Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)
  • chromecast without wifi?
  • andybrad
    Full Member

    Ok folks,

    I have a family google play account for me and the wifi. We have signed up the grandparents so they can watch things like the Gruffalo via their phones onto the TV. Unfortunately this is where it goes wrong. One set doesn’t have any form of WIFI or internet in their house. They are not tech savvy so my idea of buying them a chromecast seems to have failed.

    It basically has to be plug and play. Getting the apps up on the TV didn’t work.

    Any suggestions?

    molgrips
    Free Member

    Getting the apps up on the TV didn’t work

    What TV? And why/how didn’t it work?

    dannybgoode
    Full Member

    No WiFi, no Chromecast I’m afraid (or any equivalent).

    It’s pretty fundamental to how it all works.

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    Stoner
    Free Member

    doesn’t have any form of WIFI or internet in their house

    VHS video tapes and players are v cheap on eBay!

    Really, if there is no Internet in their house, an internet based media system is probably not for them…

    You can download Google Play content to a device (say a phone with an SD card) and play it later (must be on same device). But really other grandparents either need the internet or a stash of DVDs oldskool.

    toby1
    Full Member

    It’s like owning a tap with no water supply 🙂

    andybrad
    Full Member

    they can download the films while at mine.

    its just getting them onto the tv.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    if there is no wifi in the house, are you just using direct wifi between the phone and chromecast?
    Im sure it wont like that.

    Even if that does work as a connection, if you try and cast from the google play app on the phone, all it does is tell the chromecast to go and source the file from the Play server, it doesnt play the local file over the wifi from the phone IIRC.

    You might try and cast from the phone Os instead of the play app whilst playing the local version of the file, but I give that a 10% chance of working. I might try it later

    MrWoppit
    Free Member

    Yep. Screen Mirroring.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    as woppit says, depending on the TV (is it smart?) you might be able to use mirroring (which is kind of what casting from the OS rather than the Play App might be like)

    nbt
    Full Member

    I went through this. No wifi = no chromecast, as above

    http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/techy-time-chromecast-tablet-phone-but-no-router

    Get a media player and a USB stick. Films onto USB, play though media player. I got a Sumvison Cyclone from amazon – I’m sure there are better ones available by now,

    http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/cheapo-dlna-streaming-device

    note, mine doesn’t play videos encoded in h.265, the high compression encoding

    Stoner
    Free Member

    Films onto USB

    that’s the challenge though. There’s no legal method of moving legitimate media around offline.

    There’s always hooky sources.

    Media sellers have decided that rather than create a portable digital solution to replace the DVD, they’re just going to jump straight to licenced DLC media and wait for consumers to catch up, and damn those that dont have viable connections. For that reason Im very much not precious about using hooky sources if content providers treat so many people so contemptuously.

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    that’s the challenge though. There’s no legal method of moving legitimate media around offline.

    There’s always hooky sources.
    Phone to HDMI
    http://www.alltech.com.au/en/cables-adaptors-/405-micro-usb-to-hdmi-cable-adapter-hdtv-for-samsung-galaxy.html

    Stoner
    Free Member

    Buy a Samsung Galaxy. Connect the Micro USB Port to your Mobile Phone, then Connect this Adapter Cable to your TV or Monitor with HDMI Cable (NOT included in the package)
    Connect your AC Power Source to the Micro USB Charger Port

    Or…..

    DL MP4 to USB, stick USB in side of TV, bosh!

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    I’ve done it before like this –

    https://www.windowscentral.com/how-turn-your-windows-10-pc-wireless-hotspot

    It’s let me run chromecasts in hotels before, which is really useful, but would also help in this situation provided you have a laptop you can take round.

    Stoner
    Free Member

    They are not tech savvy

    so creating a hosted network might be considered a bit of stretch mb 😉

    munrobiker
    Free Member

    They don’t have to be, he does 😉

    molgrips
    Free Member

    You can buy a router for very little money. Doesn’t need to be connected to the internet. Should be your best bet.

    miketually
    Free Member

    You can buy a router for very little money. Doesn’t need to be connected to the internet. Should be your best bet.

    I was about to suggest this.

    Or they could play with their grandma’s tin of spare buttons and some leftover wool, like the olden days?

    Superficial
    Free Member

    You can buy a router for very little money. Doesn’t need to be connected to the internet. Should be your best bet.

    The problem with this is that the phones will usually preferentially connect to wifi and will look to wifi for the internet. Which will be annoying.

    Can’t you share the internet from the phone?

    If you were tech savvy, you could sideload a video player onto a NowTV box and use a USB stick to put videos on. Should be very cheap (< £20) but of course requires updating periodically.

    grumpysculler
    Free Member

    hdmi cable for your phone.

    andybrad
    Full Member

    if you can get a hdmi cable for a z3 compact that would be fab ?

Viewing 22 posts - 1 through 22 (of 22 total)

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