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Always On

EarlyMon said:
It's pretty likely that Sammy supports HDMI-CEC (consumer electronics control).

That protocol is what drives the interconnected, control-it-all magic you see in Samsung and Mitsubishi brochures.

The Chromecast implements only one part of the command protocol but it's a big part- turn on and set input.

How that works from your point-of-view -
  • Don't power the Chromecast from a TV USB port, plug it into the wall
  • TV off - pull up app on phone, say Netflix, turn on Chromecast button in Netflix, TV turns on, switches to Chromecast HDMI port
  • TV on but doing something else - pull up app as above, TV automatically switches to Chromecast
  • Any other behavior of switching back will depend on the model and what happens on the cable box
  • I watch Chromecast and regular TV - just changing a TV channel on my remote turns off Chromecast and takes me out to regular TV
So - can you watch HDMI 1 while casting to HDMI 2? No - that's not in the nature of things.

Do you really need pass-through to make it easy for dad? Maybe not, depending on how well the other devices and that TV are dealing with HDMI-CEC.

Does that answer anything not already covered? :o
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Thanks, it does.

Question though, why plug into wall and not TV?
 
NightAngel79 said:
Thanks, it does.

Question though, why plug into wall and not TV?
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Plugged into the TV ensures that it's dead as a door nail and drawing no power when the TV is off. Highest power efficiency.

It also means that you can't do the whole automagical turn on and switchover just by selecting Chromecast in an app - it won't be listening.
 
If he can handle the m8 he can handle a chromecast just fine. If your tv doesn't support hdmi-cec/anyone+, he could always switch to the ir blaster tv app the m8 includes any user that as the tv control instead of having to find the physical one(you'd just need to do the initial 1 minute set up for him). Regardless of what box/stick you buy the amount you can control the audio is pretty limited without using a remote or ir blaster. O Also the cable box will also work with ir blaster making his phone the only thing he'll need.
 
madmax988 said:
initial 1 minute set up for him). Regardless of what box/stick you buy the amount you can control the audio is pretty limited without using a remote or ir blaster.
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On Chromecast, when you are casting, changing the volume on your device changes the volume of the stream.
 
bg4m3r said:
On Chromecast, when you are casting, changing the volume on your device changes the volume of the stream.
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Yes but only source volume, not output/speaker volume. So if you forget to turn up tv volume real loud and turn chromecast volume to middle before you start each time, your volume control range it's limited, plus if you are switching apps it can be finicky to stay locked on chromecast volume instead of system volume. For non techie people it's more reliable/easier in my opinion to just control volume with regular remote most times.
 
Quick update. Played with CC on my TV (2 year old Sammy led) and no automatic switching. So *if* I had a complaint that would be it. I've already said it isn't *necessarily* chromecast's fault, but imo this feature would be the only thing that makes it better.

That said, I love the usability. Only had it on for a bit last night before I wrapped around it for pops. Loved the wallpapers, think I'd use only satellite images if it was mine. I can totally see leaving it on CC input for long periods, even if not casting anything.
 
NightAngel79 said:
Quick update. Played with CC on my TV (2 year old Sammy led) and no automatic switching. So *if* I had a complaint that would be it. I've already said it isn't *necessarily* chromecast's fault, but imo this feature would be the only thing that makes it better.

That said, I love the usability. Only had it on for a bit last night before I wrapped around it for pops. Loved the wallpapers, think I'd use only satellite images if it was mine. I can totally see leaving it on CC input for long periods, even if not casting anything.
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Did you check all of the HDMI inputs? If your tv has CEC it is probably only on one of the HDMI slots.
 
Gmash said:
Did you check all of the HDMI inputs? If your tv has CEC it is probably only on one of the HDMI slots.
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CEC should work on all HDMI ports, ARC would likely only be on one. More likely, he probably doesn't have it enabled.

Check through your TV menus. It's under setup on my TV.
 
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