They need to let bygones be bygones and accept each others apps/gadget/technology to make it so each other is a success. They're more a symbiotic relationship than rivals imho.
How hard is it to support a protocol that the vendor obfuscates, and changes frequently, to prevent you from streaming to it?
Interesting question. From my own experiences trying to build an open source library to stream to it (and to receive streams): Very hard when the vendor is Google.
The only way to stream to Chromecasts is with Google’s proprietary library, and Google will only license that to Amazon once Amazon kills their own App Store.
I assumed not supporting Cast was just an excuse not to stock Chromecasts etc on Amazon.
BTW I totally agree with the frustration of the Cast protocol not being more open, a tonne of cool standalone ‘browser on TV’ usecases like screensharing/dashboards/multiscreen aren’t possible on Chromecast (and it sucks). I assume they’re under a load of pressure from MPAA type groups to keep it locked down. (As though the TV is some holy box that must be protected.)
The cast library doesn’t contain any of the code required to cast – all that code is in the Google Play Services in the system app, not in the library.
And you can obviously understand how Amazon can’t just reuse that.
So Amazon can’t do it in their Android apps, unless they create a special version for Google Play Android.
But Amazon – like many other developers, including myself – refuses to create different versions for different Android distributions.
Other Android distributions that are also excluded include MIUI, Replicant, LineageOS, CopperheadOS, and Androidx86.
No, Android is a trademark which designates the branded, proprietary-but-open-core OS developed by Google and licensed to handset and other device makers.
AOSP is an open source codebase which forms part of the codebase of Android.
> So Amazon can’t do it in their Android apps, unless they create a special version for Google Play Android
There is no such thing; that's just Android. Pop
> Other Android distributions that are also excluded include MIUI, Replicant, LineageOS, CopperheadOS, and Androidx86.
No, those are other AOSP-derived OSs, which can run some subset of Android apps.
Later on, at least YouTube, Play Music, and similar streams worked nicely. This was especially nice because so many apps support the protocol.
Sadly, in the end, I gave up on trying to stream to my computer via that protocol, because almost every week Google broke compatibility, and I was simply pissed.
And the real chromecast I have, I can’t use, because it doesn’t support WPA Enterprise.
Maybe a Roku would be more reliable?