I have a bunch of Chromecast Feature requests mostly related to audio. This i...

Julian Bond - 2015-01-20 22:15:09+0000 - Updated: 2015-01-20 22:15:09+0000

I have a bunch of Chromecast Feature requests mostly related to audio. This is all very much related to desktop web on the laptop but may still make sense for mobiles and tablets. PLease note I personally don't have an iOS or Android device so I'm only interested in desktop Windows or Chrome solutions and not

1. A windows app to cast just the audio regardless of where that audio came from. I'd typically use this to cast DirectSound output from winamp. This could play over the default backdrops. I can nearly do this with the experimental "cast entire screen" function but then I get the distraction of screen mirroring as well.

2. Casting from the Logitech Media Server output so the Chromecast looks like a Squeezebox or LMS client. This is just streaming an MP3 stream similar to shoutcast and doesn't require much processing power. I'm guessing there are other similar systems like Sonos that could work in the same way. So the laptop controls the server where the media and queue is managed and the Chromecast is just another output end point being fed content by the server.

3. The ability to Play shoutcast streams directly just by passing it an internet located .m3u or stream.mp3

4. Something that could understand and use a uPNP/DNLA server and then cast the output. I'm not sure the Chromecast has the power to do this on it's own. Unfortunately virtually all DNLA clients seem to be a bit broken and the servers aren't much better. I imagine something like Mediamonkey which can connect to, list and play music files on a DNLA server, but with the audio output being cast.

Julian Bond - 2015-01-23 07:40:25+0000

Feature Request
An audio only option in the Chrome Cast extension like "Cast screen/window (experimental)". This would allow me to cast the audio output from applications like Winamp, iTunes or Windows Media Player. It would avoid the distraction of mirroring everything I do on the PC and could perhaps use the default backdrop as a video display.

Oyvind Overby - 2015-04-26 10:28:17+0000

Connecting the CC to LMS is exactly what I have tried to do as well. Technically, it should be possible to have the CC listen to http://<your.server.IP>:9000/stream.mp3 which works fine with VLC WInAmp among others, but for some reason not with the CC.

Julian Bond - 2015-04-26 11:52:48+0000

If you just open http://<your.server.IP>:9000/stream.mp3 in a Chrome tab it works but there's a significant delay (like 45s) between changes on the LMS server and changes in the audio output. AFAIK this is due to the buffering in the Chrome implementation of the <audio> tag. However I've been unable to get the Chrome Devs to accept that this is the case and is a potential bug. You can then simply cast the tab and the same audio emerges from the TV.

There's some example code out there (https://github.com/googlecast/CastHelloVideo-chrome) for a Chrome sender that uses the default media receiver. This will successfully cast http://<your.server.IP>:9000/stream.mp3 so that the Chromecast is grabbing the stream direct. However the underlying receiver is using the Chrome HTML5 code and shows exactly the same 45s delay. I've tried reporting this to the Chromecast API devs but the issue gets tagged as "Not API" because it's actually a Chrome issue (even though it's running in the Chromecast). it seems that there might be a way round this writing a custom receiver using the Web Audio APIs but I reached the limit of my patience and ability at that point.

Meanwhile I think the Logitech Media Server community are aware of the annoyances and some solution may eventually emerge from there.

Oyvind Overby - 2015-04-26 11:58:28+0000

Dear Mr. Bond :-) Many Thanks for your reply...
I am aware of the buffer issue, but that is no problem as I only wish to get the CC stream going. I have no need to stop or change it very often. But casting from a Chrome tab is not an alternativ as I then would have to leave my PC on all the time. As soon as you close Chrome or the PC, the stream stops.