Database Develop

miracast and xbmc

was thinking about this possibly being a sweet setup hopefully miracast will be implemented into the device or possible being implemented into xbmc having that along the airplay option on xbmc enabled would make this a pretty sweet device
i purchased(preordered one) but I was hoping it would be more so like a media center device kinda like google tv but no hdmi out so no google tv overlay. But if I could use this to do miracast with my 4.2 sgs3 and whenever friends come over can use xbmc to allow them to do airplay that would be really cool
reason i bring up miracast support is because supposedly is supported in tegra 3
i've been trying to figure/find out how you go about setting up a miracast server but the documentation doesn't seem to exist not saying that i have the ability to implement but i wouldn't mind taking a look into it
thoughts?

This is more of a question for xbmc team. I suggest you provide that feedback on their forum. There was a talk of xbmc supporting miracast but no eta.
Sent from my GT-I9305 using xda premium

As long as it supports PLEX, I am sold!

Keland44 said:
was thinking about this possibly being a sweet setup hopefully miracast will be implemented into the device or possible being implemented into xbmc having that along the airplay option on xbmc enabled would make this a pretty sweet device
i purchased(preordered one) but I was hoping it would be more so like a media center device kinda like google tv but no hdmi out so no google tv overlay. But if I could use this to do miracast with my 4.2 sgs3 and whenever friends come over can use xbmc to allow them to do airplay that would be really cool
reason i bring up miracast support is because supposedly is supported in tegra 3
i've been trying to figure/find out how you go about setting up a miracast server but the documentation doesn't seem to exist not saying that i have the ability to implement but i wouldn't mind taking a look into it
thoughts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've heard the documentation costs around $200 and that might not even be all of it. Or I might be pulling that number out of air, don't remember where I saw that, but did find this:
http://forum.xbmc.org/showthread.php?tid=147320
I am more interested in seeing the Android Transporter Player ported to Ouya, except that they haven't released their source code on the sending side yet...
https://github.com/esrlabs/AndroidTransporterPlayer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyoZoNA8U24
~Troop

I'm not from familiar with Miracast. All I know is what the Wiki page said. It really reads like DNLA. And from my experience, this has been something that can be app dependent. Since I have no experience with Miracast, I don't know if it's full mirroring or just certain apps.
That said, Miracast may just be work versus just installing individual apps. Unless there is something in the application code for specific devices, if you side load an APK, it should run on the Ouya. Doesn't mean it will run well or look correct. Thus, you may be able to just side load XBMC. I know I'll try it with Plex, Netflix, Hulu, various sports--MLB, NHL, NBA, etc--and so on.
I couldn't figure out what the end result you were suggesting about friends coming over and their mobile devices.

lovekeiiy said:
I'm not from familiar with Miracast. All I know is what the Wiki page said. It really reads like DNLA. And from my experience, this has been something that can be app dependent. Since I have no experience with Miracast, I don't know if it's full mirroring or just certain apps.
That said, Miracast may just be work versus just installing individual apps. Unless there is something in the application code for specific devices, if you side load an APK, it should run on the Ouya. Doesn't mean it will run well or look correct. Thus, you may be able to just side load XBMC. I know I'll try it with Plex, Netflix, Hulu, various sports--MLB, NHL, NBA, etc--and so on.
I couldn't figure out what the end result you were suggesting about friends coming over and their mobile devices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe Miracast is primarily for screencasting - ie it just mirrors what is on the device's screen onto the TV or whatever is receiving. And I believe the previous poster was saying that it would be nice if it is easy to screencast from your phone to the TV and allow visiting friends to be able to easily screencast their content as well - so if one person has a video they want to show everyone, it's not a hassle to pull it up on the big screen. I think this is what a lot of us want.
~Troop

Trooper_Max said:
I believe Miracast is primarily for screencasting - ie it just mirrors what is on the device's screen onto the TV or whatever is receiving. And I believe the previous poster was saying that it would be nice if it is easy to screencast from your phone to the TV and allow visiting friends to be able to easily screencast their content as well - so if one person has a video they want to show everyone, it's not a hassle to pull it up on the big screen. I think this is what a lot of us want.
~Troop
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
yea this is exactly what i'm lookin for been keeping an eye on it have google alerts set up for pretty much anytime miracast is being searched on the net to possibly find any tidbit of info that might be helpful with this. thanks Troop

video streaming
Hi all. Bit late to the party but my ouya comes tomorrow
Assuming no problems on sideloading why not just use
twonky. Been using for ages bouncing files between my
nas drive, xperia s, xoom2 and Xbox. Even adhoc with
android.......jus puttin it out there..... It's spot on even with
playlists and web streams.

Do you think Chromecast will eventually be able to...

This might sound crazy but what if we can eventually hack the Chromecast to cast the actual phone/tablet screen (such as you can currently with the desktop of a computer) and play Android games on an HDTV. Yes, we can just get the Ouya but this would be awesome. Now I have no idea if hacking something like this will make it possible, but this would be pretty cool down the road.
Edit: Something like this actually would be perfect. Had no idea this existed:
Miracast:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYx9YNoD014

tanw42 said:
This might sound crazy but what if we can eventually hack the Chromecast to cast the actual phone/tablet screen (such as you can currently with the desktop of a computer) and play Android games on an HDTV. Yes, we can just get the Ouya but this would be awesome. Now I have no idea if hacking something like this will make it possible, but this would be pretty cool down the road.
Edit: Something like this actually would be perfect. Had no idea this existed:
Miracast:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYx9YNoD014
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that the accessibility of this device and it's price are 2 things what will greatly help the community develop on this. Just like Samsung's All-Share Dongle, i do think it's only a matter of time before we can mirror our screen

I don't think you will be able to play local games from your table or phone in the near future for the simple reason that everything is being streamed from the cloud. Even Chromecasting the current tab or the full desktop, what happens is google sends your full desktop or tab to their cloud and then streams it back up. That adds the 1 second delay between what you see on your screen and what appears on your TV. Trying to play a real time game with a 1 sec delay will be nearly impossible. Maybe in the future when everyone will have a fiberoptic connections, if they can cut that delay down to 10ms, then I would say yes/maybe. But that much fast bandwidth is still out in the future.
The thing though about Chromecast is that Google has the right idea on where things are headed. This is by far the best innovation out there for your TV.

larryvand said:
I don't think you will be able to play local games from your table or phone in the near future for the simple reason that everything is being streamed from the cloud. Even Chromecasting the current tab or the full desktop, what happens is google sends your full desktop or tab to their cloud and then streams it back up. That adds the 1 second delay between what you see on your screen and what appears on your TV. Trying to play a real time game with a 1 sec delay will be nearly impossible. Maybe in the future when everyone will have a fiberoptic connections, if they can cut that delay down to 10ms, then I would say yes/maybe. But that much fast bandwidth is still out in the future.
The thing though about Chromecast is that Google has the right idea on where things are headed. This is by far the best innovation out there for your TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the most likely avenue for this would be to write an app that turns the phone (or laptop) into a "local cloud" that is streaming just like Netflix or Play Music. It would obviously take some development but I don't think it's too outlandish.

The problem with screen mirroring is lag. From what I have seen 250ms lag is the norm with Miracast. There is just no way around it with current tech. I think that is part of the reason for chromecast. It partially eliminates the need for screen mirroring. Chromecast gives the same ability of using your phone/tablet to browse and select content as does Miracast, but you get a full-screen experience with the best possible resolution depending on internet bandwidth. It is also not depending on your device to be the streamer as is the case with Miracast.
I expect to see another Google TV type device with the new Jellybean update and Chromecast that will be more geared towards gaming on the big screen. I predict we will see it in Q4 or Q1 of next year.

Lag might be there on some level, but it definitely doesnt have any impact the probability of chromecast and screen mirroring. Its not about how well it does it, it's about if i can. Its a 35$ gadget, lets not overthink this. If it's at all possible, 250ms lag would still be more than acceptable. Of course, thins would never be a gaming device where real time information in crucial

larryvand said:
I don't think you will be able to play local games from your table or phone in the near future for the simple reason that everything is being streamed from the cloud. Even Chromecasting the current tab or the full desktop, what happens is google sends your full desktop or tab to their cloud and then streams it back up. That adds the 1 second delay between what you see on your screen and what appears on your TV. Trying to play a real time game with a 1 sec delay will be nearly impossible. Maybe in the future when everyone will have a fiberoptic connections, if they can cut that delay down to 10ms, then I would say yes/maybe. But that much fast bandwidth is still out in the future.
The thing though about Chromecast is that Google has the right idea on where things are headed. This is by far the best innovation out there for your TV.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While I'm unsure of how it exactly works, I don't think everything is necessarily streamed through the cloud. Using your phone or tablet to play netflix or youtube videos from the cloud - yes...
...but I was able to stream a local mkv video in a chrome tab on my desktop to the chromecast. I doubt it makes the round trip through google since I know my upload speeds are pretty bad. My guess is that google just executes the handshake and the video streams through your intranet directly.

pjsnyc said:
While I'm unsure of how it exactly works, I don't think everything is necessarily streamed through the cloud. Using your phone or tablet to play netflix or youtube videos from the cloud - yes...
...but I was able to stream a local mkv video in a chrome tab on my desktop to the chromecast. I doubt it makes the round trip through google since I know my upload speeds are pretty bad. My guess is that google just executes the handshake and the video streams through your intranet directly.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You are correct about chrome tab mirroring. It goes straight over your local network, but the native codec support of the current Chromecast device is lacking which may be improved by savvy developers found right here. However, since tab mirroring only works from PCs, I think it is a step backwards.

007shark said:
You are correct about chrome tab mirroring. It goes straight over your local network, but the native codec support of the current Chromecast device is lacking which may be improved by savvy developers found right here. However, since tab mirroring only works from PCs, I think it is a step backwards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My understanding is that if you have the correct codecs installed on your desktop/laptop with chrome, you should theoretically be able to play any file type. I saw a video of it working with plex or simply navigating your local drives with chrome. Whether or not native codec support is lacking on the chromecast is moot imho. Tab mirroring on a phone or tablet should eventually come, I just think the devices need more horsepower so to speak.

polish_pat said:
Lag might be there on some level, but it definitely doesnt have any impact the probability of chromecast and screen mirroring. Its not about how well it does it, it's about if i can. Its a 35$ gadget, lets not overthink this. If it's at all possible, 250ms lag would still be more than acceptable. Of course, thins would never be a gaming device where real time information in crucial
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am with you. I think this little device will be one of the more popular developer projects on xda.
---------- Post added at 01:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:36 PM ----------
pjsnyc said:
My understanding is that if you have the correct codecs installed on your desktop/laptop with chrome, you should theoretically be able to play any file type. I saw a video of it working with plex or simply navigating your local drives with chrome. Whether or not native codec support is lacking on the chromecast is moot imho. Tab mirroring on a phone or tablet should eventually come, I just think the devices need more horsepower so to speak.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Okay, so it is transcoding on the fly. I agree with you on not yet on the phones because of lack of processing power. Miracast is still the better option with portable devices even with the minor lag.
I guess I am dreaming for, because Google surprised me with this gadget and I was unable to get one before they were all sold out, an all encompassing gadget that has DLNA, Miracast, and Chromecast in the same form factor. I think the DLNA might be able to be added to this. I doubt Miracast would be able to, though.

007shark said:
...
I guess I am dreaming for, because Google surprised me with this gadget and I was unable to get one before they were all sold out, an all encompassing gadget that has DLNA, Miracast, and Chromecast in the same form factor. I think the DLNA might be able to be added to this. I doubt Miracast would be able to, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I kinda like it the way it is. While DLNA has been around for a while, I honestly havent seen a simple implementation of it yet (unless you lock yourself into one brand/ecosystem). I am excited that the hacking community is already tearing this thing apart, but the simplicity of setting it up and just getting it to work for the masses is ridiculous at this price.
I lucked out in getting mine - my coworker was able to arrange a pickup at bestbuy and sold it to me at price when he realized he couldn't mirror a mobile chrome tab.

pjsnyc said:
I kinda like it the way it is. While DLNA has been around for a while, I honestly havent seen a simple implementation of it yet (unless you lock yourself into one brand/ecosystem). I am excited that the hacking community is already tearing this thing apart, but the simplicity of setting it up and just getting it to work for the masses is ridiculous at this price.
I lucked out in getting mine - my coworker was able to arrange a pickup at bestbuy and sold it to me at price when he realized he couldn't mirror a mobile chrome tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I like the DLNA for getting photos, videos, and music from my device to the TV. Samsung's AllCast from their phones/tablets work great this way even with non-Samsung DLNA devices. If Google implemented DLNA with Chromecast then a phone/tablet's native gallery and video apps could seamlessly work as the Netflix and YouTube apps do without a normal consumer understanding how it works. And also without having to sync everything to the cloud.

007shark said:
I like the DLNA for getting photos, videos, and music from my device to the TV. Samsung's AllCast from their phones/tablets work great this way even with non-Samsung DLNA devices. If Google implemented DLNA with Chromecast then a phone/tablet's native gallery and video apps could seamlessly work as the Netflix and YouTube apps do without a normal consumer understanding how it works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I guess this is where you and I disagree. The 'understanding how it works' part. For example - once you get chromecast set up with your laptop on your couch, sharing photos and videos with other people in your livingroom from facebook is easy to understand for anyone. 'Native' for the masses is what is currently showing in the browser tab.

pjsnyc said:
I guess this is where you and I disagree. The 'understanding how it works' part. For example - once you get chromecast set up with your laptop on your couch, sharing photos and videos with other people in your livingroom from facebook is easy to understand for anyone. 'Native' for the masses is what is currently showing in the browser tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That is exactly the difference. I don't use a laptop in my living room. I use my tablet and/or phone. I think that is also the growing trend at least from my circle of friends and family.
EDIT: I use to watch TV with a laptop in my lap, but haven't done that in a couple years since I got a tablet.

For games we could see some games go to cloud based solution. This could work by your phone/controller sending information to the server that in turn sends back appropriate results to the Chromecast. So games aren't played on the phone but on the server the phone just sends commands.

Yeah miracast is sick
Sent from my SPH-L720 using xda premium

pjsnyc said:
I kinda like it the way it is. While DLNA has been around for a while, I honestly havent seen a simple implementation of it yet (unless you lock yourself into one brand/ecosystem). I am excited that the hacking community is already tearing this thing apart, but the simplicity of setting it up and just getting it to work for the masses is ridiculous at this price.
I lucked out in getting mine - my coworker was able to arrange a pickup at bestbuy and sold it to me at price when he realized he couldn't mirror a mobile chrome tab.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
http://elinux.org/DLNA_Open_Source_Projects ?
007shark said:
I am with you. I think this little device will be one of the more popular developer projects on xda.
---------- Post added at 01:45 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:36 PM ----------
Okay, so it is transcoding on the fly. I agree with you on not yet on the phones because of lack of processing power. Miracast is still the better option with portable devices even with the minor lag.
I guess I am dreaming for, because Google surprised me with this gadget and I was unable to get one before they were all sold out, an all encompassing gadget that has DLNA, Miracast, and Chromecast in the same form factor. I think the DLNA might be able to be added to this. I doubt Miracast would be able to, though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I don't see any hardware limitations for Mircacast at this moment, still digging through the tech specs and kernel though

Send videos from XBMC to Chromecast?

Has anyone found a way to send videos from XBMC addons such as mash up or 1channel to chromecast? It uses online streams usually just regular mp4 files. I know Google updated the Chromecast and that broke some apps but I also has read sometime else might have found a way to do it using WebRTC some how. Anyways I look forward to the day I can have XBMC on my laptop or tablet and send videos to the Chromecast like I can with Netflix and YouTube. Any info I'm this would be great.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Link_of_Hyrule said:
Has anyone found a way to send videos from XBMC addons such as mash up or 1channel to chromecast? It uses online streams usually just regular mp4 files. I know Google updated the Chromecast and that broke some apps but I also has read sometime else might have found a way to do it using WebRTC some how. Anyways I look forward to the day I can have XBMC on my laptop or tablet and send videos to the Chromecast like I can with Netflix and YouTube. Any info I'm this would be great.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I would like to know more about this too. Allcast has a time bomb.

I don't really understand why there isn't more interest in getting XBMC to work with Chromecast. It would basically let you watch anything you could possibly want to.

Off of a pi there's a good kit on eBay for 80 I believe it was...

I would love to do this!!!

would love it
I don't even use my Chromcast but this feature would change that.

A few problems with this, first SDK is still in preview mode and they haven't opened it up so everyone can add support for their apps willynilly. This means even if someone had a solution that works the way google wants their system to work they couldn't widely release it since it'd work on only devices that have been whitelisted for development.
You could possible treat whatever you want to view as a webpage and make it possible to watch something from XBMC using the tab casting feature, but this isn't as optimal as the just send a link and have the chromecast pull up the content itself. So this method doesn't really work on low powered devices meaning you definitely couldn't do it from the chromecast.
Another issue with running xbmc on a pi and using chromecast for the video feeds is you'd need a either a way to send the main menu to the chromecast so you could see it as you navigate it, or you'd need a second display just to navigate through the menus on the Pi. Not horribly efficient that second option.

GabrialDestruir said:
A few problems with this, first SDK is still in preview mode and they haven't opened it up so everyone can add support for their apps willynilly. This means even if someone had a solution that works the way google wants their system to work they couldn't widely release it since it'd work on only devices that have been whitelisted for development.
You could possible treat whatever you want to view as a webpage and make it possible to watch something from XBMC using the tab casting feature, but this isn't as optimal as the just send a link and have the chromecast pull up the content itself. So this method doesn't really work on low powered devices meaning you definitely couldn't do it from the chromecast.
Another issue with running xbmc on a pi and using chromecast for the video feeds is you'd need a either a way to send the main menu to the chromecast so you could see it as you navigate it, or you'd need a second display just to navigate through the menus on the Pi. Not horribly efficient that second option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the pi guy just meant setup a pi for XBMC and connect it to your TV without chrome cast. I want to use XBMC on my laptop or tablet and cast the videos to my chromecast.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4

Link_of_Hyrule said:
I think the pi guy just meant setup a pi for XBMC and connect it to your TV without chrome cast. I want to use XBMC on my laptop or tablet and cast the videos to my chromecast.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah well in that case, setting up a pi with xbmc is completely irrelevant to the chromecast, and has already been done http://www.raspbmc.com/
Edit: I realize the pi guy was saying this was possible with a Pi. But if someone is here they've most likely already bought a Chromecast as opposed to a Pi
It would be nice to see XBMC support in some way. Though I have currently switched to plex since you can pull up the interface via web and watch movies that way you can tab cast it rather nicely with a decent enough computer.
We probably won't see official support for plex or xbmc until the sdk comes out of preview release and you're not required to get your device whitelisted for the features to work, unless either group gets the preferential partner treatment like netflix, hulu, and pandora.

Well if everything I have read on this thread is correct I will not be buying a Chromecast soon.

I don't regret getting the chrome cast is totally worth it just for YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu.
Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

XBMC over Chromecast through Avia
Using Smartphone - XMBC can be watched over Chromecast through Avia Player which costs $2.99. YouTube Video shows how.
http://youtu.be/vS-7hwYe4nw
Using Computer - XMBC can be watched over Chromecast through Avia Player which costs $2.99. YouTube Video shows how.
http://youtu.be/NCgP0r5Dvp8
Good Luck

Chromecast streaming could happen easily. You do not need to physically have a menu on chromecast...look at all the other apps like Netflix hulu. You pick what you want on your phone and throw it to chromecast. They just need to work in a casting button for XBMC and then all will be good since most videos are mp4 anyway
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I would love this as I just want a all in one solution that works perfect that dont cost me a arm and a leg and yet to find it.. this is close.. I got netflix hulu. I want amazin instant and xbmc.
(I have a ouya and a rasp pi but I just like how this works a lot better)

Share experience with screen casting

I have a Nook Tablet running @amaces AOSP 7.0 and my husband has an HD running CM 11. The "cast" feature, as far as I can tell, does not seem to do anything. It doesn't see my Win 10 laptop and does not see a generic Miracast dongle I just picked up (the Win 10 PC does see the dongle...).
Does the cast feature support Chromecast? If so, what's the experience like? The main reason my husband's HD is still on CM 11 is to maintain functionality of the HDMI out. But we've run into issues with our local newspaper app (of all things) after an update and are now looking at trying the last CM 13 build to support HDMI out.
It would be simpler if the cast function worked (I.e., cast the entire screen) as well as the really simple HDMI out. I get it, people don't like wires. But for the price (now $10 online at B&N), that cable is pretty sweet.
So...what works for whole screen casting? We don't have smart TV's and don't use any streaming services. 90% of the video material is local, played with either MX player or Kodi. Occasional streams via Kodi.

I added an entry in the FAQ addressing some of these concerns.
nmyshkin said:
Does the cast feature support Chromecast? If so, what's the experience like? The main reason my husband's HD is still on CM 11 is to maintain functionality of the HDMI out. But we've run into issues with our local newspaper app (of all things) after an update and are now looking at trying the last CM 13 build to support HDMI out.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, full screen casting definitely wants a Chromecast receiver. I think it works pretty well, especially for static content; highly dynamic content might have slight delays, or out of sync audio. Movies should be fine, but really, you should send video, YouTube, etc using in-app casting, so all A/V processing is done on the receiver (rather than full screen re-encoded on tablet).
nmyshkin said:
It would be simpler if the cast function worked (I.e., cast the entire screen) as well as the really simple HDMI out. I get it, people don't like wires. But for the price (now $10 online at B&N), that cable is pretty sweet.
So...what works for whole screen casting? We don't have smart TV's and don't use any streaming services. 90% of the video material is local, played with either MX player or Kodi. Occasional streams via Kodi.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
While full screen casting works, for the above reasons, it's always better to use in-app casting, if available. Even with local content, finding an app that processes only the actual media (rather than capture/encode entire screen) is usually preferable. I looked at HDMI intermittently, but no idea what's broken yet.

Latest Fire 7 running Chrome Remote Desktop?

Anyone have experience running Chrome Remote Desktop from a Fire 7, latest model?
I'm using my original Nook Color rooted with CM 10.2.1 for a single purpose, sitting on a table next to the LR couch and running Chrome Remote Desktop to control an upstairs Windows desktop that is streaming SiriusXM music, playing to my AV system in the LR through a Bluetooth faux-headphone receiver. Remote Control allows me to skip music I don't like, to change XM stations, and to control other functions that would normally require me to walk upstairs to the desktop. It's a great setup and has been serving that purpose for several years, with one exception. The Nook Color is so short on resources that if anything else is going on in the device, the remote desktop session will fail. I have removed everything that I can, but with less than half a gig of memory and a single slow processor, it just isn't up to the task. Hence the question.
I understand, of course, that I would have to install Google Play to get remote desktop. I have also tried other old tablets and phones running other remote control apps such as Splashtop, TeamViewer, and others, some of which work OK, but I find that Chrome Remote Desktop is by far the best, and the little Nook (also 7 inch) is just the right size for this.
And, while I'm asking, I don't suppose the Fire 7 has IR capability, so I could potentially use it to control the various components in the AV system?
So before I invest the incredible sum of $50 in the Fire 7, I would like to make sure that this will work.
Thanks in advance, DaveD

DavidLD said:
Anyone have experience running Chrome Remote Desktop from a Fire 7, latest model?
I'm using my original Nook Color rooted with CM 10.2.1 for a single purpose, sitting on a table next to the LR couch and running Chrome Remote Desktop to control an upstairs Windows desktop that is streaming SiriusXM music, playing to my AV system in the LR through a Bluetooth faux-headphone receiver. Remote Control allows me to skip music I don't like, to change XM stations, and to control other functions that would normally require me to walk upstairs to the desktop. It's a great setup and has been serving that purpose for several years, with one exception. The Nook Color is so short on resources that if anything else is going on in the device, the remote desktop session will fail. I have removed everything that I can, but with less than half a gig of memory and a single slow processor, it just isn't up to the task. Hence the question.
I understand, of course, that I would have to install Google Play to get remote desktop. I have also tried other old tablets and phones running other remote control apps such as Splashtop, TeamViewer, and others, some of which work OK, but I find that Chrome Remote Desktop is by far the best, and the little Nook (also 7 inch) is just the right size for this.
And, while I'm asking, I don't suppose the Fire 7 has IR capability, so I could potentially use it to control the various components in the AV system?
So before I invest the incredible sum of $50 in the Fire 7, I would like to make sure that this will work.
Thanks in advance, DaveD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- No IR on any Fire tablet
- The implementation of Google Play Services available for this device may not support Chrome Remote Desktop
- You can not obtain root permissions or install a custom ROM on the shipping versions of 5th-7th gen Amazon devices; nor can they be downgraded. This may place significant limitations on customizing your setup...if it works at all.
- Consider a 3rd gen HDX if interested in unlocked 7 inch tablet with adequate resources and strong custom ROM support.

Davey126 said:
- No IR on any Fire tablet
- The implementation of Google Play Services available for this device may not support Chrome Remote Desktop
- You can not obtain root permissions or install a custom ROM on the shipping versions of 5th-7th gen Amazon devices; nor can they be downgraded. This may place significant limitations on customizing your setup...if it works at all.
- Consider a 3rd gen HDX if interested in unlocked 7 inch tablet with adequate resources and strong custom ROM support.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply.
Stock rooting or a custom rom would not be options for me even if it were available. I'm at the point now where I want to run these Android devices, not work on them. A used HDX might be an option; thanks for that.
There are a number of entries here indicating that Google Play can be installed on the latest 5.4.0.0 and no mention of any limitations. Can you provide additional information on your statement?
Thanks, DaveD

DavidLD said:
Thanks for the quick reply.
Stock rooting or a custom rom would not be options for me even if it were available. I'm at the point now where I want to run these Android devices, not work on them. A used HDX might be an option; thanks for that.
There are a number of entries here indicating that Google Play can be installed on the latest 5.4.0.0 and no mention of any limitations. Can you provide additional information on your statement?
Thanks, DaveD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Most only use "Google Play" for store access and snagging a few treasured apps. Your application is somewhat unique but many work fine...or not. My caveat was simply a heads-up. Best path IMHO is to acquire the device from Amazon which offers a nearly unconditional 30 day return return policy. They even subsidize return shipping in the US; $2.98 for most Amazon devices.
Also consider a HD 8 if you have no plans to root. A nicer device overall but more expensive and a bit larger; I happen to prefer the 7" form factor for my purposes.

Davey126 said:
Most only use "Google Play" for store access and snagging a few treasured apps. Your application is somewhat unique but many work fine...or not. My caveat was simply a heads-up. Best path IMHO is to acquire the device from Amazon which offers a nearly unconditional 30 day return return policy. They even subsidize return shipping in the US; $2.98 for most Amazon devices.
Also consider a HD 8 if you have no plans to root. A nicer device overall but more expensive and a bit larger; I happen to prefer the 7" form factor for my purposes.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I will try a 7". I'm an Amazon Prime member and have found their return policy to be more than adequate. I'll post my results in this thread. Thanks for the help.

DavidLD said:
I will try a 7". I'm an Amazon Prime member and have found their return policy to be more than adequate. I'll post my results in this thread. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update: Ordered the Fire 7 yesterday evening from Amazon, Prime, received it before noon today, even quicker than their usual two day prime guarantee. And it was $39.99, $10 off, as they gave me a courtesy discount because they messed up an order last week. Can't beat that!
Using the instructions in the XDA link I referenced above, I installed Google Play in about an hour, with most of that time taken up with finger checks and learning how to get around the Fire, ads and all. Before I installed Google Play I had first installed Chrome Remote Desktop from a Titanium Backup on the Micro SDCard that was once attached to the Nook Color, but it wouldn't run without Google Play.
Once I installed Google Play it works like a charm. Whether or not it crashes like it does on the Nook (there, I suspect, because of limited resources) remains to be seen. But so far, so good.
Thanks again for the information. DaveD

DavidLD said:
Update: Ordered the Fire 7 yesterday evening from Amazon, Prime, received it before noon today, even quicker than their usual two day prime guarantee. And it was $39.99, $10 off, as they gave me a courtesy discount because they messed up an order last week. Can't beat that!
Using the instructions in the XDA link I referenced above, I installed Google Play in about an hour, with most of that time taken up with finger checks and learning how to get around the Fire, ads and all. Before I installed Google Play I had first installed Chrome Remote Desktop from a Titanium Backup on the Micro SDCard that was once attached to the Nook Color, but it wouldn't run without Google Play.
Once I installed Google Play it works like a charm. Whether or not it crashes like it does on the Nook (there, I suspect, because of limited resources) remains to be seen. But so far, so good.
Thanks again for the information. DaveD
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I ran Remote Desktop on my HD 8 for a bit when I first got it, with no problem. I use Unified Remote, because if I watch shows or movies, I usually just place them on the tablet, as VLC works perfectly and I have good headphones. I have used for years and continue to use Pandora Music. I just got a hold of another HD 7 (my original one has a busted display), but it's rooted and I really don't have intentions of using it for movies or music at the moment, but the Remote Desktop and Unified Remote seem to work just fine on it too.
If you've looked over any other threads, and 'uninstalled' anything, that helps on freeing up memory as a lot of Amazon's applications have the tendency to run almost constantly. As for CPU usage, in my opinion, I find it to be vastly underused for both models.