as far as Display and it supports CCast directly. Twonky doesn't have an App that supports CCast but you can use aVia with both of those DLNA Servers. But Ples Server with Plex app is probably the best most complete solution right now (Transcoding and a few bugs not withstanding)
All Options that follow will require you doing Option 1 because they do not Transcode, and having aVia Player installed
3 - Get Movie Browser UPnP (another Paid App), Set up sources via UPnP (Your router seems to support this and if not) or Samba. When you try and play a Video for the first time it should ask you what Player to use, Select aVia.
(sorry forgot to add #4)
4 - Install Playon Server on your Desktop, It will aggregate all media the Desktop can see and if you use aVia as a Player for now that will work. PlayOn is promising CCast support in their App soon so when they do aVia will no longer be needed. PlayOn I hear DOES do some transcoding but aVia doesn't and until they support CCast natively I can't say for certain if you could skip Option 1 using this method.
So you pretty much have two choices. Re-Encode all of your Library or Set up a DLNA server that will transcode the source files for you on the fly and as needed.
Thats the best method for supporting media streaming to ALL of your devices.
If you have an old computer laying around that has more than a Pentium 4 Proc then Throw Linux on it, get Plex for Linux and it should be powerful enough to transcode for you. Windows would take up too many resources but Linux is lean enough to get away with an older proc.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually, I have ensured that video is chromecast compatible already.
When I copy the video to my sdcard on my tablet, and cast via avia, then I get both video and audio on my tv. (1st scenario in my list.)
When I delete the video from my tablet's sdcard, and instead lookit up from my routerstorage via es file explorer, then only audio plays..no video.
So it's not a transcoding issue.
Steps to reproduce
- copy any video file that works with chromecast from your device to another network location.
- use es file explorer to lookup the file on network and play it to avia
- this time avia will not cast the video. Only audio will come on the tv.
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk
smrsxn said:
Differnce is that avia is not casting in scenario 2, but casting in scenario 3.
When avia is not casting, then video plays fine on my device.
When avia is casting same video, then only audio plays on chromecast.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ooooh I think I understand now.
In Scenario 2, Avia is not connected to Chromecast, but in Scenario 3, Avia is already connected to Chromecast?
I'm not sure whether ES File Explorer's Send to/Open makes a copy of the remote file locally before opening - I think it might.
If that's the case, it might be a difference of available bandwidth between scenarios 2 and 3.
In scenario 2, ES File Explorer copies the remote file to local.
In scenario 3, ES File Explorer is copying the remote file to local while Avia is trying to send the incoming data back out to Chromecast.
The copy action is probably bursting/clogging the wireless connection so the Avia-to-Chromecast transfer isn't able to send the video data fast enough to Chromecast. The video data is getting to Chromecast too late and Chromecast is throwing them away instead of showing them.
That is, of course, if I'm correct that ES File Explorer's network browse makes a temporary local copy or cached chunk.
Possible diagnosis... atleast its adding up.
Let me try with low bitrate mp4 and see if that changes anything.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk
SOLVED!!!
Happy to report that this issue is solved by using vget to stream network media.
It works excellent... i will start a new thread as vget does much more than just network storage casting...
Sent from my GT-N8013 using Tapatalk

Alternative's to "Cast your entire screen"

Hi,
I've only recently found out about Chromecast, reviews were very praising so yesterday I went out and bought one. Unfortunately, my initial enthousiasm has almost disappeared because I can't successfully do the 2 most important things I was planning to do with such a device: 1) Stream my desktop for 720p/1080p video playback and 2) Stream/Cast my Nexus 6 screen (I get a green screen when I connect it, separate apps do work though).
Focusing on the pc casting, the video playback is lagging a lot even if I switch to 480p which is of course unacceptable for watching HD movies. I am not talking about the 0.5 - 1 second input delay, I don't care about that as I don't want to play games with it but rather for the constant speed dropping/pausing/catching up. I have a 50/10 mbps connection which I would think is enough for this but to its defense, I have only tried it through a 2014 Macbook Pro i7/16gb ram running Windows through bootcamp. Could that be the cause of slow performance? Bootcamp may be adequate for basic stuff but the computer does not feel at all like an i7 / 16gb ram unit should.
If the pc is not the issue, are there alternatives to cast your desktop at an acceptable level through other apps? I saw vnc2cast in another thread. Also, is it an option for Chromecast to work if i connect my pc through Ethernet instead of wi-fi for better performance?
Thanks
Why do you need PC video playback on CC? Its smth like record a video of playing movie by phone and then watch it, instead of copy the file to phone and then open it... You could find some FAQ first...
1.Google Cast extention for Chrome Browser will let play compatible formats of video to CC. Just drag&drop the file to a tab and hit the Cast button. It also has "Cast Entire Screen" option.
2.Videostream extention will transcode and play most of the unsupporded files, including .avi, besides the regular ones
3. Share the folder to local net, use ES File Explorer + ES File Explorer Chromecast plugin. Find the shared folder in LAN section then play with plugin.
4.KMP Player for android+KMP Connect on PC.
5.BubbleUPnP android app+BubbleUPnP server on PC for transcoding any file.
6.Plex Media Server + Plex android app
7.ANY Media server on PC (Twonky, Plex, Serviio, BubbleUPnP etc) + Any program that see DLNA (Avia for example). If an app has "open with" option, one can use VEGA Cast, AllCast, Avia, ES Cast Plugin etc...
For Screen Mirror try Koush's "Mirror" app. First join ClockWorkMod beta testers Google+ group, then it will be available in Google Play.
playahate said:
Why do you need PC video playback on CC? Its smth like record a video of playing movie by phone and then watch it, instead of copy the file to phone and then open it... You could find some FAQ first...
1.Google Cast extention for Chrome Browser will let play compatible formats of video to CC. Just drag&drop the file to a tab and hit the Cast button. It also has "Cast Entire Screen" option.
2.Videostream extention will transcode and play most of the unsupporded files, including .avi, besides the regular ones
3. Share the folder to local net, use ES File Explorer + ES File Explorer Chromecast plugin. Find the shared folder in LAN section then play with plugin.
4.KMP Player for android+KMP Connect on PC.
5.BubbleUPnP android app+BubbleUPnP server on PC for transcoding any file.
6.Plex Media Server + Plex android app
7.ANY Media server on PC (Twonky, Plex, Serviio, BubbleUPnP etc) + Any program that see DLNA (Avia for example). If an app has "open with" option, one can use VEGA Cast, AllCast, Avia, ES Cast Plugin etc...
For Screen Mirror try Koush's "Mirror" app. First join ClockWorkMod beta testers Google+ group, then it will be available in Google Play.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reason for pc video playback is I'd like to see movies from my local drives without having to set up a media server/NAS thing. I guess the extensions you mention in 1) and 2) can do that? I'll try them out.
Now if I understand correctly 3-7 regards sharing files from pc to phone and then streaming them to CC? I'd like to avoid that if possible as it requires the phone to act as an intermediate between pc and CC If I am not mistaken.
mclisme said:
Reason for pc video playback is I'd like to see movies from my local drives without having to set up a media server/NAS thing. I guess the extensions you mention in 1) and 2) can do that? I'll try them out.
Now if I understand correctly 3-7 regards sharing files from pc to phone and then streaming them to CC? I'd like to avoid that if possible as it requires the phone to act as an intermediate between pc and CC If I am not mistaken.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The phone is basically a remote to initiate and control the cast from the remote device/storage for all / most of these options (definitely for Plex and the BubbleUPnP options). It's not doing any heavy lifting.
Plex is probably the most adaptable option.
Also beware that casting local high bandwidth media from a wifi networked device/storage via router to chromecast may never produce consistent results as performance is often impacted by network conditions. Tweaking various arcane settings on your router can help but it's a pain.
For me there were huge differences in performance depending on whether the host device was is the same room as the router (very good) or in it's normal location a floor up and 20-30 yards away (pretty poor) or wired (excellent). I ended up resurrecting an old laptop heading for recycle with a fresh linux install to be permanently wired to my router to host a Plex server and media. Never looked back.
playahate said:
2.Videostream extention will transcode and play most of the unsupporded files, including .avi, besides the regular ones
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok, I tried Videostream and I find it amazing. Even its interface is so simple and smooth and with the remote control app for the phone I think it's great. So watching my movies is solved.
Now, another reason I was looking for "cast your entire screen" alternatives is that I can't seem to get a specific video streaming service that I often use to work properly. If I cast the tab, for some reason the video does not show up in CC even though the rest of the page like pictures and video controls show up fine. I guess it has to do with the fact that this specific service is encrypted and does not allow HDMI connections, if it detects one it just stops. So maybe it similarly blocks Chromecast plugin from capturing the video off it and sending it to CC?
The only way to fool it is to cast my entire screen. Then the video works fine but at a rate below 24 fps which makes it almost unusable. I even switched to 480p but still the video is slow for live sports. I guess when screen-casting, the load is too much for CC to handle?
So If there aren't other ways to improve screen-casting to a watchable level (24fps) either by 3rd-party apps or CC hacks/mods, I can only hope something is developed in the future I guess...

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