Google is as Apple does
Reverse engineering forbidden? The right to block apps without prior notice at their sole discretion?
Google has released the final version of the Google Cast Software Development Kit (SDK), paving the way for broader support for its $35 Chromecast media-streaming dongle. The first version of the SDK shipped when the device was unveiled last July, but the Chocolate Factory cautioned developers that it was only a preview and …
Agreed, I looked into getting a Chromecast so that I could basically use it either as a CEC adapter for XBMC or if not, as a media player streaming from my own library and apparently neither of those options is available.
It is apparently just a portal to various web based streaming services which is useless to anybody living outside the USA.
Nope -- from what I can gather, the Chromecast-enabled Plex App is an officially supported thing and was developed with help from Google. So that might be the way to do local streaming. I haven't had a chance to try it out because I'm not a PlexPass member so haven't had access to the latest software.
http://elan.plexapp.com/2013/12/06/plex-on-the-chromecast-its-official/
Plex works perfectly and fantastically. It's a shame to have to pay, but the lifetime pass seems reasonable for what you get - i.e. the ability to watch your local media on your on your telly at home, or on your phone at home or anywhere else (assuming you have decent upstream bandwidth).
Given the purpose of Plex is to let you stream your local media, and that Google gave their app early approval, I don't think their problem was with local media streaming.
Did the other apps maybe use the Android device as a conduit, rather than setting up a link between the Chromecast device and the server? If so that would maybe explain why they were banned since it goes against the way Google designed the Chromecast to work.
Would just like to point out that as well as Plex, Avia also developed with the full support of Google - allows Local content streaming too.
Shame on the register for jumping to conclusions and turning what should be a fantastic piece of news - the ability for anyone to write a ChromeCast compatible app and publish it for instant consumption - into something full of moaning and half truths.
The way to look at this is simple, by the time the Chromecast is released here - it will have a lot of support, we have 2 - one in the bedroom and 1 in the livingroom - and apparently over the last 2 months have consumed 750GB of internet traffic on Netflix. But my god is it worth it!
Even when YouTube cannot play without buffering every 5 seconds, Netflix quite happily sends us 2 glorious HD streams with no buffering!
Chromecast rocks!