For $35, Google’s Chromecast sure does offer an exceptional value for money. The HDMI media streamer allows you to easily cast your photos, videos and movies to your TV without any hassle. While development for the device was slow initially due to the lack of SDK, things have greatly picked up ever since Google released the SDK to public late last year.
Thanks to some talented developers, you can use your Chromecast for more than just casting media content from selected Android apps. Read below to find out about the top 5 apps for Chromecast that greatly enhance the functionality of this 35$ HDMI media streamer.
AllCast/LocalMedia 2 Chromecast
Initially when the Chromecast was released, there was no way to stream local content to it. However, after Google released the SDK to public, many developers have released apps that allow users to stream local content from their Android device to Chromecast. While there are quite a few apps, the two of the most popular ones are Koush’s AllCast and LocalCast Media 2 Chromecast.
Both these apps can cast local media files from your Android device as well as from any NAS or DLNA/UPnP server. Sadly, they only allow streaming of files that are supported by Chromecast. Definitely a must-have app if you own a Chromecast.
Download: AllCast, LocalCast Media 2 Choromecast
CloudCaster
There are a lot of apps on the Play Store that allow you to stream videos or photos to Chromecast from a local DLNA server or PC. However, they only support a handful of cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox.
In comes CloudCaster from the developers of FolderSync. The app allows users to cast media content from a bunch of cloud based services including Box, OneDrive, WebDAV, Copy, SugarSync and more without them worrying if the file is present locally or not.
Download: CloudCaster
Mirror
Mirror comes from the developer of AllCast — Koushik Dutta. As the name suggests, the app allows users to mirror the screen of their Android device to a Chromecast or even Google Chrome. Sadly, the app only works on the Nexus 5 since it is the only device with a hardware VP8 encoder. It also needs to be installed as a system app to work properly, which means root access is a must. Nevertheless, Mirror is an extremely handy app for all Nexus 5 owners to have if you ever come across the need to mirror its screen to a TV wirelessly.
Mirror is still in beta so you will need to join this Google+ community and beta channel before you can download the app from here.
Plex
One of Chromecast’s downside is its limited file format support. This greatly restricts users to cast content on the HDMI streamer . In comes Plex, an extremely popular media management software available for Windows and Mac. Plex can also act as a DLNA server and was recently updated with Chromecast support.
This means that Plex users can simply use the Android app to cast their photos or videos to Chromecast without worrying about the file format. Plex will automatically convert the video in the right format without the user worrying about anything.
Download: Plex
AutoCast
AutoCast has been developed by Joa SOMETHING, the developer of many popular tasker plugins. AutoCast is also a plugin for Tasker that allows users to cast custom screens to Chromecast, cast their notifications, system audio, music, alarm and more.
Watch the video below to see the power of AutoCast:
However, since AutoCast requires Tasker to work properly, it is strictly meant for users who know their way around the app.
Download: AutoCast
Still looking for more Chromecast apps? Use the Cast Store for Chromecast app on your Android device to find out all the popular and new apps for Chromecast.
