
Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK - pcarff
http://googledevelopers.blogspot.com/2014/02/ready-to-cast-chromecast-now-open-to.html
======
UnoriginalGuy
I love my Chromecast and use it extensively. This is what Miracast should have
been, something that "just worked" and seamlessly interconnected devices.

But instead Miracast is yet another classic example of "death of committee"
where tons of big media and hardware companies wanted to get their features
and DRM in, and as a direct result we now have dozens of completely
incompatible Miracast devices.

I think this table accurately sums of the Miracast issue:
[http://i.imgur.com/I2QmeZe.jpeg](http://i.imgur.com/I2QmeZe.jpeg)

And that is my experience too. Samsung works only with other Samsung
"allshare" devices, Sony works only with other Sony "Xperia" devices, and so
on.

Ironically my Samsung TV has a YouTube app which can almost act like a
Chromecast built in, and that is the only reliable way to stream content to
the thing. I've never been able to get Miracast on either the Samsung or Sony
to work reliably (both 2013 models).

My only slight complaint right now about Chromecast is that I cannot stream
from VLC but hopefully with the release of this SDK that might change in time.

PS - If Chromecast becomes popular this really will isolate Apple's iTunes
video. Most other video providers/renters work with Chromecast (Hulu, Netflix,
Play Store, et al), or with apps on your TV already. Apple is the only large
digital content provider which wants to force us to buy their proprietary
device ("Apple TV") to watch their proprietary content. It really does
decrease the value for Apple's content. In fact I'm just not going to buy
Apple's DRM-ed video anymore, as I have to plug in a HDMI cable to watch it on
my TV.

~~~
isomorphic
Out of curiosity, what have you been using your Chromecast for?

I have drunk the Apple Kool-Aid: I have iOS devices, AppleTVs, and a home
server running iTunes. Admittedly, the iTunes server is serving video and
music that is ripped from legitimately-acquired spinning-discs, so perhaps I
haven't tasted the iTunes Store Kool-Aid.

I purchased a Chromecast right at launch. As far as I could tell, the only
things it did well was Netflix and stream YouTube. However, for my purposes,
the AppleTV was better at both, so I literally put the Chromecast in a drawer.

When someone announced a jailbreak for it, I took it out of the drawer, rooted
it, fiddled with it some more, then put it back in the drawer when I realized
I was just wasting my time.

I'm not trolling, here; I really want to know how you use it. Is it that is
works better with Android devices? Is it providing a better, open, AirPlay
alternative? I just don't understand how it is in any way more useful than
existing STBs--if not the AppleTV then, e.g., a Roku.

~~~
Touche
Yes, the fact that Apple TV doesn't work with non-Apple devices makes it a
non-starter among those who don't exclusively buy Apple products in
perpetuity.

So the question is Chromecast vs. other cross-platform TV solutions, like
Roku. Roku does have it's own device-streaming but it only works with media on
your device. I own both and use both, but lean towards the Roku more often as
using the phone/tablet as a remote isn't significantly better than just using
a remote, and I don't have to worry about what happens when the phone dies, or
if I have it on a charger having to get up and walk to it when I need to pause
the program.

~~~
IgorPartola
I have three Roku-powered rooms in my house. I read about Chromecast's
capabilities but I cannot find how it would serve me better than Roku. My
needs are:

* Stream Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/HBO Go to the TV.

* Stream videos off my NAS, such as DVD rips, home movies, etc. (For this I use Plex.)

* Occasionally, stream movies and pictures I took with my phone to the TV.

* Very occasionally, stream live events, such as the New Years ball drop, or the World Cup.

* Have an interface that is easy enough to use by non-technical people.

Chromecast, at least on paper, seems to do these things markedly worse. I
appreciate it's simplicity and I'd probably get one to play around with if I
did not have the Roku players already, but so far, it seems like the shabbier
streamer. A Roku 2 or a refurb Roku 3 is about twice the price of Chromecast,
yet seems to deliver much more value and much less headache. So my question is
the same as above: why use Chromecast at all?

~~~
67726e
I've got three Roku boxes in my house as well and I have to agree with all of
your points. I got a Chromecast as a gift at Christmas and played with it but
I really just don't see it as being better than the Roku with the exception of
two fronts:

1\. Price. It's just cheaper. About 40% the price of the latest Roku.

2\. Development. Maybe this is a personal one for me. I keep wanting to work
on a Roku Channel (app) but I really don't want to take the time to figure out
their proprietary language.

~~~
robflynn
For what it's worth, BrightScript is pretty much just Visual Basic. It did
take me a bit to get used to their various 'screens' and events.

~~~
virtue3
also a brightscript/roku dev here. There's a nice code color plugin for
sublime you can use and it's a bearable platform to develop on. Definitely use
the console to just send the debug build up to the device and start debugging.
It's really not that bad. Probably took me about a day to get used to it.

Honestly, as long as you stick within their control schemes you're fine.
Trying to break out of the roku app controls leads to a total nightmare so be
weary of that trap ;)

~~~
kbenson
I don't know how it is on the newer versions, but BrightScript was always
very, very slow. Much slower than you would expect. Most of the time it never
matters, since you are calling out to compiled object code that exports APIs
for complex tasks, but when it matters, it matters. For example, implementing
CRC32 (no built-in shift operators!), or minmax for game AI (for Reversi of
all things, it's not like there's that many possible moves) always required
heavy optimization to achieve performance that was near acceptable.

It always boggled my mind why they didn't just take a JS implementation and
port it, but I guess it's hard to justify throwing away IP which already
exists because of a prior product.

The engineers at Roku and the community were always great though.

~~~
virtue3
There's a certain point of "good engineer's" career where they want to make
their own language/vm. I'm 99% sure this is what happened here. It's always a
train wreck.

They really should have used lua. It would have been very simple to put in and
it's robust enough and efficient for small memory devices.

While I appreciate the power/flexibility/efficiency of js it is no where near
as efficient as lua. Lua keeps things as ints until they aren't needed etc.
Very much build for embedded systems almost. I'm probably biased in that I've
worked on a lua VM for mobile handsets for a few years.

------
CSDude
I made my local video transcoder server and browser to play any kind of video
on the Chromecast, it was working real good, now I can publish it (was not
allowed before)

~~~
jack57
I think a lot of people would find this very useful. Could you post the link
on this thread along with submitting it on HN?

~~~
CSDude
There have been some changes on the API, I need to look onto it.

------
mkuhn
Plex ([https://plex.tv/](https://plex.tv/)) was the magic bullet that unlocked
the potential of my Chromecast. I can only recommend it and am looking forward
what other applications that come out now ill make it even more useful.

~~~
Kiro
Does it work with subtitles?

~~~
ClayM
Yes, but it takes a while to get set up right. I think this will make it work:

[https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/90563-roku-not-
playin...](https://forums.plex.tv/index.php/topic/90563-roku-not-playing-
subtitles-all-of-a-sudden/?p=526545)

------
Pxtl
Chromecast is missing one thing, imho: a controller for my kids.

I'm not giving my kids the Nexus 7 every time they want to watch something on
the TV screen. The Chromecast suddenly goes from a $35 to a $235 device.
Instead I have a uHost android-stick that uses an accelerometer-based
airmouse... it's not good, but it works and cost me $50.

I keep waiting for Google to complete the Nexus line with a bare-bones 4" low-
quality phoneless device for kids - an answer to the iPod.

~~~
hershel
For $55 you can get a Chinese android phone(and there are new chips that might
take the price down to $35). Google can't reduce this price any further.

~~~
someperson
I'm curious about these $55 Android phones, what are they called? Also what
are the new chips that could bring them down to $35? Even just the names would
be enough to point me in the right direction and would be appreciated.

~~~
dangrossman
When the question is "where can I find suppliers of generic Chinese
________?", the answer is always "Alibaba".

[http://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-android-
phone.html?Sea...](http://www.aliexpress.com/w/wholesale-android-
phone.html?SearchText=android%2Bphone&CatId=0&initiative_id=SB_20140203122524&SortType=price_asc&filterCat=5090301&groupsort=1)

~~~
Pxtl
Do they actually just let you order now? I know for the longest time most of
the stuff there you could only just send and "inquery" and they'd ignore you
if you were looking to just buy a single unit of something. I usually hit
DX.Com for "I want something cheap and Chinese and partially-functional".

~~~
dangrossman
Yes, that's basically what AliExpress is -- Alibaba wholesalers willing to
ship as few as 1 unit.

------
drcode
Anyone know if the API is powerful enough to let you build an app that can
project video and have it play synced audio via headphones connected to the
controlling device? Being able to listen to the audio via remote headphones is
a killer feature of the Roku 3 IMHO and I would love it if I could do this via
my chromecast as well.

(Yes, I am aware that the Chromecast typically plays buffered video from the
video source without running data through the controlling device and that
having synced audio running on the device therefore is contrary to the design.
I'm asking whether this limitation is surmountable by clever programming
against the API.)

~~~
Untit1ed
That'd be easy enough even before the release of the SDK - open the video on
the Chromecast, audio on the sender app, use the websocket connection between
them to keep them in sync, Bob's your uncle.

Making it so that you only downloaded the video on the Chromecast and the
audio on the sender app would be a little more difficult, but not
insurmountable.

------
Osiris
How does the Chromecast work for someone like me that has their movie
collection stored on a NAS? I currently use XBMC in my living room, but for
the bedroom I'd love to have something like the Chromecast if I could use it
to stream content (MKV, x264) from my NAS plus maybe some Netflix/Pandora. Is
that possible with the Chromecast?

If not, does this SDK open up more possibilities for playing local content vs.
streaming?

~~~
1010011010
Plex Media Center.

~~~
skrowl
NOTE: Requires MONTHLY FEE to enable streaming to ChromeCast

~~~
dusing
You only have to be a paid Plex supporter for early access. This will be a
free feature soon.

Plexpass is only $29.99 a year or $74.99 lifetime.

Personally I think everyone using Plex on a daily basis should be a paying
member and support future development.

------
daeken
Oh man, all I can imagine is a party game played with Google Glass and
Chromecast. This could be fun.

~~~
seppo0010
Only one client can be connected at a time as far as I could see. That limits
the gaming part.

~~~
nfoz
Perfect. That's the same number of people that have google glass.

~~~
JoeAnzalone
Perfect. That's the same number of people that come to my parties.

~~~
donutz
Having a Me Party?
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpE8CdH6fdE](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpE8CdH6fdE)

------
fjabre
Open? GFY. There's nothing open about it.
[https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/terms](https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/terms)

 _2.4 Your application may be de-registered by Google with or without notice
at Google 's sole discretion including, but not limited to, for violation of
these Terms. If you have any questions or concerns regarding such a de-
registration, you may contact us at
[https://developers.google.com/cast/support/](https://developers.google.com/cast/support/)
_

------
whichdan
If Chromecast supported Amazon Video, I'd probably use it more than my HTPC.

~~~
c0brac0bra
You can tab cast Amazon Instant Video from Chrome. I've been successfully
using it for months.

~~~
whichdan
The downside, though, is that the video is still playing on the laptop
simultaneously.

~~~
jggonz
Yes, but you can dim down the LCD and the audio is piped to the chromecast.
It's a 'hack', but it does work.

------
pdx
I would love minecraft to have this feature. My son is always making me watch
him on Minecraft. It would be so cool to have him just cast it to the
television.

~~~
dangrossman
You can already cast your computer screen.

~~~
StavrosK
How? I only know of Chrome tab casting.

~~~
dangrossman
In Chrome, click the cast icon, then the little arrow at the top and choose
"Cast entire screen (experimental)".

[http://i.imgur.com/0XfrYuH.png](http://i.imgur.com/0XfrYuH.png)

It doesn't work super well, but it's there.

------
swetland
I'm still not seeing docs on how to send content to Chromecast without using
the Android, IOS, or Chrome APIs for doing so. Pointers? How would I build a
commandline app to send content to Chromecast, for example?﻿

(see the list under Components:
[https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/developers](https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/developers))

------
smtddr
Oh man, here comes CrunchyRoll and all the other anime streaming websites.
Netflix's & Amazon's anime collection is about to be put to shame. Also, I'd
really like it if the developers behind KeyholeTV[1] would get on board. Maybe
I should write it...

1\.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KeyHoleTV](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KeyHoleTV)

~~~
windust
_drooling_ for crunchyroll support

------
innoying
Weird, I'm a registered ChromeCast developer and didn't get an email. Did any
other developers get one?

~~~
darwindeeds
I haven't gotten any email yet.

------
shawn-furyan
I'll point out that while the article touts its "blazing-fast Intel Core-i7",
the likely reason that they chose an i7 is not that it is blazing-fast, but
because currently, generally speaking[1], the i7 line is the only one that
includes IRIS graphics, which is an IGP that is pedestrian by the standards of
discreet GPUs, but quite impressive in terms of integrated graphics solutions.
While all of the i7 processors that contain IRIS graphics are very fast from a
compute perspective, that's not likely the reason they chose Intel's premium
line.

That is to say, the i7 is still a compromise in performance, but has the great
advantage of having pretty good graphics (which they need for high def video
streaming) without requiring a huge discreet GPU, which in turn allows for a
very small overall package. I'm not saying that it's a bad tradeoff, actually
I recently bought a laptop that makes this exact tradeoff, but I think that
it's a little bit intentionally disingenuous to tout its top end CPU
performance when it's likely that this was only a secondary or tertiary factor
for choosing this CPU.

I know it's marketing, and of course they're going to put i7 on the front of
the tin because it's associated with premium-ness. Just pointing out why in
this case it's kinda BS.

[1] Apple managed to convince Intel to integrate IRIS graphics into i5 branded
processors for the late-2013 Macbook Pros, but it's the only place that I've
seen non i7 line processors with IRIS.

------
kailuowang
The biggest deal breaker for Chromecast is that it only supports 2.4Ghz, which
makes it unusable for most people who live in apartment buildings where 2.4GHz
is mostly congested these days.

------
inthewoods
Great - now maybe they can get Google+ Photos castable...really annoying that
I can't push videos from Google+ but instead have to move them to Youtube.

------
mvelie
The sdk looks nice, but there's certain requirements, like putting the
chromecast icon on EVERY screen off the app that is a little bit of a turnoff.

~~~
tmzt
It's not a Chromecast specific icon, it's intended to be used to select which
output device to use from a list. This is mentioned in the FAQ where it's
referred to as the "Cast" icon.

~~~
mvelie
I agree this might be nice for certain apps, say the Youtube app, where the
whole purpose of the app is to show video to the user.

I write a bunch of apps right now that have the ability to show video has one
of the many functions of the app. Having to put an icon like this on every
screen would take up a lot of screen real estate and I think confuse a lot of
our users.

------
sirseal
I used to love my Chromecast. It was one of those "it just works" pieces of
technology. Unfortunately, after it auto-updated, it now has a bug where it
will disconnect from WiFi after 30 minutes. Anyone know of a fix or has seen
this behaviour before?

~~~
steven2012
I got Chromecast in December and it has never "just worked" for me, ever. It
always has a very hard time finding the Chromecast, so trying to start up a
video on my tv takes several minutes. I'm ready to ditch the entire thing and
get a Roku, because my experience with the Chromecast has always been really
terrible.

~~~
rush340
Nice to know I'm not the only one. It does not get along with my router
(WNDR3700). It will only connect after rebooting the router and even then
devices can't always find it when it's connected.

Even when I did get it to work, it would bog down a lot.

------
aabalkan
That'll be great. Currently there are services like Amazon instant
video,Vimeo, Rdio, Spotify, Put.io are not on chromecast. They usually have
Smart TV apps but Chromecast can be the new de facto of TV app development.

~~~
mikewhy
Plex, however, is on Chromecast.

~~~
joshstrange
And works VERY well, I started using the Chromecast over my AppleTV with Plex
and I quite like it. PlexConnect is nice and I still use it on the upstairs TV
but I feel like I'm having to restart PlexConnect once a week because it
crashes or something goes wrong and the Chromecast just works. That said
PlexConnect is awesome and you should check it out if you have an AppleTV (No
jailbreak required).

~~~
stock_toaster
"VERY well" is debatable. I found that much of my media seemed to require on
the fly transcoding to play (disappointing), and subtitles didn't work well.
Performance was often poor as well for higher bitrate source material.

In addition, your chromecast MUST be connected to the internet to play
anything (not just local lan, must have actual internet access). Maybe they
are planning on version2 showing ads when nothing else is playing or
something. Who knows.

My chromecast now sits unused in some drawer somewhere.

------
shitlord
Excellent news. I own a Chromecast, but I feel that it's overly hyped.

There isn't a lot of content that I would want on my TV. For me, it would be
good for showing videos/pictures to a group of people. But I don't see much
use beyond that. Maybe it's me. I'm an odd guy.

It would be really cool if Android could add support for mirroring the screen
via Chromecast. That way, the end users wouldn't have to wait for individual
developers to add support for Chromecast; they could see on a TV exactly what
they see on their screen, and in the same quality.

------
aaronchriscohen
Now how about a Chromecast w/ dual-band networking or, even better, an
ethernet port? The 2.4ghz band is next to useless in high density environments
like my Brooklyn apartment.

------
xur17
Anyone that has looked into the SDK - is it possible for other manufacturers
to create their own Chromecast device, and embed it in their TV, or other
device?

~~~
mattl
I have a WDTV Live, and it comes up in the list of devices on the YouTube app
on my Android phone.

------
derwiki
Can I use my own photographs for the idle screens yet? I looked through the
docs briefly, but everything seemed focused on video (which I guess makes
sense).

~~~
tripplethrendo
I really want this feature too. When I'm browsing Youtube videos, I get so
sick of Felecia Day's face.

------
johne20
Are you able in to interact with the content cast to 2nd screen? eg. I send a
image gallery, can I browse through it using my cast sender? I assume not.

~~~
CSDude
Yes, sender and reciever has a bi-directional communication channel, you can
do whatever you want.

~~~
mmind
Correct. Think of a virtual webwebsocket:
[https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/reference/receiver/c...](https://developers.google.com/cast/docs/reference/receiver/cast.receiver.CastChannel)

The sender is written for any of the platforms supported (iOS, Android,
Chrome) and the receiver in javascript.

~~~
johne20
Nice! thx.

------
bane
Seriously, this is about bloody time. I cannot believe how long we've had to
wait for the public SDK to get released.

It's like going to a meal at a restaurant and every member of your party is
served 2 or 3 hours apart.

Here's a video about the announcement
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJItrPj7Ivk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJItrPj7Ivk)

~~~
timothya
It's interesting to me how entitled people feel to get a public SDK.
Presumably there was a reason that Google chose to not release it until now;
the usual reason is that Google doesn't want people building apps on unstable
APIs, because that means a bad experience for both consumers and developers.
I'm personally happy that they spent the time to actually make the SDK solid.

~~~
bane
The problem is that it makes for a crap product roll-out. If you remember the
Chromecast announcement, the SDK was presented as coming imminently.

It really wasn't cool when they selected preferred providers to be the only
ones allowed to release anything built with the SDK. This weird limbo period
really pissed lots of early buyers off.

>the usual reason is that Google doesn't want people building apps on unstable
APIs

But they let _lots_ of preferred groups build apps. Very complex ones, not
just the the simple "put my photos on my TV" apps even. The SDK has obviously
been in good shape for months.

 _AND THEN_ they simply broke their initial Netflix promise because it was
simply too popular.

It was clear from some of the early experiments with the SDK that it was
"good" enough for many early apps. And if later improvements showed up, then
that's great.

Back before December, they made another announcement that made it sound like
it was going to be out any day. And then it slipped and slipped some more.
Just release it and say it's beta. After all it's Google and most of the stuff
they ship is barely better than a beta anyway.

------
hughes
Fantastic! Now please sell it to Canadians!

~~~
isaacwaller
You can get one for about $14 CAD extra at Amazon.ca:
[http://www.amazon.ca/Google-Chromecast-Streaming-Media-
Playe...](http://www.amazon.ca/Google-Chromecast-Streaming-Media-
Player/dp/B00DR0PDNE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391480599&sr=8-1&keywords=chromecast)

------
joezydeco
So what would it take to create a simple static screen buffer in a linux app
and display it on the Chromecast?

~~~
heurist
I'm curious about this too, it says Chrome OS but nothing about Linux in
general.

------
etler
I was on the fence before, but this seals the deal. At its price point it's a
no-brainer now.

------
wahsd
Sure would be cool if there was a way to make URLs, e.g., 3:20, linked in
YouTube videos. That would be such a cool feature; you know, now having to
manually type a URL from a video into an address bar. That would be innovation
that Google is known for.

------
Neff
Now all it needs is HDMI pass through and it will be a wonderful little
device.

I enjoy that it can quickly switch to my Chromecast stream, but once I am
finished with whatever YouTube video I am watching I want to just as easily go
back to the previous video input.

------
SimpleXYZ
My issue with Chromecast is it isn't supported on all Chromebooks.

~~~
megamegaman
My primary machine is a Chromebook (Acer C720). I tabcast and screencast and
all that jazz and it tends to work great unless I'm trying to push HD video.
Knocking it down to 480p at the tabcast side lets it work fine.

------
Untit1ed
Nice to see that they've made the Android sender apps dependent on Google Play
Services rev 15, but not actually released that yet.

Guess I'll keep on waiting for the _actual_ release.

------
panabee
Is it possible to cast something not screen on your device? In other words, is
it possible to project one thing on the TV while showing something else on the
casting device?

~~~
helper
Yes, that is the way most apps work. Netflix for example shows the video on
your Chromecast and the controller interface on your phone. You can leave the
app and the video will continue to play.

------
dooptroop
What I don't get is why Chromecast isn't merely an Android app? There are
plenty of HDMI-out capable android devices already...

------
The_Double
About time, having only a few apps has been ridiculous. Avia and Plex have
been making a lot of money from their monopoly position.

------
jpswade
Chromecast never hit the UK market, now I have an LG Smart TV with everything
built in.

They missed the boat for me.

------
guiomie
When will it ship to Canada ? I just tried buying a chromecast on amazon and
it wont let me.

------
nchlswu
when Chromecast first launched some enterprising individuals found an
undocumented API (?) that allowed them to stream whatever content they wanted.
Google promptly pulled that functionality with an update. Does this bridge
said gap?

------
treelovinhippie
What's always bugged me is why is there no Chrome browser on the Chromecast?

------
sarojt
Now i can play games on tv this is great news.cant wait for apps to be out.

------
abjorn
IT'S HAPPENING

------
pjmlp
No NDK love it seems.

------
wahsd
Now if Chromecast just didn't suck so horribly. I mean, who doesn't like
blurry resolution and dropped connections.

~~~
Sargos
Maybe your Chromecast has a weak WiFi connection? Try moving it a bit with an
HDMI extender (one comes in the box with it).

The Chromecast can do 1080p and full quality audio. It's not a limitation of
the device.

~~~
wahsd
One, how the heck did I end up with a negative score for my comment? Didn't
even know that was possible.

Two, granted, the fuzzy content usually clears up somewhat nicely after a few
seconds of progressive reconstruction of the stream, but am I the only one
that has noticed rather striking image quality issues? So it's technically
"1080p" but if that image has been optimized and compressed and is washed-out
looking, which I find is the case, then what does it matter.

I was also referring to the main "screensaver" images on Chrome. Can those not
be higher quality and resolution? They sure as heck don't seem 1080p and they
are static images, why can't they be high resolution? I want eye-candy damn
it? Ever seen the seemingly higher resolution images on Apple TV? Especially
when you tie it to Flickr? (no, I'm not in the Apple cult)

