does playing local files use bandwidth data? i have limited internet data mifi device

wakkaday said:

will i be able to play local files without biting into data i have? from my macbook / android phone to google chromecast

please advise?


also is there a way to play xbmc to chromecast

thank you

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Yes only the Player will use Internet, The actual local streaming does not need Internet access.

CCast uses Internet to load the player and then the file stream over local network no net required once the player is loaded.

As for playing XBMC to CCast best solution I have found is Yatse Remote but it requires in app one time payment to unlock local cast, Once there Install the cast Addon and the content on your XBMC HTPC can be streamed to your CCast.

wakkaday said:

how much internet do you think the player will need ? for a movie for example
...
i believe miracast doesnt uses another technology which doesnt use data, but another way of using the internet.

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The player is just a download of a HTML5 app (except for Netflix), it should be tiny, and doesn't matter what you're playing.

Miracast is screen mirroring, so it requires your device to play the movie, and what you see on your device is what goes to the TV.
The advantage is that often times the device can play more via software like MX Player. The disadvantage is that you cannot do other things with your device while playing the movie as exactly what you see on your device is what appears on the TV. Not so good if you get an embarrassing text message or something, and it'll use a lot of battery power.

The advantage to Chromecast is that Chromecast itself does the playback.. Once you make the request to play a video, you can do whatever you want on your device - even turn it off. Your device (or another device on your network) acts as the remote control.
Personally I really like it - I can browse YouTube and add videos to the TV Queue while stuff is playing full-screen on the TV.
I can play a movie in Netflix for my family to watch while I browser other movies they might like.
If I need to leave, my wife can run the same app and connect to Chromecast so she can pause/play/change things.

wakkaday said:

how much internet do you think the player will need ? .

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Probably no more than a few K to one MB.

wakkaday said:

thats good to know...

i will be mainly using my mac for downloaded content (so i need to install mac server) and then i need to install plex app for the chromecast right?
and for my android phone local files that will be via allcast?

whats the situation of playing local files via iphone?


and anything can be streamed across using the chrome browser...
i guess i will have to buy and experiement around and work it out, but thank you for your information

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No you do not install anything on the CCast it does that automatically to load whatever player App is required to work with your Mobile App...

Plex App will tell it to load the Plex player, aVia will tell it to load the aVia Player, Netflix tells it to load the Netflix player.

Once the player is loaded into the CCast (ie in Plex it says Plexc ready to cast) no further internet should be required to stream local content.

For local on device media I suggest BubbleUPnP or aVia but that local content needs to be compatible with CCast.

wakkaday said:

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ah ok thats explains it. i will be getting it delivered tomorrow....

when you say local content needs to be compatible, do you think i will be ok with the following...

i will be mainly trying to play avi and mkvs movies...

i know you can rename mkv to m2ts which some players will play

is real player cloud not a good app? thats free???

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CCast compatible means:

Container type MP4
Video Codec H.264
Audio Codec AAC or MP3

Video Bitrate not higher than 8Mbps
4-6 is a good compromise for compatibility with many devices and network conditions

RealPlayer Cloud is okay - but if your media is not Chromecast-compatible you have to upload it to their cloud and their servers will transcode it for you via their SurePlay feature.

You get 2GB of cloud for free and can get some additional storage by completing some tasks (referrals, share).

wakkaday said:

how much internet do you think the player will need ? for a movie for example

ok thats good to know, could i play local files and continue browsing on my tablet / macbook for example....

would you reccomend getting one? or is roku streaming stick better






i believe miracast doesnt uses another technology which doesnt use data, but another way of using the internet.

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Please download EZCast App from Google Play, it can cast local video,music,pdf,word,excel,PPT to your chromecast and show on TV.

Casting uses all my home network bandwidth

I can use my Lenovo A7000-a phone to cast to a windows display. It works well. No 3rd party software is used on either the phone or my desktop. However, it consumes my entire (abysmally low - Hey! its the Philippines) 5MBps network bandwidth. No other user on the local home router can access the internet. I would have thought the casting would just be a connection across the router, is this NOT the case? How can I improve this so no other users are affected?