Chromecast

[Altman364]

Good idea or no?

For our One Acts show this year we want to try wireless projection again.
(For those that don't know, One Acts is a traveling group where the set up and take down time are 5 minutes exactly)
The last time we tried this, it went flawlessly except for our student stage manager plugging in a VGA cable upside down in the dark. Needless to say as the designer, one broken 100' VGA later we are very skeptical moving into this field again.

Our budget is very low, so we are using what we have at hand. That being said, I have a Chromecast that I have connected to a private wireless network created on a laptop. With this set up all I need is access to the internet and the Chromecast is automatically connected to the laptop, I can stream a tab of Scratch (just the right amount of cheesy animation the director desires) which can be projected onto a backdrop, just needing to power the projector (which can power the Chromecast with onboard USB port).

So is this foolproof enough? Does anyone see any holes? Or are there any better solutions for wireless projection that we could use?

 

[Footer]

What happens if you don't have an I internet connection? I would invest in a flashlight.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[MarshallPope]

As I am watching Netflix on my Chromecast as I type... I wouldn't trust it. Not for one second. What happens when it decides to act up during your show and "Oh, look, that's a pretty picture of a tree."? Wires will almost always be more reliable than wireless, especially low-budget consumer-grade gear. If you want cheaper and more resistant to breakage, maybe you can convert your VGA to composite? (with one of these or similar) I've had it hold up pretty well to runs of up to 100', especially when sent over coax with an RCA adapter on each end.

 

[StradivariusBone]

I would also be concerned about the possibility of a crowded wifi spectrum. I'm assuming Chromecast operates on the 802.11 B/G/N. I know in our venue we have two PoE access points that are active as well as the private router for our GLD80, plus intermittent signals from other access points in neighboring buildings. You may not have time or the where-with-all to find a clear channel for your router to broadcast.

We also get a lot of radio interference from living on the space coast (Harris down the road, Canaveral not too far up the road, Airport next door, etc.). Point being, with One Acts you have little control over that aspect of your environment, and without being able to test it I would trust the cable over radio.

You did mention it went flawlessly save for the cable error, so if plugging the VGA cable in correctly is an issue, put a neon piece of spike tape on the "up" side. To me fixing the one variable that was problematic is easier than switching plans and adding several more variables that you'll have to suss out.

-ED

 

[themuzicman]

Chromecasts are nifty gadgets, but in no way good for 100% accurate playback. They are pretty buggy.