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Chromecast Rooted
- ftoma 12y agoSorry for being stupid but what effect does this have on a regular chromecast?
- twodayslate 12y agoRoot SSH/Telnet/ADB, Access/Modify DNS Servers, Google OTA's Disabled, Custom Boot Image, Custom OTA Update Engine (Read more Here:http://ota.team-eureka.com/ http://ota.team-eureka.com/), FlashCast Recovery Image
- CSDude 12y agoFor the hacks of course. Chromecast is a nice device but it is just a Chrome browser. One istance is you can build a lightweight version of popcorn time and stream torrents to tv.
- jahmed 12y agoI believe the Android Popcorn Time app already has Chromecast support.
- mixologic 12y agoThe main benefit appears to be the ability to load your own ROM onto it: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2578653 http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2578653 And the main benefit of that ROM seems to be that you can set an alternate DNS server to get around (some) forms of region controlling, as well as set your own application whitelist - not sure whats missing from the existing whitelist or what killer app you would root this for, but if I own the device, I should have total control over the device.
- GuiA 12y ago> if I own the device, I should have total control over the device. I agree (mostly) with you, but I still want to prod at this because I think it's interesting. I'm guessing you probably own a (recent) car, a microwave, etc. Do you have total control over these devices? If not, does it bother you as much as not having total control over the Chromecast? How are they different (or not) from a Chromecast? A phone? A computer?
- petercooper 12y agoIt's only a part answer, but people who are into cars certainly do screw around in a similar way, whether just to read diagnostics codes out or going full out and remapping the ECU for extra performance/efficiency/whatever they want. There are even hacks to change throttle response now. My microwave, on the other hand, I'm not sure there's much else I want it to do that I'd consider reprogramming it for ;-)
- drdaeman 12y agoMicrowave... Just a wild idea off the top of my head: coupled with hardware hacks, like, some sort of IR pyrometer it could actually adapt output to maintain the food heated at specified level or just turn off when a certain temperature is reached.
- JetSpiegel 12y agoMy microwave is not a general purpose computing device. Unless you work on a microwave research institute, probably.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- mixologic 12y agoI've completely disassembled and re-assembled my (not recent) winnebago diesel, including rebuilding the engine. Almost every part on that RV has been redone by me, because I wanted to, and I didn't have to resort to any sort of safecracking tactics to be able to do that. If microwaves were built on top of a general purpose computing platform, then yes, I would want root access to them. The only reason that total control is not granted by default is that companies fear that they will no longer control their customer. I can understand in instances where safety or device damage may be an issue (like, no, I dont want root access to a tesla for example), but for consumer devices, I should not be forced to use apples store to add software to my phone. I should not be forced to use googles software to use their hardware either.
- smtddr 12y agoNot stupid at all; that should be the first question anyone asks. As far as I know, the Chromecast doesn't allow for discovering & streaming files via DLNA/UPnP. That feature alone is worth the rooting even if I "lost"[1] Netflix & Youtube support. 1. "Lost" is relative for a device that cost $35. I could just... buy another one.
- muaddirac 12y agoIt doesn't directly, but for example I run plex on my network and I can stream all of my local files to the chromecast with the plex iOS app.
- XorNot 12y agoWhich is still absurd. There is absolutely no reason this function shouldn't be built into the Chromecast.
- corpselord420 12y agoas an alternative to plex like the other guy mentioned, i'm using videostream to watch the new godzilla film on my chromecast right now http://www.getvideostream.com/ http://www.getvideostream.com/
- johndoeee 12y agoGoogle charges money (to verify your identity I assume, it's quite cheap) if you wanted to make actual apps for chromecast, I assume you can sidestep that with this. I made a transcoding proxy for Chromecast, for it to work, I'd have to piggyback the url-player (without selling my identity). I don't like stuff like that.
- magicalist 12y ago> Google charges money (to verify your identity I assume, it's quite cheap) if you wanted to make actual apps for chromecast It's $5, but just FYI, you don't have to pay or register your app if you make a Default Media Receiver. You don't get on-TV UI, but that's probably fine if you're just transcoding and displaying video.
- err4nt 12y agoWhat would the capabilities of a rooted Chromecast be? I finally just got mine, and it's still new in box.
- michaelx386 12y agoOne thing which comes to mind is the DNS settings on the Chromecast can't be modified so being able to change them could help get around regional restrictions.
- drdaeman 12y agoIt could also be fixed at the router by forcibly redirecting the DNS traffic to another DNS server. Like in `iptables -t nat -I PREROUTING -p udp -s 192.168.1.100 --dport 53 -j DNAT --to 192.168.1.2`
- eli 12y agoMy understanding is that if you prevent Chromecast form reaching Google's DNS servers it will allow you to provide an alternate address. Haven't had a need to try that myself, though.
- yelnatz 12y agoWhen I try to stream from the US Netflix, chromecast blocks it. (Canada) This restriction could be unlocked one day.
- mmastrac 12y agoFor me, forcing 1080i output would have been fantastic. My TV advertises 1080p support but for complicated reasons, does not support it.
- SyneRyder 12y agoForcing screen resolution / changing aspect ratio is what I'd want. I've got my Chromecast connected to an ancient 4:3 TV and I'd love the Chromecast to support that, or to at least not pillarbox 4:3 Youtube content. Unfortunately there's no setting on my TV to change the aspect ratio, I have to do it on my devices. (Yes, I know, I should just upgrade the TV, but in that case I probably wouldn't have bought the Chromecast.)
- mcescalante 12y agoDoes anybody know anything more than I about what this will enable (now)? Or is this just the first step of many in creating a hacker community around the Chromecast and software is to come? I've got one, and I'd love to make better use of it, or even help develop some stuff for it if it's that time :)
- nmjohn 12y agoFor me, it's a modified home screen. If I get around to it I am going to port a dashboard I built for the chromecast to act as the normal home screen. The problem with how it works now is you would manually have to re-cast the dashboard when you turn it on, or after you were done casting anything else. I did that for the first day, but after that it just didn't really seem to be as worthwhile.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- darklajid 12y agoAnyone having a Chromecast and able to tell me what I'm missing? Currently I've got xbmc running on a Raspberry Pi. Connected via HDMI, online via wifi and I can stream more or less everything (videos, images, music) from my phone to that thing - not sure if there's a decent way to do that from my laptop running Linux. What are Chromecasts used for? Should I buy one?
- micro_cam 12y agoFor me the main selling point is the low price and not sure it makes sense if you have something setup to do most of it. I do use mine a ton for netflix, hulu (via tab casting) and arbitray media files via the videostream chrome extension/app from the webstore. It has a simple unintrusive ui which is nice.
- darklajid 12y agoHey - thanks for answering. The price is about the same (and I have the Pi). So that's mostly an argument for 'why not' and 'you might waste $35, but nothing more'. Netflix/Hulu - no user myself and I'm not sure if those services are available outside of the US/available in DE. Tab casting, as far as I understand that, is a Chrome feature. I'm a Firefox guy. Would I be able to do something useful with that device? Right now it seems like it would be equivalent to the Pi w/ xbmc, in an arguably smaller/nicer package. I'm hoping for a killer feature that I haven't considered/noticed :)
- kudu 12y agoFirefox did add tab casting for the Chromecast to its Android version (https://plus.google.com/+LucasRocha/posts/AJtJ3faZXtJ https://plus.google.com/+LucasRocha/posts/AJtJ3faZXtJ). I'm basically in the same situation as you. I already have Raspbmc set up on my Raspberry Pi, and see little reason to purchase a Chromecast. In my understanding, the "killer feature" is that it's supported by an increasingly large number of Android apps, which don't have support for casting to arbitrary UPnP targets as far as I'm aware.
- kusuriya 12y ago35 dollars for an android device that can now be turned into an XBMC device with netflix.... I think I may give the chromecast a second swing...
- msturgill 12y agoYou can find them even cheaper (~$30). Hackability is just icing on the cake.
- javajosh 12y agoFor those who don't know (as I didn't) XBMC[1] is an open-source media center/entertainment application that supports a variety of OSes, including Android. And, apparently, the project is going to be renamed "Kodi" in the near future. [1] http://xbmc.org/about/ http://xbmc.org/about/
- ocb 12y agoIt blows my mind that XBMC is still being developed, let alone relatively popular on several platforms. I used it pretty extensively on a modchipped Xbox ~10 years ago as my first real "streaming" box (i.e. to play pirated movies from my computer on my TV). Strange that they didn't drop the 'XB' from their moniker earlier.
- steeve 12y agoThey did drop it. It's now called Kodi.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- fpgaminer 12y agoIs it just me, or is it odd that we rejoice when things like this happen? It just doesn't feel right to reward companies who release locked-down hardware. Don't get me wrong, I share in the excitement for a $35 XBMC capable android device. But on the other hand, it seems a better idea to spend money on a product that isn't locked down in the first place. I haven't followed the Chromecast, but why is it locked in the first place!?
- userbinator 12y agoexploited a new vulnerability in the Chromecast which allows root access Normally, vulnerabilities would be considered a bad thing. Heartbleed is a great example of that. But in cases like these, it's a very good thing. This is why I always like to remind those whose goal is to build more secure systems to consider the implications of their work, lest our devices become even more secure against us. They usually have in mind a world where everyone has full control of their devices which are then highly secure against attacks by others, and that's a good thing; but I think it's far more likely to turn into one where corporations have all the control and devices are secure against their owners, especially as typical users continue to choose security over freedom.
- TazeTSchnitzel 12y agoI'd say users choose convenience over freedom, the security is in the back of their minds. Make a more convenient but free phone and people will use it.
- TeMPOraL 12y agoThis. I'd say they care about freedom more-less as much as about security, i.e. not at all. They just choose more convenient over less convenient. And honestly, it's perfectly understandable.
- userbinator 12y agoConvenience is a big part of it, but I don't see freedom being marketed quite as much (if at all) as security - these days, the new version of a product almost always mentions "more secure" in its list of features, while "more freedom", when it appears, seems to read more like "you can now do new things with your device that you couldn't before", than "you can have more control over it."
- ossreality 12y agoNot you with this idiotic crap again.
- higherpurpose 12y ago
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- thibauts 12y agoOne thing it may allow is grabbing the private key it uses for Device Authentication and emulate a Chromecast on other devices. It would enable streaming from Chrome to anything using the Chromecast protocol. See [1]. I had a go at implementing the protocol server-side on node, so it's basically waiting for a valid cert. I couldn't test it much though it should work. See [2] and [3]. Any help welcome. [1] https://github.com/thibauts/node-castv2/issues/2 https://github.com/thibauts/node-castv2/issues/2 [2] https://github.com/thibauts/node-castv2 https://github.com/thibauts/node-castv2 [3] https://github.com/thibauts/node-castv2/blob/master/lib/server.js https://github.com/thibauts/node-castv2/blob/master/lib/serv...
- mmastrac 12y agoI'd be interested to hear if you manage to extract a key from a Chromecast. I think I'll root mine now just to keep my options open.
- dooptroop 12y agoThis is interesting. Never understood why this was a dedicated hardware-dongle, rather than an app for any number of HDMI-out capable android devices.
- tuxidomasx 12y agoThe biggest problem I've had with Chromecast was using it in a hotel that had wifi login pages. The device is ideal for hotels since you usually get a nice HD TV in the room. But half the time I can't stream from Chromecast because of the wifi login. A rooted Chromecast would essentially let me log in to the hotel wifi like I would on my laptop or phone. Then I can stream away.
- defen 12y agoI've solved this problem for Apple TVs by spoofing the device's MAC address on my laptop, using the laptop browser to accept the WiFi ads or login or whatever, and then resetting my laptop address and plugging the device in.
- drcross 12y agosmart but only works if the hotel NAC uses mac whitelisting and not more advanced techniques like browser posturing.
- defen 12y agoIs "browser posturing" a typo for something else? That term doesn't ring any bells and there are no google results, and I can't think of what you may have meant. Just using a cookie or something?
- mseebach 12y agoI carry a small travel router that I plug in to the wired network in hotels. I don't travel with my chromecast but I like that I don't have to login from my phone, tablet, Kindle and laptop. The chromecast would work in the same way and would also have the benefit of not announcing its presence to the entire hotel.
- Jemaclus 12y agoNot super related to the rooting (which is awesome), but I have a Chromecast question: I have a Chromecast and I love it, but the one thing I want to use it for that I haven't been able to figure out how is to show a dashboard at work. We have these giant TVs that are basically off all the time, except when there's a football game or something on, and I want to put up my stats dashboard for our app. Chromecast should theoretically make it easy for me to just stream the dashboard to the screen, but what I've found happens is that it goes to sleep after 10 minutes or so. I don't want to spend hours and hours rooting around and figuring out application IDs and stuff. I just wanna click some buttons and have my dashboard show up and stay up all day. Are there any resources for that? Or is Chromecast just the wrong tool for the job?