Chromecast success

I was able to stream video and music via Chromecast in the meetinghouse today, both from a phone and from a laptop.

PHONE (android):

Download and install the Google Chromecast app and connect to the HDMI dongle.

Download the Avia App, which is free, but you need to purchase the Chromecast plugin for $2.99 in order to get it to work.

You can now stream any video or images stored on your phone through Avia - just navigate to the folder on your device where the files are located.

LAPTOP - using the Chrome browser:

Install the Google Cast extension.

You can now stream any Chrome browser tab, audio and video - if you can display it in a tab then you can stream it to the TV.

I had downloaded the Nativity video from lds.org so when I wanted to stream that, as the URL in the Chrome browser I entered

file:\\C:\Users\aclawson\Videos\LDS\2012-11-2500-the-nativity-720p-eng.mp4

This played the video within the browser tab and so it could be streamed to the device.

Note - Chromecast does not work from an admin machine because the Sophos firewall blocking inbound connections on port :8080

Ultimately it is easier to just use an HDMI cable from phone/laptop to the newer TVs - or perhaps using a USB that comes pre-loaded with the video you wish to display but it is nice to have another option in the toolbox. (Though you can use a Chromecast device to stream from a multimedia server if you should happen to have one.)

What about security? Can anyone with the chromecast app hijack your display?

Chromecast broadcasts from the device to the TV using whatever security is configured on that particular LAN so if somebody was so inclined to bring along an extra dongle and do some hacking they could probably watch whatever it was that you were streaming. Chromecasts are designed to make it as easy to receive a stream as possible so it isn't air tight security, but it isn't likely that somebody would accidentally stumble upon your stream of Johnny Lingo and secretly watch it in the primary room when you were really trying to stream it to the YM's room.

As for somebody overriding your stream with one of their own, if they were good at hacking they could probably do it (again, they would have to be on the same LAN) but there is a code that you have to sync between the device on the TV and the app.

aclawson wrote:Chromecast broadcasts from the device to the TV using whatever security is configured on that particular LAN so if somebody was so inclined to bring along an extra dongle and do some hacking they could probably watch whatever it was that you were streaming.

I'd expect that most people would set it up to use the church's wifi. To do otherwise probably means taking your own device off the WAN and having no internet connection.

My concern is that one teacher could end up controlling another class's TV set. The another is that it would be far too easy for a mischievous student to disrupt the class. Prior reports suggested the security was minimal and unsuitable for classroom use. You say there's a code, so I guess it depends on how hard it would be to guess the code.

I would hope that the tool sets we are currently using will allow for the technologies that can be taken advantage of. Regardless of whether this may have valid uses in Sunday School settings or Church settings, it has extreme value in the home for many.

Airplay is supported in the current IOS gospel library, Chromecast should be supported for the Android versions

russellhltn wrote:What about security? Can anyone with the chromecast app hijack your display?

There is no security on the Chromecast beyond the initial configuration.

Once the Chromecast is configured for a WiFi network, anyone who has a device on the same network, and has a compatible app running (which most recent versions of Android have), will see the Chromecast icon appear on their device, and can control it--with nothing to prevent it. They're not hijacking the stream or anything, they're just starting a new session.

I get annoyed at home sometimes when I'll be watching something, and one of the kids will (accidently or otherwise) send their content to it. It works well in a controlled environment, but as of right now I don't think there is a way to lock a Chromecast to a particular streaming device without using a seperate WiFi network.

I have used the Chromecast successfully for presentations in leadership meetings.

I always download video clips beforehand to either the laptop or to my phone.

On my laptop I use the "Videostream for Chromecast" extension and on my phone I use the "BubbleUPnP" app to play local files.

At home I like the BubbleUPnP app because you pick both your file source and target display. This means the video clip could be local on the phone or on some media server software like "Plex" or "Serviio" on another PC/laptop or NAS drive.

At the chapel best thing is not to have wires and not having to bring the laptop but just turn up with the stick and the phone.

The latest version of Gospel Library now supports Chromecast. Great work.