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tential · 2014-01-21, 06:13

Why can't XBMC get chromecast support?
Unless it's just no one has coded for it yet but I thought there was a specific reason. But I don't understand it really since Plex has chromecast support.

Actually, why does Plex get so much support from other programs but XBMC doesn't? I don't know much about Plex(well anything really I don't like their "You can use it free but pay for extra features/new features" motto which makes me think that at any time they'll just go full pay and leave me screwed over).

Is it that Plex doesn't allow addons and XBMC does? I tried to do a google search but it's not going so well since my VPN is on.

**natethomas** · 2014-01-21, 08:38

Plex makes a profit both by creating what are called "thin clients" for new systems and hooking those into their server backend, and by encouraging people to sign up for their paid service to gain extra features. It naturally behooves them to add support for something like chromecast, because it encourages people to buy into their server system and pay for the extra features.

XBMC, meanwhile, doesn't sell anything and doesn't make decisions based on a bottom line profit margin. Instead, decisions are made purely by developers working for free on topics they find interesting. At present, no developer has expressed interest in creating Chromecast support, either as a sender or as a receiver, so XBMC does not have it.

For the most part, it's simply a matter of interest. Plex pursued Chromecast because it highlights the plexserver. XBMC has not, because the interest was lacking.

matpol · 2014-01-21, 09:56

As nate says - if you want it do it - develop it yourself!

tential · 2014-01-21, 22:31

K, I had thought that it was like some other things where people simply weren't allowing XBMC onto their system.

I do hope we get Chromecast support sometime in the future though. That'd be nice for us tablet heavy users. Considering most of the set top boxes with Android sold for XBMC are last generation (if you're lucky) hardware, it'd be sweet to use a Nexus 7 + Chromecast for a cheap setup that is also mobile.

nickr · 2014-01-26, 01:46

What are you expecting chromecast to do that upnp doesn't do?

**natethomas** · 2014-01-26, 20:26

(2014-01-26, 01:46)nickr Wrote: What are you expecting chromecast to do that upnp doesn't do?

Does the Chromecast show up as a upnp receiver? I don't have one and thus don't know. If it did, I'd assume Play To should work right now, if only for the things that don't need transcoding.

I, as I say all the time, still want XBMC to support it in reverse. It'd sure be nice if I could send youtube or netflix from my phone to XBMC without having to cross my fingers that airplay hasn't been broken by apple.

tential · 2014-01-27, 02:22

(2014-01-26, 01:46)nickr Wrote: What are you expecting chromecast to do that upnp doesn't do?

Put the XBMC interface up on the screen?
Sorry, I'm a chromecast noob, but from what I understand, I can't see the XBMC interface on the screen. Using Chomecast + Nexus 7 tablets seems like a very cheap way to get XBMC on my HDTV. Almost everyone in my family has an Android tablet and chromecast is only $35 when not on sale.

It'd be really nice to just use XBMC through a tablet instead of having to get a set top box for EACH HDTV.

nickr · 2014-01-27, 03:06

An htpc for every tv IS the way XBMC is designed.

awp0 · 2014-01-27, 05:07

(2014-01-27, 02:22)tential Wrote:
(2014-01-26, 01:46)nickr Wrote: What are you expecting chromecast to do that upnp doesn't do?

Put the XBMC interface up on the screen?
Sorry, I'm a chromecast noob, but from what I understand, I can't see the XBMC interface on the screen. Using Chomecast + Nexus 7 tablets seems like a very cheap way to get XBMC on my HDTV. Almost everyone in my family has an Android tablet and chromecast is only $35 when not on sale.

It'd be really nice to just use XBMC through a tablet instead of having to get a set top box for EACH HDTV.

I have a Chromecast and AFAIK it does not put any interfaces on the TV screen. The interfaces are designed to be on the phone/tablet only. The Netflix interface (for example) never appears on the TV. The Netflix app on the phone/tablet allows you to select the destination for the content (Chromecast in this example). The TV never shows the interface, it only shows a "loading" icon and then movie starts playing.

If this is something you're interested in, I think you can get this functionality with an Android stick. They cost roughly the same price. Android XBMC is a little hit-or-miss with regard to codec support, but Chromecast is also missing one or two notable codecs.

**natethomas** · (This post was last modified: 2014-01-27, 07:12 by natethomas.)

awp0, wanna do a test to see if the chromecast registers as a UPnP player? You need any recent alpha of XBMC 13. Then you highlight a video, hit the context menu, click Play using..., and see if the chromecast is listed.

awp0 · 2014-01-27, 08:02

Hmmmm......I have Alpha 11 loaded on my HTC One. I loaded some MP4 videos into XBMC (videos that were recorded from the phone itself) and I can see them in files view. However the only context menu options are Queue Item, Play From Here, Add To Favorites, Mark as Watched. Would the "play using" option only appear if it sees a UPnP player in the network? Or maybe I need a newer build. Anyway, I'll look at it again tomorrow. Time to get some sleep (here on the east coast).

Btw, I was going to say "there's no way this will work".....but I've been humbled more than once before, so it's at least worth a shot.

nickr · 2014-01-27, 08:13

Have you enabled Settings|Services|upnp|look for remote upnp players?

awp0 · 2014-01-27, 14:27

I had not. Thanks Nickr! I never use this functionality so I didn't know it had to be enabled just to send things.

So after enabling all of the UPnP service options, the "play using" appears as a context menu option. When I select that, I can see my other XBMC instances in my house, but sadly no Chromecast. From what I understand it requires DIAL protocol support.

Looks like some people have gotten XBMC to work with Chromecast using BubbleUPnP as an intermediary which basically exposes a video's XBMC URL to the Chromecast. http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments...hromecast/

Now I have to figure out why my HTC One's videos are upside down when I send them to another XBMC instance....

tential · 2014-01-27, 23:08

(2014-01-27, 07:11)natethomas Wrote: awp0, wanna do a test to see if the chromecast registers as a UPnP player? You need any recent alpha of XBMC 13. Then you highlight a video, hit the context menu, click Play using..., and see if the chromecast is listed.

Wow... That'd be EXTREMELY cool.

I notice awp0 used videos on his phone. However, I just added the network location of my HTPC onto my phone and all my videos are there (not physically obviously). Could I use XBMC 13's "Play using" function like that? Because if so that would fix a LOT of problems for me. My parents sometimes want to watch a Movie in their room but don't have an HTPC up there and won't connect their laptops to their TV. Ends up with them trying to use my laptop or my little brothers. Would be great to just use my Nexus 7 and play using the chromecast to the HDTV. That'd be amazing actually.

awp0 · 2014-01-27, 23:54

You should try the BubbleUPnP/Chromecast solution that I linked above. That could work. I won't be able to test it today, but maybe I can try tomorrow.