Finally you can play local files on Chromecast

Yes, you read that correctly.



Google released the SDK for Chromecast a few days ago, and while that means any app can be made to support Chromecast one new app has already taken advantage of the release, that app is.....Allcast.

To be fair it did support Chromecast before now but Google decided to stop most chromecast compatible apps being, well, compatible and so support had to be re added when Google decided to allow them to stream to their cheap but cheerful dongle.

Allcast will stream a variety of audio, video and image files but be aware that it won't play formats Chromecast cannot support.

The app is simplicity itself, see a file, press it to play it on any available device (Chromecast, dlna tv, compatible games console, etcetera). It really is that easy.

The ad free, full version is the one you will need in order to play files from your Android phone or tablet and costs £3.99, be aware that for Chromecast support you will need to have version 4.2 of Googles Play Services installed.

Many people haven't got that yet as it is still in the process of being released but if you can't wait you can grab the new Play Services courtesy of Android Police.

Googles Chromecast is finally on its way to becoming the all singing all dancing, or should that be all streaming, gadget we all wanted it to be when we first bought it.

Using Chromecast in the UK

Chromecast, what's that?

Back in July of last year Google released a hdmi dongle that promised to make your tv a smart tv, well sort of. It would stream music, videos and pictures from your phone tablet or laptop to your tv and all for less than it would cost you to buy a new game for your games console of choice.

Things didn't quite work out like that, certain formats aren't officially supported, the device is heavily locked down so only select developers can currently write apps that use it, and there aren't exactly a plethora of Chromecast compatible apps available.

You can buy the dongle in the UK through third party sellers, Amazon sometimes sell them and there are plenty on Ebay, but if you can get one for the price Amazon were selling them at (£35) before they stopped importing them, is it worth while if you're in the UK, for a product released for the US market?

What's available for the UK user of Chromecast? Well there's YouTube, NetFlix, Plex, Google Play Music and a few others but these are the main four.

Between them you can stream online videos and music, and also videos and music from your pc. Of the available apps all are self explanatory but Plex is the one that offers more of what you might expect from Chromecast, offering as it does the ability to stream locally stored content as well as online content.

To get the most of it you need a Plex Pass (around £2.43 a month) although Plex plan to abolish this charge in the near future.

If you have this you can download the free version of the Plex app for Android (or the iOS version for £2.99, although the iOS version also needs a Plex subscription) - be aware that if you have no subscription you can't use Plex with Chromecast, and that if you're an Android user who does have a subscription you don't also need to buy the paid for Plex app, only the free version.

You need to go to the Plex website and create an account, then purchase a Plex Pass subscription.

Download and install the media server (free) onto your pc and mess with any settings you want, such as video quality etcetera and set up your library (all very straightforward).

As long as your pc is switched on you can then use your phone or tablet to stream files from it to your Chromecast dongle and it does so very well, even managing to stream 1080p High definition 3D videos (in side by side format) flawlessly.

Anything Chromecast doesn't support is transcoded into a format it does, by your computer, so you can enjoy all your content exactly as you want and it works very well.

You can stream any local or internet content from a pc using the Chrome browser by installing the Chromecast browser extension, free from the Chrome app store, and simply clicking the cast icon it puts at the top right hand side of the Chrome browser.

You can also press Ctrl and O together to open a file and if Chrome can play the file this will enable you to stream it to the Chromecast by pressing the same cast button.

While streaming via Plex is flawless using the cast button to stream local content, or even online content such as that from iPlayer, is not. For some it works but for others it doesn't, it's that simple.

If you want to watch online movies or tv from NetFlix, Google Play Movies or YouTube then Chromecast is perfect for sending them to any hdmi enabled tv, if you want to watch downloaded content from your pc then use the Plex app and you're good to go, if you want to stream music then again Google Play Music or Plex will do the job nicely, if you want to stream pictures it's Plex or the chrome browser you need.

The dongle itself is extremely simple to set up and use, and although it is not an officially supported product in the UK the talk about early adopters here not being able to use BBC iPlayer when it is updated with Chromecast support is nothing to worry about.

Why?

iPlayer is region locked, to the UK, it checks for your location and is unlikely to check the version of your Chromecasts firmware, if it did then US users could simply buy a UK version of the dongle and access UK content.

When supported iPlayer will, as it does now, check to see whether your ip address is in the United Kingdom and, if it is, then it will let you stream BBC content to your tv via the dongle.

Back to the dongle and it can stay on indefinitely, it will get warm but never dangerously so. You can plug it into your tv's usb socket (if it has one) to provide power, or use the supplied power adaptor, both options work well and it really depends on personal choice.

As it stands you can stream mainly online content, specifically YouTube, for free. For a small fee you can stream a lot more using Plex, or for no extra charge you can use a pc and the Chrome web browser to stream pretty much any format of picture video or music that it supports - but be aware that streaming via the browsers cast extension is not as smooth an experience as doing so via an app or program such as Plex.

If you already have a Chromecast check out new apps for it here.

If you don't have it yet, well it's actually worth looking at if you don't already have a smart tv with YouTube, NetFlix, etcetera already installed.