This App Makes Me Want to Use Chromecast All the Time ...

Videostream for Chromecast ... This free app for Google Chrome is touted as “What you bought your Chromecast for” by its developers — and they're ... groovyPost WhentheChromecastfirstlaunched,youcouldsortofplaylocalfiles.Here’salookatVideostream,anappthatplaysanyvideofiletypethebigscreen. WhenGooglefirstlaunchedtheChromecast,therewasn’tawholelotyoucoulddowithitotherthanstreamYouTubeandafewothervideoservicestothebigscreen.Shortlyafterrelease,GoogleopenedtheGoogleCastSDKfordevelopersthisyear,andnowtherearesomecoolappsstartingtoemerge.OneofwhichiscalledVideostreamforChromecast—  andthissingleapphascausedmetopullthe$35ChromecastdongleoutofthedeskdrawerandbackintomyTV.StartingwithChromecastUnlikethe AppleTV,Roku,Amazon’sFireTV,orotherset-topboxesorgameconsoles,theGoogleChromecastwhenitwasfirstreleasedrequiredsomethingelsetostreamtothestick,likeyourcomputerwithGoogleChromeinstalled,smartphone,ortablet.Wecovered howtoplayyourownmediafilestoChromecast–thistrickinvolvedusingtheChromebrowser.Unfortunately,thatsolutionisn’tthemostreliableandonlysupportsafewfiletypes.AfterusingtheChromecastafewtimesoveracoupleofweeks,ithasbasicallysatunused,thatwasuntilIdiscoveredVideostreamforChromecast.VideostreamforChromecastThisfreeappforGoogleChromeistoutedas“WhatyouboughtyourChromecastfor”byitsdevelopers—andthey’reright.Itallowsyoutoeasilystreamthevideosstoredonyourlocalcomputerornetworklocationdirectlytothebigscreen.It’sabletoplayvirtuallyeveryfiletypeoutthere.ThesecretisitusesFFmpeg,amultimediaframeworkfortranscodingvideofiles.RememberthisisaChromeappandafterinstallingityou’llfinditintheChromeApplauncherfromtheChrometoolbar,orifyouhaveitpinnedtotheWindowstaskbar.Also,notethatyou’llneedGoogle’sChromecastextensioninstalled.VideostreamforChromeisfreebutthere’sapremiumversionaswell.Ifyou’reacasualuserandjustneedtosendtheoccasionalvideototheHDTV,thefreeversionisjustfine.IrecommendgoingaheadandgettingthePremiumversion.It’sveryreasonablypricedandgivesyoutheabilitytocreatePlaylists,premiumsupport,andyougetnewfeaturesfirst.UsingPremiumVersionForexample,whenIusedittoday,IfoundthisnewVideostreamTVfeature.Itstreamsdocumentary-styleshowstoyourChromecastandyoucanflipthroughthemasyouwouldchanneloncable.ThepricesforPremiumare$1.49/month,$14.99peryear,or$34.99forlife.Bothfreeandpremiumversionssupportsubtitles,thoughthatfeatureisinbetaandrequiresanSRTorothersubtitlefilethatyouloadseparately.NotsurewhatanSRTorVTTfileis?Don’tworry,neitherhadI.ButIdidfindahelpfulsiteyoumightwanttocheckoutcalledSRTfiles.com.There’salsoaniceremotecontrolappforAndroidyoucanusetocontrolyourvideoplayback.Thatletsyousetupyourplaylist(withPremium)andkickbackonthecouchandcontrolplayback,volume,andwhichvideoyou’rewatching.SummingUpIhavetestedVideostreamforChromecastwithAVI,MKV,MP4,FLV,WMV,andVOBfilesrippedfromaDVD.Formusicfiles,ItestedoutOGG,APE,FLAC,M4A,andofcourseMP3s.Allfiletypestestedworkedwellalthoughthereisabitofqualitylossduringthestream.ButconsideringtheappisconvertingvideofiletypesontheflytosomethingcompatiblewithChromecastandoverWi-Fi,theslightdegradationinqualityisforgivable.AnotherissueIhadisthatoccasionallywhenstreamingMKVfiles,thevideobuffersfreezeup–againnotenoughtobreakthedeal.Videostreamisstillunderheavydevelopmentandtheyencourageuserstoemailthemwithcommentsandsuggestions.Icontactedthedevelopersandtheyadvisedmoreimprovementsandfeaturesarecomingtoboththefreeandpremiumversions.WiththisandotherappsthataresuretocomefortheGoogleChromecast,itmightbethebest$35you’veeverspentforhomeentertainment. 14Comments 14Comments SamGuys,ifthisistheeasiest,cheapestwayyoucouldfindtocastlocalmedia(andittookyouthislongtofigureout)thenyouhaven’tbeenlookingveryhard.I’mquitedisappointedthat#GoogleNowsuggestedyourarticle.Reply TorgayWhynotsuggestabetteralternative,troll?Reply chrisPlexyouidiot. HowmuchwereyoupaidtowritethistrashReply BrianBurgessThisisanopinionpiece.Wearenotpaidbyanyvendorsordevelopersforanyarticleswepublish,whetherpositiveorcritical.GladyoulovePlex!Reply TroyEnjoyedthepieceasalwaysBrian.Also,nicejobtakingthehighroadwiththesetwoDoucheBags–ChrisandSamReply LailaPersonally,IpreferVideostreamoverPlex.It’ssimpleandworksgreat.Idon’thavetocreateanaccount,signin,ornamevideofilesinaspecificformat.Ifinditabiteasierandfastertouseaswell.WhatIlikeaboutPlexishowniceitlooks,anditsorganization,butthat’snotthemostimportantthingtome.Reply VadimIalwayssay—yougetwhatyoupayforanditlooksliketheChromecastisnoexception.WhyintheworldwouldGooglespendtimebuildingsomethingthatdoesn’tcrushwhatApplealreadyhadontheMarket?Thatmakesnosensetome.Nothanks.MyAppleTVwas$99withfreeshippingandcombinedwithmyiPadandiTunesonmy“WIndows”PC,everythingworksperfectly.Netflix,Hulu,allmoviesonmyPC,Music,Pandoraetc….Afewbucksmorebutwortheverypenny!Oh—andIwouldlovetoseemoreAppleTVarticlesgroovyteam!Thanks,-VReply SteveKrauseThatAppleTVisgreatandgetsbettereveryday.Thatsaid,noteveryonehasAppledevicessoanalternativeisneededfor*Droidusers.MicrosofthastheXboxsothat’seasyIMObutstill,pointtaken.Personally,myhomesetupisalsotheAppleTVanditworkssowellformeIdon’tneedtolookforanalternative.yet…..Reply ChristofferPlexismuchmuchbetter(eventhefreeversion).Itplaysanything,supportssubtitles,downloadsartworkandtvseriesthemes(usedintheappANDonthechromecast)andevenstreamsacrossthewebifyousetitupthatway.IhadanappleTVbeforeanditconstantlybuggedout,isuselessifIwanttostreamvideofrommycomputer(mirror?why!?Iwanttostreamavideofilenotmywholedesktop).Mostnavigationisalwaysdonebetteronyourdevice(computer,phone)insteadofanotherremote.Buthonestlychromecastismadetoconsumecontentmorethananything.Reply BrianBurgessIhaveabsolutelynoproblemwithPlex.I’veuseditinthepastwithRoku,evenwroteanarticleforpeoplewhowanttocheckitoutviaRokuiftheyhaveone:https://www.groovypost.com/howto/get-started-plex-media-center/Whatis“best”issubjective.AndsinceI’vehadmyChromecastIneveruseditmuch.ButwithVideostream,IfounditeasytosetupandplaymyvideostoitfrommyPCorviamyhomeserver.Reply ChrisLoadupsidscast.com(takeoutthespaces)inChromeandenjoy…withoutpayinganything.WorksonanysystemI’vetried,includinglinux.Supportsplaylistsetc…withoutanyserverrunning….Letmeknowifthereisanydownsidetothisfreesite…..Reply SCIcheckeditfor10secondsandalreadyfoundit. “Supportedfileformats–Onlyaudio/videofilessupportedbyHTML5andGoogleChromecanbeplayed.Currently,MP4,MP3,Wav,WebMandOgg.”NoMKVsupport.Reply EoghanInteresting.I’vereadthatit’sprettyeasytoturnanMKVintoanMP4.Renameitbasically.Itshouldn’tworkbutweirdlysomefolkssayitdoes.MyownChromecastishavingaterriblelotofbothertryingtogetthisapptoworkproperly.It’llplayhalfanepisodeofGoTat480pthenstartsh*ttingalloverthefloorwithstutterandlagandothererroneouscrap.Totalbuzzkill.I’malmostinclinedtogetarokuunlessIcanworkoutwhytheblastedthingwon’tworkReply KarenIcanevenusemySamsungTVremotewiththefreeversion!ReplyLeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*CommentName*Email* Δ Savemynameandemailandsendmeemailsasnewcommentsaremadetothispost. 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