Chromcast

[Michael ODonnell]

> I'm running Ubuntu 12.4 on a dual boot laptop.  I have a
> Chromcast dongle on my TV.  I am unable to cast to it.

I received a Chromecast as a gift but haven't messed with it
much; I, too, am disappointed but not surprised at Google's
refusal to support Linux users.

I think the Chromecast device for the most part (we'll ignore
"tab-casting" mode for now) operates independently, pulling
content directly from providers like YouTube and rendering it
on your TV via HDMI.  You tell it what to stream using commands
transmitted locally via WiFI from a Chromecast-enabled app
(I'll call that app the CA) running on something like a Windows
or Android machine.

I think the CA can only (using something like the DIAL protocol)
discover Chromecast devices that have associated with the same
WiFi Access Point, though an interesting question might be:
will a CA on my laptop still work if I disable WiFi but remain
connected via wired Enet to the same LAN the Chromecast is on?

I'm guessing there are no CAs for Linux because Google needs
the CA to be easily able to comandeer the WiFi connection on
its host platform, and there are too many variables involved
in doing that on the average Linux box.

> I must switch to Windows Vista on this computer to cast.  It is
> the only time I ever boot to Windows, which is very sloooow.
> Has anybody been able to cast to Chromcast from Ubuntu?
> The technicians at Google have been no help.  I don't remember
> seeing this topic on this forum.