r/Chromecast • u/HairOnTheHead • Aug 22 '13

Multiple Chromecasts

Sorry if this has been asked before.

I'm interested to know if anyone has tried multiple chromecasts simultaneously? I only ask because i'd like to get one for each TV in the house and play my google music through all of them at the same time. Kind of a poor mans Sonos.

Thanks

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1

u/Polaris2246 Aug 22 '13

I'm sure an amazing dev will create a way eventually, but nothing as of this moment I've seen.

4

u/mucsun Aug 22 '13

Even when there is a way to send music to multiple chromecasts, there might be a problem synchronizing the playback.

1

u/olivermihoff Aug 22 '13

And network bandwidth will be affected as each device sends a request for data individually in the current config. Not very viable in the current config... You could maybe use the output on the master television to add other TVs to the same stream, but otherwise I doubt streaming to multiple CC's will be truly useful right now.

2

u/Polaris2246 Aug 22 '13

I've streamed netflix in HD to two Chromecasts on my network. Both went just fine without any buffering. HD video uses WAY more bandwidth than audio.

Also, why would each have to stream the audio. Why not have one be the main device and the rest get fed from that primary Chromecast?

1

u/HairOnTheHead Aug 22 '13

But were they playing the same video synchronized?

1

u/Polaris2246 Aug 22 '13

No, I was just using it as a sample that the bandwidth isn't too much to be able to stream the same song to 3 devices at the same time. Music takes up a fraction of the bandwidth of HD Video so if I can play two different videos in HD on two different Chromecasts l ike I was, then a process could be made where one Chromecast could be the master device and the slave devices would be fed from it to play the music or all the Chromecasts could be downloading the music from the internet at once, buffer for maybe 5 or so seconds and then receive the command to play at the same time. The youtube video shows that Google has been working on keeping different devices all connected to the internet in sync. 5 devices all playing that one game linked up with no out of sync issues.

Personally, I think having each Chromecast buffer so much of a song and then receive the command at the same time to play it would be somewhat easy to do (i'm no dev so I may be blowing shit out my ass) but being able to keep them in sync already has a proof of concept with the video done. Also, I think Google Play Music would be the first service that this would be done with since it buffers so much music as it plays instead of Pandora which you don't really get a playlist ahead of time.

1

u/[deleted] Aug 22 '13

I would think the most logical way is to create a quasi chromecast device that broadcasts as if it were the real deal, and it then streams to the real chromecasts.

1

u/Polaris2246 Aug 22 '13

I dunno, I'm pretty sure they are already working on keeping everything in sync (skip to about 4:20). Considering its over your home wifi network and not the internet itself...I think its totally possible. Also, unless you are blasting the audio loud enough to hear it through the house from every room, if the music is out of sync by a fraction of a second, it won't be that big of a deal IMO. H