When Google allows Amazon (or open source developers) to receive Chromecast streams, then that argument may hold some truth.

For now, Google v Amazon a fight between two anticompetitive proprietary systems, neither of which should be supported by any consumer.

Google allows Roku to receive Chromecast streams and they support AirPlay for iOS devices.

You are saying you can stream with any Chromecast-supporting app to a Roku?

I’m not talking about the open cast standard, which Amazon spearheaded (and Roku and many apps support), I’m talking about the actual Chromecast protocol, which according to Google, you are not allowed to reverse or implement receivers for.

After reading, it's more complicated...

https://www.howtogeek.com/214943/how-to-use-your-roku-like-a...

- DIAL - Chromecast use to support DIAL and it's still supported by the YouTube app and Netflix. Chrome also supports DIAL from computers.

-Miracast - both Android and Windows support it for screen mirroring.

So all of this time I thought it was the "Chromecast" protocol it's actually two other protocols that do the same thing(?)

And that's where the complexity comes in. Because it's 3 protocols, one of which is backwards to the other, and Google disallows other manufacturers from using one of these 3 protocols.

Once upon a time, you could use the Netflix app on a Kindle to stream to a FireTV or a Chromecast, or the Netflix app from Android to stream to Chromecast or FireTV.

Google has been fucking with the protocols to prevent that for a while, and it caused lots of trouble for open source devs (and Amazon).

So if you are in the Apple ecosystem. You get an AppleTV and you get the best support for all of the popular services. Either using the native apps or Airplay.

If you are in the Android ecosystem, you get a device like the Nvidia Shield that does support Chromecast and Amazon Prime and native apps. On top of that, you get a stand-alone Plex Server that supports transcoding.

If you don’t care about Chromecast support and you own an Android device and you want something cheap, get something on the Roku platform and you get most of the same benefits of a Chromecast and every streaming platform supports the Roku.

So why fool with either the Amazon Fire Stick or Chromecast?

When the 9 year old computer that I’m using as a Plex server gives out on me, I’m thinking about just getting a Shield to replace it.

> So why fool with either the Amazon Fire Stick or Chromecast?

Because I want to receive streams with my own software, and I want to stream from all kinds of devices.

Having many competing standards sucks.

If you want to stream "from all kinds of devices", why getba ChromeCast instead of an Android based Nvidia Shield? It gives you more flexibility.

Because I want the stream receiver to be my own software.

A common use case is that I play a game and want to stream it, but also want to have music in background, and control that from my phone.

So currently I use YouTube TV mode in a browser elemnent integrated into OBS as audio-only stream, with the youtube app’s cast mode to control it.

But obviously I’d like to make this nicer.

And I also want to stream music to my raspberry pi, so it can play it on my sound system (which is dumb speakers with custom amp and setup)

I’m still not getting it. If the Chromecast can support your use case, how could the Nvidia Shield - a more flexible Android based device that also supports the same protocol, not support your use case?

Chromecast, the device, can not.

Chromecast, the protocol, could – if Google wasn’t banning developers from using it.

Chromecast uses a custom protocol, Google Cast, for casting any apps that don’t use DIAL (YouTube, Netflix).

It doesn’t support Miracast, and recent Android phones have removed Miracast support.

Miracast is just another one of Google's abandoned technologies/frameworks/apps....

Ughhh

I can stream from official google apps to my Roku devices.

From what I understand it's using DIAL which was developed by Netflix and YouTube. Chromecast devices have changed to using mDNS now, but the clients still seem to support both.