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Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

googledevelopers.blogspot.com

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Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#131

Post by timothya »

bane wrote: post #130

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

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.

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#133

Post by tripplethrendo »

derwiki wrote: post #26

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).

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

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#134

Post by eclipxe »

UnoriginalGuy wrote: post #6

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 tab…

As someone who works day-in and day-out with Miracast devices, you're a little bit off. The problem isn't really with features and DRM leading to incompatibility. The HDCP portion of Miracast is pretty straightforward and isn't often the problem. The problem (as seen with the charts) is manufacturers that are sorta-kinda-using Miracast but not really. For example the Samsung AllShare devices were never advertised as Miracast capable, but they happen to work (sometimes). Same with the HTC Media Link. Customers get these dongles or TVs and expect it to work with other Miracast devices, even though they aren't really Miracast. Give the standard 2014, 2015 and let's see where we are.

The Chromecast comparison is really a bad one - yes you can tabcast, but really it is designed around a "send this URL to play" experience which is much much easier to accomplish than real-time streaming. For the real-time streaming, you only have a single sink device to worry about and it only works on desktops (for now). Your surface area is much smaller, so of course interop is going to be better.

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#135

Post by protopete »

Pxtl wrote: post #43

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…

The Chromecast supports HDMI CEC in order to turn on the TV and switch inputs, so I don't understand why it doesn't support allowing the TV remote to control the Chromecast. Most TVs support CEC, and HDMI sources can request to be sent the TV remote button press events.

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#136

Post by dangrossman »

Pxtl wrote: post #129
dangrossman wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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...

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".

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

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#137

Post by hershel »

someperson wrote: post #99
hershel wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

Phone(Malata I60 ) [1], chip [2].

[1] http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Malata-I60-Android-4-1-Dual-Core-M...

[2] http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=36&doc_id=13208...

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#138

Post by Kiro »

mkuhn wrote: post #94

Plex ( 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.

Does it work with subtitles?

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#139

Post by [deleted] »

ajross wrote: post #128
isomorphic wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By "cast," you mean "tell the Chromecast to fetch/display content", rather than "show streaming video of my device's screen"? This is part of what I'm asking: I don't get the usage model. I prefer using the STB directly with a remote (and no other client device), or pushing the client device's screen to the STB. If you're saying that you use "tabcasting" (which I guess is remotely-directed Chromecast web surfing), th…

> I prefer using the STB directly with a remote The idea is that your phone (or tablet or laptop or whatever) becomes your remote. If you want to watch something on Netflix you pull the phone out of your pocket, launch your Netflix app, and then hit the Chromecast button to send the output to the TV. It's not a separate UI, just a separate destination for the video content you've already selected. For me, the simple…

[deleted]

Re: Chromecast now open to developers with the Google Cast SDK

#140

Post by hershel »

aggronn wrote: post #87
untog wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Cast what though, beyond YouTube and Netflix?

If you stream sports, chromecast is a godsend if you don't want to hook up your computer to the TV.

Are there places to stream sports with reasonable amount of content without being tied to a cable company ?

And does it increase cord cutting ?

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