Gadgetory

the chromecast recently opened the API for developers and this removed the restriction on hardware needed to be white listed for developers this became a huge opportunity to allow users to cast their local media to their TV there are two applications that I'm covering from the Play Store that lets you stream your local content to your TV all casts created by ClockworkMod and castaway created by primetime coder let's put these two applications head-to-head we'll begin our quest of local media casting with all casts all cast was created by one of the most known Android devs on the scene clockworkmod or better known as Koosh this application has been teased for several months now but it's now ready to be used with chromecast this application is simple connect to your chromecast or any other DLNA device and that you'll be taken to your gallery the gallery starts to list at all then it goes to photos and the last tab is then videos there's also a section for audio as well using the application is pretty simple scroll to find your media and then press on it then it plays on your playback hardware like a chromecast you control the media from the application or the notification bar next up is an application that has little exposure as of right now it is cast away by developer primetime coder this application pretty much has all the same functions as all casts connect to your chromecast scroll through your list of images or videos and then press on the item you want to play this application only supports the chromecast hardware and only images and videos what I did notice though is that this plays gifs as well and it also used the Google recommended holo interface this allows you to slide between images and videos fluidly the free version is ad supported with full functionality and as a premium version as well that removes the ads now that it gave you an overview of the applications let's talk about how they work in the real world when opening all casts it takes you to an option screen to pick which device you want to stream to a full list of all supported hardware is in the Play Store once against your gallery you'll notice they clean interface that uses holo you can swipe between the menus flip through your gallery to see what you're looking for there's also a side menu as well that separates your audio from video having the option to play audio is a treat especially if you keep your music on your SD card the application is in its infant stages and thus sometimes it crashes and other times just flat out does not play I'm sure the dev will iron these bugs out but the interface has been updated as of late and the dev is really working on to get these issues resolved the dev actively updates this application and it is getting better with each revision if you want to stream your media to a variety of different hardware in a simple easy way this is how to do it on the flip side cast away only connects to chromecast it's taking the approach and specializing in one thing playing your content on your chromecast it does photos and videos that's it but this is the easiest way of doing this the holo interface makes it jump in between videos and images quick and easy in the videos play within a few seconds there's a bit of sluggishness on larger videos and after a few additional seconds of buffering the videos play with no issues being able to control the application from your lockscreen really gives it that true chromecast feeling watch a video on your big screen TV and quickly access the remote for your mobile device lockscreen and that's what chromecast is all about and it does have the occasional hiccup where the video just cannot be played but simply closing the application and reopening it has alleviated this issue for me 99% of the time this application was published February 22nd and already it's clean and it works really well but be mindful that this application is going to have some growing pains so the choice is yours a jack-of-all-trades in all casts or the master of one and wait let me know what you choose down below our guys my name is Kevin aka the tech ninja you can find me on youtube and on Google+ this is Android Authority your source for all things Android take care guys