Chromecast is a $35 HDMI dongle Google released recently which lets users stream video and music from their mobile devices to their television. Google strictly controls what can and what can not be streamed to the TV. It doesn’t allow users to stream content from their own library, such as movies, TV shows or music they might have downloaded and stored on their device from some other source. Well known developer Koushik Dutta had created an app called AllCast by reverse engineering Chromecast’s code which allowed users to do just that. Google recently rolled out a software update for Chromecast which broke the app, rendering it useless. Dutta believes Google did this “intentionally.”
Currently users are only able to stream content that they have obtained from Google Play Store. Netflix and YouTube videos can be streamed as well. Google hasn’t clearly defined its stance on this issue, it hasn’t made it clear if it ever intends on allowing users to stream their content that they have locally stored on their device. Dutta says that this particular policy seems “heavy handed,” where Google only allows streaming of approved content. To him, it seems that Chromecast is a device that won’t be too friendly with indie developers.
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