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back to article Google waves its Chromecast dongle in front of developers

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 …

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  1. ThomH

    Google is as Apple does

    Reverse engineering forbidden? The right to block apps without prior notice at their sole discretion?

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    1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
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      Re: Google is as Apple does

      What upsets me is the "you don't have the right to stream content you own and which resides on yoru own network."

      To hell with this "pay us all your after-tax money per month as a service" rent-seeking bullshit.

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      1. Goat Jam
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        Optional

        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.

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        1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
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          Re: Optional

          Josh (@prodigSC) supposedly found out some magical way to hook up Plex (@PlexApp) to it. I wonder if that got nuked by the Chocolate Factory's rampant douchebaggery?

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          1. Neil McAllister
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            Re: Optional

            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/

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            1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
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              Re: Optional

              Good catch! I hadn't had a chance to chase Elan on that one yet. Come to think of it, this calls for a review. TO THE LAB!

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              1. Gotno iShit Wantno iShit
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                Re: TO THE LAB!

                Does it have an Igor? All the best labs are equipped with an Igor.

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                1. Trevor_Pott Gold badge
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                  Re: TO THE LAB!

                  It has a Spicerex. We should totally name him Igor.

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            2. R 11
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              Re: Optional

              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.

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        2. Anonymous Coward
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          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Optional

          Why would you spend £30-ish on a Google lockbox when you could just use XMBC on a Raspberry Pi for the same cost.

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          1. phuzz Silver badge
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            Re: Optional

            I don't know how well the Chromecast works, but XBMC on the Pi is pretty sluggish to use.

            Once it's playing it works great, but the lag on the menus is about 5 seconds after each press before there's any reaction.

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  2. Andrew Jones 2

    Long live Chromecast!

    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!

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  3. mzilikazi

    Plex does work to stream your own media.

    Plex does in fact work to stream your own video, photos and music. There are 2 clients available for the Chromecast, Plex and Avia. Plex is better. The Avia interface is only for phones.

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  4. solo

    Asking the Insiders

    Hey, is any Chromecast dev here?

    Did you see any API for slurping thermostat data?

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  5. mrmond

    Would be nice if we could actually buy it officially in the UK instead of Ebay or America.

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  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What could possibly go wrong?

    I look forward to all the adverts, malware and data slurping.

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