# Cast/mirror from mac to Bolt?



## wanderAround (Apr 6, 2009)

Right now I use my Bolt for almost all media needs. Netflix, Amazon Video, Plex, Pandora, etc.
However, I sometimes want to cast/mirror my laptop display to TV to show a presentation or other things. I use Chromecast to do this, casting from the Chrome browser window. That requires changing TV inputs.
I'd love it if my Bolt had a similar cast-catching ability so that I could cast from my laptop without changing inputs and leaving the TiVo interface on the TV.
Advantages would be
- simpler, spouse-friendly steps to cast laptop
- no need to switch TV inputs to Chromecast/AppleTV.
- Bolt remote control would be the only remote needed
I see that people use the TiVo app on their mobile device to cast to AppleTV, but that's a different situation. I don't want to show something on the TiVo through the AppleTV input; I want to show something from my laptop through the TiVo input.
I've searched online and in the community, but it doesn't look like anyone else is asking for this, which is surprising. Am I the only one?


----------



## jrtroo (Feb 4, 2008)

Yes, I have never seen this request before.


----------



## wanderAround (Apr 6, 2009)

jrtroo said:


> Yes, I have never seen this request before.


Surprising, as Chromecast and other similar casting devices seem popular. I'd love to eliminate one more device and have Bolt do it all.


----------



## Redoctobyr (Jun 21, 2008)

But maybe the popularity of Chromecast is part of the issue? 

TiVo would presumably need to license/build in Chromecast hardware, and integrate that functionality into the interface. And they'd have to do that to appeal to a somewhat-limited user base, looking to replace/streamline a device that can be added easily (PnP) for $35. 

Given the different possible software features that TiVo hasn't adopted, which *don't* necessarily have easy work-arounds, my guess is this would be somewhat low on their list. But that's just uninformed guessing on my part. 

I wonder if it might sort of cause confusion. Should you use Netflix via your TiVo's built in Chromecast, or via it's Netflix app?


----------



## wanderAround (Apr 6, 2009)

Good points. Counter argument:Chromecast isn't the only player out there, so they'd could pick who to license it from if they don't want to develop their own, which is another option. Samsung TVs can do it, as do AppleTVs, possibly others.
Ideally "Mirror Computer" would just another option under "Apps & Games" (it could use another option other than OperaTV!) or under "Find TV, Movies, & Videos".
Chromecast currently doesn't have streaming apps (Netflix, Hulu, etc) like AppleTV, Amazon Fire stick, and Roku do. It only mirrors the computer display. Which is why I think it would be a good addition; it's an added benefit with no conflicting apps. TiVo already has that conflict with AppleTV, which is surprising that they went that route.
Additionally, TiVo will get to learn what I'm watching on your computer, and sell that information, which I figure is how TiVo makes a fair chunk of money as well. I'm not thrilled about that part but that's the price for using TiVo. And that could be the carrot that gets TiVo to add this feature.
You've got a great point that the existing solution isn't expensive for somebody that wants this feature.
But if TiVo want their "Unified Entertainment System" to be more unified, this would be a nice addition.


----------



## krkaufman (Nov 25, 2003)

Have you looked into whether there's a solution that allows mirroring your display to YouTube as a live stream, to which you could then connect from a TiVo device?

edit: e.g. AirServer adds live streaming from iOS apps to YouTube, higher quality mirroring w/ iOS 9's rewritten AirPlay

Though I'm not sure it'd be "spouse-friendly," as switching inputs would certainly seem simpler. Something to consider, though, if another casting option isn't available.


----------



## wanderAround (Apr 6, 2009)

Coincidentally, I noticed today that if I'm browsing youtube.com, there is an option for casting to my Bolt.








Selecting it starts up the Bolt's TiVo app for YouTube, and starts playing whatever I choose in youtube. So the Bolt has some limited functionality, which seems undocumented. Perhaps Hulu and other TiVo apps have this capability...


----------



## Redoctobyr (Jun 21, 2008)

That's interesting. Just checked, my Bolt and Mini appear to show up as well, in my YouTube app. Though I apparently need to add "TiVo" or something to their names, because they're very confusing vs the names of my Chromecasts in those rooms.


----------



## aphoid (Jul 8, 2013)

wanderAround said:


> Chromecast currently doesn't have streaming apps (Netflix, Hulu, etc) like AppleTV, Amazon Fire stick, and Roku do. It only mirrors the computer display.


That's not exactly true. For things like YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu, the Chromecast does, in fact, have a native app that runs locally on the Chromecast itself. Let's say you start watching House of Cards S1E1 on your phone. When you get 10 minutes, you decide that you want to watch it on your TV/Chromecast. When you hit that "Cast" button, what you're really doing is telling the Chromecast to "start app 'Netflix', find show 'House of Cards S1E1' and start streaming at time 10:00." You can confirm this by then turning on Airplane mode on your phone/laptop and the show continues to play on your Chromecast. The Chromecast is also listening for commands to play/pause/etc. from your other device and is sharing current time/episode information back to it, but the actual stream itself is going directly from the Netflix servers to the Chromecast without making an intermediate hop at your other device.

The Chromecast has the ability to stream a Chrome Window from your laptop, and that is encoding the image stream from your laptop sending it across the network, and decoding it on the screen. (Apple AirPlay works similarly.)


----------



## aspexil (Oct 16, 2015)

wanderAround said:


> Coincidentally, I noticed today that if I'm browsing youtube.com, there is an option for casting to my Bolt.
> View attachment 29584
> 
> Selecting it starts up the Bolt's TiVo app for YouTube, and starts playing whatever I choose in youtube. So the Bolt has some limited functionality, which seems undocumented. Perhaps Hulu and other TiVo apps have this capability...


Where are you getting the "Cast To" menu?


----------



## Redoctobyr (Jun 21, 2008)

aspexil said:


> Where are you getting the "Cast To" menu?


As I recall, I was using the YouTube app on my phone, looking in its Cast To menu. I wasn't doing this on the Bolt itself.


----------



## Nickipedia (Jul 18, 2015)

You can also cast from the Plex web interface on the Mac to the Plex app on the TiVo.










It essentially acts like an additional display, but only for content in Plex. I use it quite a bit since you can bypass the less-robust Plex app interface in the TiVo. So far I've not seen the option in the Cast option in Chrome, maybe there's a hack for it out somewhere. FWIW.


----------

