Does Chromecast dongle actually have Apps installed locally?

[nextelbuddy]

So i'm curious, I understand the concept and how it works and have seen the videos on the demos. I also understand how once you send the stream from say your Nexus 4 to the Chromecast device that you can put your nexus 4 to sleep or do other things and the Chromecast will continue to play.

I have already seen and used this concept with my PS3 and the YOUTUBE APP. I PAIR my youtube app on the PS3 allows me to pair my Nexus 4 and Nexus 7 and search for youtube videos on my device and then say PLAY on PS3 and it plays and I can also add videos to my TV queue. it literally is the same thing so I'm happy with that. I understand how the PS3 one works because PS3 has a YOUTUBE APP installed so the Nexus 4 is just sending the URL and the timestamp of where to sync and begin and stop playback no problem....

The question I have is with the Chromecast, does that device have APPS installed like Netflix, YoueTube, Pandora etc...

how does the device actually play netflix and youtube from a stream? it must have the apps installed right?

I only ask because later when more developers jump on board such as HBO GO and HULU etc, those apps are not installed on Chromecast so that means what? that Chromecast as a device must automatically download Authorized apps in the back ground as they become available?

Am I over thinking this?

 

[TropicalSammich]

No. There are no local applications.

You may not fully understand the concept of streaming. You have your 'source' = phone or computer, and you have your 'receiver' being the Dongle in this case.

Example, you open up Netflix on your phone (using the app installed on your phone). You then stream this content to the Chromecast, and it 'displays' on the TV.

 

[nextelbuddy]

I understand the concept of streaming but the device still has to have APP framework to display the APP portion on the TV and have controls etc right?

you aren't literally streaming just the VIDEO.. if you watch chromecast it shows not only the VIDEO but also controls on the screen and some of the native app framework such as the bordering and titling etc which makes it seem like the device has part of the app installed.
we aren't streaming the APP just the video but the device must have some sort of app installed to receive that video stream right?

 

[dcdttu]

When I am running Netflix on my phone and tell it to stream to my Chromecast, it is NOT coming from my phone. The stream comes from Netflix straight to the Chromecast. As for apps, there don't seem to be any 'apps' as we would call them on the device to access, but there are likely programs that fulfill the streaming requirements (video, rendering your Chrome browser tab from your computer, audio).

 

[NealJ777]

I've read that the Cast only has 256K on board (yes, that really does say "256K") so I doubt it stores much of anything.

 

[dcdttu]

I wouldn't think that to be true, as when the device buffers Netflix, it does so for several seconds before playing. 256k wouldn't allow more than a frame of buffering in 1080p, really. ....but I'm just guessing

 

[srkmagnus]

If I understand the information that has come out to-date regarding Chromecast, it relies on the data network to pull whatever content you are streaming from the device. So technically, it's not just displaying whatever is on your current screen, it is pulling the data straight from the network (WiFi) to Chromecast then displayed through HDMI. This might be why it only works with apps or sources that have been updated to support it. Apps might need to be configured to enable a setting that tells the source (Netflix for example) to send the incoming feed straight to Chromecast as well as the device (phone, tablet, etc.).

The technical part of this should be clearer as more information is published, etc..

 

[thx84]

can't wait to see someone try somehow to mod this thing...

 

[anon(847090)]

I've read that the Cast only has 256K on board (yes, that really does say "256K") so I doubt it stores much of anything.

i think 256k is just the RAM

 

[zkSharks]

Let's clear up any speculation on this. The Chromecast is running a scaled-down version of the Chrome browser, which receives the streaming data over the internet. Here's some information from the Google Cast API page about how receiver devices ? the Chromecast included ? work:

A sender application running on the sender device uses the Google Cast API appropriate to its operating system to discover and transmit to the receiver application running on the receiver device. [...] The receiver device runs a scaled-down Chrome browser with a receiver application that receives data over Internet Protocol and transmits it to the television via HDMI. The receiver API lets you customize the messaging between the sender and receiver applications for authentication and other scenarios.

I'll rewrite this for clarity, using an example:

An Android application developed to utilize the Cast API (the YouTube app, for instance), running on my Nexus 4, discovers (and transmits to) a web-based application, running on the Chromecast in the Chrome browser, which receives the commands and proceeds to stream and display the instructed content via HDMI.

Finally, here's a bit from the Cast API Sender Applications page:

Applications on the sender device can be Android or iOS applications, or a Chrome app. These applications first need to discover the presence of one or more Google Cast devices, select one to communicate with, and then establish a communication channel with that device to send commands to it.

For those who are wondering, the discovery/communication process is done using DIAL, an open streaming and mirroring communication protocol developed by Google (rather, YouTube) and Netflix. As for creating Cast apps and how they're built, the Google Cast 'Useful Resources' page has links regarding web standards and related developer topics (HTML5, audio/video APIs, stream scheduling, etc.).

 

[cammykool]

i dont think its MicroUSB port even carries data...