Tag Archives: Chromecast

fixed : Google Chromecast-ing option not showing up

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Question :

I have some Chromecast devices (a Google Chromecast, a Google Nest Hub, a Google Home Mini, etc.) that I want to stream to from my iPhone. But even though te Apple AirPlay streaming option shows up, the Google Chromecast option only shows up in some of my iPhone apps and not in the other ones : in my case I can stream to Google Chromecast devices from the Spotify and Netflix iOS-apps, and not from Disney+, AmazonPrime and ZiggoGo…

What is wrong ? How can I solve this ?

Answer :

Even though AirPlay is always available on iOS/iPadOS and Apple AirPlay devices are automatically detected by default, the Google Chromecast option is turned off by default.

Since you can stream to some Chromecast-able devices and not to others, you seem to have turned on the option to do so per app individually. Yes, you need to switch on the Chromecast-ing option for each individual iOS/iPadOS-app…

To do so, do this :

  • make sure that your iPhone/iPad is connected to the the same WiFi network that the Chromecast-device(s) that you want to cast to is/are on
  • open the Settings.app in iOS/iPadOS
  • in the Settings page that opens, scroll down to Privacy (the blue icon with the white hand) and click on it
  • in the Privacy page that opens, click on Local Network (the blue icon with the white globe outline)
  • in the Local Network page that opens, scroll down to the app(s) that you need and set it’s slider to ON (slide to right will make the slider green and turn the option ON)
    • your apps are now able to discover the Chromecast devices that are on the same WiFi network
  • now, turn on the app that you want to stream from and the Chromecast-icon should appear (note that in most cases the AirPlay-icon will immediately appear and the Chromecast-icon will be added with a slight delay)
  • then start the video (or audio) you want to play and click on the Chromecast-icon to select the Chromecast-able device you want to stream to

…that’s it !

enjoy 😉

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fixed : watch all ZiggoGo channels on your TV

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Question :

We have a very basic Dutch TV subscription from Ziggo, which suits us fine even though it’s analog TV (or should I say SD, as compared to HD). Now I recently installed the ZiggoGo.app to be able to watch live TV on my iPhone and iPad also. I then noticed that some of the TV channels that I can watch for FREE on ZiggoGo (like History Channel) are not available on my regular living room TV…

Is there a way to get all ZiggoGo channels on my TV without upgrading my Ziggo subscription ?

 

Answer :

Yes, there is.

Just use a Google Chromecast and on your TV and stream to it from the ZiggoGo.app.

To do so, you will need :

  • any TV with an HDMI-port (any smartTV will do)
  • a Google Chromecast – 1st generation or newer (*)
  • an iPhone or iPad
  • the GoogleHome.app
  • the ZiggoGo.app
  • any Ziggo TV subscription (even the most basic one will do)

(*) if you already own a Chromecast-imitation like an AnyCast-dongle or MiraCast-dongle you might be able to do this also, just don’t buy an imitation if you want to be sure that it works on forehand !

The way to do this is rather straightforward :

  • plug the Chromecast into your TV’s HDMI-port
  • make sure the Chromecast is connected to the same WiFi-network as your iPhone/iPad
    • you can check this in the GoogleHome.app on your iPhone/iPad
    • if you use a brandnew Chromecast you will need to install it first
    • to do so, install the GoogleHome.app and follow the on-screen directions
  • switch the TV’s input source to the Chromecast’s HDMI-port in the TV’s on-screen menu
  • open the ZiggoGo.app on your iPhone/iPad
  • make sure you are logged in to your Ziggo account on the ZiggoGo.app
    • the login name and password are the same ones you use to login on the Ziggo website – if you don’t have them at hand, contact Ziggo
  • then, select the live TV channel you want to watch
  • when the TV show starts, click on the Chromecast-icon (the rectangle with the WiFi-sign in the bottom-left corner) and click on your Chromecast in the popup-list
  • now you are watching the ZiggoGo (digital) TV-channel on your TV

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

fixed : listen to Dutch-language live radio on Google Home or Nest speakers

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Question :

We have just gotten ourselves a Google Nest Hub in our Kitchen and a Google Home Mini in our living room. From the info in GoogleHome.app it seems like Spotify, YouTube Music and Google Play Music are the only options to play music on it…

…are we overlooking something ?

 

Answer :

The info in GoogleHome.app might be quite confusing, but what you’ve found is the list of music services that are supported by Google Assistant (Google’s voice-assistant that is like Apple’s Siri). For now, “Hey Google” can only voice-control Spotify, YouTube Music and Google Play Music…

But… you can use both the Google Nest Hub‘s and the Google Home Mini‘s speaker as a speaker to stream to using the Chromecast protocol from any app that supports it on your iPhone or iPad… (…and on your iPhone/iPad you can use the “Hey Siri” voice-control)

So, if you stream from your iPhone/iPad, you can use any online radio station’s app that supports Chromecast-ing to ‘listen to the radio’ on your Google Nest Hub or Google Home Mini.

If do not want to be limited to one radio station only, your best option probably is the TuneInRadio.app that you can download from the AppStore. Even though you might feel like you get tricked into buying the payed subscription for TuneIn Radio, you can just skip that, as even the FREE version will get what you want (for free !).

Note : the TuneInRadio.app can stream to both Chromecast-compatible and AirPlay-compatible speakers.

Dutch-language Live Radio stations that can be found in TuneInRadio.app are :

  • Radio 538
  • Radio Veronica
  • Q-Music
  • Sky Radio
  • Radio10 Gold
  • 100% NL
  • SLAM!
  • KINK
  • Arrow Classic Rock
  • ClassicNL
  • NPO FunX
  • NPO 2FM Retro
  • NPO 2FM Soul & Jazz
  • NPO 3FM
  • NPO 3FM Alternative
  • NPO Radio 4 Concerten
  • NPO Radio 5
  • VRT Studio Brussel
  • VRT Klara
  • Q-Music België
  • NRJ België
  • …and a lot of other local, national and international music stations

Just start the TuneInRadio.app on your iPhone/iPad, turn on the live radio station you want to listen to, and click on the Chromecast-icon (rectangle with WiFi-sign in the bottom left corner) or AirPlay-icon (rectangle with the triangle in the bottom) to select the Chromecast or AirPlay speaker you want to stream to.

That’s it !

enjoy 😉

 

fixed : stream video to Google Nest Hub from iPhone/iPad

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Question :

We’ve just gotten ourselves a Google Nest Hub (the Google Home pod with a screen) in our kitchen. Since it has a screen, we would like to watch Netflix and/or live TV on it.

Is that possible ?

 

Answer :

Yes, you can stream video (and live TV) from your iPhone (or iPad) to your Google Nest Hub’s screen as if you were streaming to a Google Chromecast…

But…  even though it uses the Chromecast-isch protocol, the app developers have to add support for streaming to the Google Nest Hub as an extra… most services have already implemented support, but some are still working on it…

International streaming services :

  • Netflix : not yet (for now real Chromecast streaming only)
  • Amazon Prime : not yet (for now real Chromecast streaming only)
  • AppleTV+ : no (no support expected for some time to come as Apple and Google have only recently started to consider more compatibility between Apple’s AirPlay and Google’s Chromecast streaming protocols)
  • Disney+ : yes
  • YouTube : yes
  • Vimeo : yes
  • EyeTV : not yet

Local Dutch streaming services ( video-on-demand/VOD, catch-up TV & live TV ) :

  • ZiggoGo : yes
  • Videoland : yes
  • RTL XL : yes
  • KIJK : yes
  • NOS Play : yes
  • NPO Start : yes
  • Pathé Thuis : yes

To stream video (or live TV) from your iPhone (or iPad) to your Google Nest Home’s screen, the procedure is nearly identical for all services :

  • make sure the Google Nest Hub is ON
  • make sure the Google Nest Hub is on the same WiFi network as your iPhone (or iPad) – you can check this in the GoogleHome.app on your iPhone (or iPad)
  • turn on the streaming video service’s app on your iPhone (or iPad)
  • start the video you would like to stream
  • click on the Chromecast-icon (rectangular icon with the WiFi-sign over the bottom left corner) that is displayed (somewhere on the screen, usually at the bottom, top or side – depending on the app’s layout)
  • from the popup-list select the Google Nest Hub (which you have given a name like “Kitchen Display” in GoogleHome.app)
  • and start watching on your Google Nest Hub

That’s it !

enjoy 😉