RaspberryPi as Chromecast Device

In this segment we are going to “Convert Raspberry Pi B Plus into Chromecast”

 What is Chromecast ?

Chromecast is a line of digital media players developed by Google. The devices, designed as small dongles, enable users with a mobile device or personal computer to play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system through mobile and web apps that support the Google Cast technology. Alternatively, content can be mirrored from the Google Chrome web browser running on a personal computer, as well as from the screen of some Android devices.

/> Software to Download

    Equipment Required :

 Raspberry Pi 3B & 3B+

 Micro SD Card 8 GB

 Power Supply

 Ethernet Cord for LAN Connection

     Optional :

 Raspberry Pi Case

 Keyboard

 Mouse

 What is OpenMAX ?

OpenMAX (Open Media Acceleration) , often shortened as “OMX”, is a non-proprietary and royalty-free cross-platform set of C-language programming interfaces. It provides abstractions for routines that are especially useful for processing of audio, video, and still images. It is intended for low power and embedded system devices (including smart phones, game consoles, digital media players, and set-top boxes) that need to efficiently process large amounts of multimedia data in predictable ways, such as video codecs, graphics libraries, and other functions for video, image, audio, voice and speech.

 Downloading & Installing “Raspbian Stretch with Desktop”

• First of all we need to download “Raspbian Stretch” image to setup Chromecast.

• Now, we need to open Terminal, then update and upgrade our Raspbian OS.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade

 Enabling SSH in Raspbian OS

• By default SSH is disabled in Raspbian. So, we need to enable it from desktop.
• Launch Raspberry Pi Configuration.
• Click on the Pi icon from Top Left Corner  –> Preferences –> Raspberry Pi Configuration

• Navigate to the Interfaces tab
• Select Enabled next to SSH
• Click OK

 Enabling SSH in Raspbian OS through Terminal

• Open Terminal and Type

sudo raspi-config

• Navigate to Interfacing Options and press Enter.

• Select SSH and enable it by pressing the Enter.

 Enabling SSH in Raspbian OS through Commands

sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

• To find out the IP we use Wireless Network Watcher and it will display the IP as shown below.

 STEP- 2 : Installing OpenMax Image Viewer

• Clone the OpenMax image viewer for the Raspberry Pi Repository

git clone https://github.com/HaarigerHarald/omxiv

• Install the necessary packages

sudo apt-get install libjpeg8-dev libpng12-dev

• Build and install ilclient

cd omxiv 
make ilclient 
make sudo 
make install

 STEP- 3 : Install RaspiCast on Android

• Open PlayStore and serch for RaspiCast.
• Then click on Install to Install the APP. If already installed click on “Open“.

Now, You are ready to use Raspberry Pi as Chromecast.
Enjoy using Raspberry Pi as Chromecast. 
Smile (“_”)