While we’d long ago heard from a reliable source that Slingbox Chromecast playback was a lock, Sling hasn’t communicated anything publicly in recent weeks … with “soon” having come and gone. However, Sling support staff has once again come through with pre-release intel:
Yes, a Slingbox M1 with the latest firmware (this would be updated during initial setup) will support SlingPlayer for Chromecast.
Having a Slingbox has always made it easy to watch your TV around the house, around town, or even around the world – on laptops, mobile phones, or tablets. SlingPlayer for Chromecast, combined with a Slingbox and SlingPlayer on your mobile device, allows you to extend your complete living room HDTV experience to any TV around your home, or to a TV in another location where you have an Internet connection. With SlingPlayer on your supported phone or tablet, you can stream your TV programs to a Chromecast device connected to a TV, and then onto the TV. And after you have established a connection with Chromecast, you can run other apps on your mobile device.
Note: This software only works with the Slingbox M1, Slingbox 350, or SlingTV/Slingbox 500
While the agent seems to suggest Chromecast support has launched, this isn’t actually the case. But we’re clearly getting real close.
Related, beta Android Chromecast mirroring does indeed beam video from the Slingplayer app to your television (as pictured above) … should you have a supported smartphone and are OK without audio. The margins and resolution were also a bit off, but picture quality is surprisingly decent. Yet, again, no sound – at least via a Galaxy S4 running the latest SlingPlayer. Fortunately, real support won’t be long now?
(Thanks John!)
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In perusing various discussions, it seems the beta Android Chromecast mirroring audio is hit or miss, based both on device and on app. So others may have better luck.
Ahhhhhh sh*t. Slingbox Pro HD here. Sad panda. Not worth the upgrade just for Chromecast support.
12 hours later and audio now works using Android mirroring to Chromecast! Both devices have been rebooted in the interim, but not other changes. However, video quality is also much worse for whatever reason - dropped frames and lower res. The networking gods are unpredictable...
Can't wait for the real deal with Chromecast receiving a/v directly from the network, versus being relayed by smartphone.