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lesmikesell
Roku Guru

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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@Christobutt wrote:

Chromecast and screen mirroring are not even close to the same thing. 


Chromecast does things other than screen mirroring, but the chrome browser on a PC or Mac does offer the function of casting the whole desktop screen to a chromecast or android TV device.   It does it over your normal network connection and will work with hardware where mircast fails.  None of which has much to do with a roku though since they won't accept that connection.

thetick
Roku Guru

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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@Christobutt wrote:

Chromecast and screen mirroring are not even close to the same thing.


Huh you are a bit uneducated on Chromecast.  Full screen Tab browsing on Chrome to a Chromecast is exactly the same as mirroring!

TheTick
Roku 3 for Pokémon TV / YouTube / Animal Planet GO / HBO MAX. Chromecast for most other media because Roku Mirroring sucks , how many clicks in Wndows 10 (about a dozen) to Miracast on Roku vs 2 with Chromecast.
Verizon FIOS TV and Internet Service
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Christobutt
Reel Rookie

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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Casting is never the same thing as mirroring at all. It's absurd to suggest that they are and clearly indicates that you're the one uneducated on the subject. I'm not going to continue to argue about it since this is common knowledge anyone can confirm extremely easily. 

lesmikesell
Roku Guru

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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Casting can do other things but when the chrome browser casts the desktop to a chromecast device it is exactly the same as mirroring.  https://www.techhive.com/article/2999070/chromecast-mirroring-explained-how-to-beam-your-phone-or-pc...

Christobutt
Reel Rookie

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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One major distinction is that mirroring consumes two screens. Mirroring means whatever is on one screen is showing on the second screen, therefore you can't use the first screen to do other things without interrupting the second screen. Casting does not do this. I can cast something to a second screen and then do something entirely different on my phone and the second screen will still play what's been cast without continuing to use my phone's resources. 

lesmikesell
Roku Guru

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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As I've mentioned already, casting is several different things.   Some are at the application level.  For example Youtube and Netflix use the 'Dial' protocol and call it casting.  Plex does something similar where most apps/web instances can control any other player.   Basically this is an application telling the target device to run the matching application and get the specified content independently.  It works where the device has the matching app and participates in the protocol.

But the chrome browser and the people who invented the name 'cast' also provide a way to display things where the target device does not have a matching application, like a screen or video from some arbitrary web site or some applications running on your PC.   It can cast (mirror) either a specific browser tab to the target device or the whole PC desktop along with audio from anything running there.  This is baked into the device called a chromecast, so it is pretty officially 'casting'.  However, the roku doesn't do that and has a different protocol for mirroring.

xmnboy
Reel Rookie

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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I think it's pretty clear from all the thread responses that Roku does not support the "Google Chromecast" type of casting (not the mirroring a browser page kind but the playing an audio or video stream kind where the "castee" downloads and displays the stream and the "caster" simply controls what's happening, such as play, pause, resume, stop, etc.)

It is really disappointing that Roku does not support Google Chromecast, but I suspect it is either a licensing issue (maybe Google would require that Roku become an Android TV box) or a concern that if they (Roku) chose to support Google Chromecast they would be perceived as no longer a neutral player.

Personally, the simplest way to deal with this issue is to buy both a Roku and a Chromecast dongle. All you have to do is switch your TV HDMI inputs to the Chromecast if you want to cast, otherwise, leave your TV set to the Roku HDMI input. This is by far the simplest solution that gets you the best of both worlds.

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lesmikesell
Roku Guru

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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@xmnboy wrote:

I think it's pretty clear from all the thread responses that Roku does not support the "Google Chromecast" type of casting (not the mirroring a browser page kind but the playing an audio or video stream kind where the "castee" downloads and displays the stream and the "caster" simply controls what's happening, such as play, pause, resume, stop, etc.)

No, that's not clear at all.  YouTube, Netflix and perhaps others will show a roku as an available target for casting at the app level even if the roku is at the home screen or playing something else.  Plex will too but you have to have opened it on the roku first. 

What the roku doesn't accept is the tab-level casting from chrome of any web site, or the full-desktop mirroring using chromecast protocol.

The number of apps that support casting may not be the same as a chromecast but with many it may not matter that much.  If the service has a way to mark things to watch for the account like Amazon Video's 'watch next' you can browse on any device, mark something and then be able to select it on the roku in a couple of clicks.

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xmnboy
Reel Rookie

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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@lesmikesell wrote:

@xmnboy wrote:

I think it's pretty clear from all the thread responses that Roku does not support the "Google Chromecast" type of casting (not the mirroring a browser page kind but the playing an audio or video stream kind where the "castee" downloads and displays the stream and the "caster" simply controls what's happening, such as play, pause, resume, stop, etc.)

No, that's not clear at all.  YouTube, Netflix and perhaps others will show a roku as an available target for casting at the app level even if the roku is at the home screen or playing something else.  Plex will too but you have to have opened it on the roku first. 

What the roku doesn't accept is the tab-level casting from chrome of any web site, or the full-desktop mirroring using chromecast protocol.

Despite all the confusion, I stand by my remark that what Roku supports is not a "Google Chromecast" feature. There is much confusion regarding the term "casting" and what it means and what it requires (software and hardware), but regardless of what you call it, the Roku devices do not support Google's Chromecast feature.

I think the original poster's concern is about media streaming options for their TV, not about displaying their laptop or desktop screen on the monitor. For the best media streaming results, I still recommend a Roku connected to your primary HDMI input and a Chromecast dongle connected to a secondary HDMI input. Why?

See this Roku article regarding their "mirroring" feature > https://support.roku.com/article/208754928 < and then find yourself a device and try it out! It will be a challenge, because:

  • it does not work on iOS devices (Apple)
  • it is not present on all Android devices
  • it has inconsistent enabling and control implementations
  • it is susceptible to very low-quality video and audio

I have three Android devices that I checked for use with the Roku "mirror" functionality:

  • a Lenovo Tablet running Android 9
  • a Sony phone running Android 8
  • a Google Nexus tablet running Android 6

Only one of the three devices supports the Roku "mirror" feature: my Sony phone. And, per the Roku post, your iPad or iPhone does not support the Roku "mirror" feature. The video and audio is awful, and I have a very strong wifi connection in this house, with very little interference. I would not want to watch "mirrored" media on a 4K TV!

All three of my Android devices support "casting" to a Chromecast device, as do all iPhones and iPads; the Chrome browser running on my Mac, Windows and Linux machines; the Hulu app on my Mac and Windows machines, Netflix from a Chrome browser on Mac, Windows or Linux (and probably a Chromebook), Amazon Prime, etc.

Yes, "Chromecasting" your desktop or tablet's entire screen to a Chromecast doesn't work, but any media streaming app that supports a Chromecast device will work, which is most media streaming apps. Also, most media being streamed in a Chrome browser can be "cast" to your Chromecast device. That process is not as obvious, but it works well.

If the original poster wants to get the best experience without cable TV I recommend a Roku device AND a Chromecast dongle (if it's not already built into their TV).

lesmikesell
Roku Guru

Re: Is there a Chromecast app for Roku?

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But the real question is whether you want to do any of the things the chromecast or roku do exclusively.  I have a windows 10 laptop that will mirror almost perfectly with a roku and yet I almost never do because there are better ways to get most content to play.   I also have a Sony (android) TV that claims to also have the miracast protocol and the same laptop will connect but it take minutes to display a screen so it is unusable.  However, the chrome browser can mirror the screen useably with it's different protocol.  But again, it's not something I use beyond trying it out to see if it works.  I just rarely want my laptop screen mirrored to a TV - and if I did I'd probably jack in an HDMI cable (which I also have but don't use...).

Casting from YouTube works to either device and is fairly useful because there is so much content to browse and it is easier to search on a tablet or PC and you can continue browsing while some likely short content plays.   Netflix 'can' cast to both, but it is not necessarily worth using another device to do it because it will know the next episode you want anyway most of the time without a lot of searching.  Or if you do use another device to browse you can play a few seconds of something so when you start Netflix on the TV it will offer to continue instead of having to cast from the other device in real time.  And Netflix episodes are fairly long so you aren't always scrambling to find another one.

So the real issue is whether the device has an app to play your content and how much you care about being able to control it from the app on some other device instead of the remote.    There may be things that will play on a chromecast but would not have a matching roku app/channel (Google photos and Google music come to mind) so those would be a consideration.  For the moment, Peacock and HBO Max would be included in that set, but things like that are going to happen whenever one company or another thinks they can squeeze another dollar out of the other and won't be predictable.