Chromecast in corporate environment

Posted by AudiACar@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 22 comments

Admins, have any of you used Chromecast in a corporate environment? What's been the experience? Looking to get 3 Google TVs and use them for casting in the workspace, but I'm not sure if one needs a corporate google account to sign to make that work. Has anyone that's used a Google TV for casting had lag/network issues as well? I know Miracast/Microsoft Wireless Display exist...it was not approved. (We can move past that discussion.)

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22 Comments

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ryryrpm@reddit

Hello! Google has a feature called "Cast Moderator" that allows you to sign-in and set up the Chromecast with a generic managed Google account and make the display available to users to cast to via managed Chrome browsers. [https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/11598277?hl=en](https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/11598277?hl=en)

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Sasataf12@reddit

One concern was having to allow broadcasting on the network to allow devices to discover the TVs. Another was people casting to the wrong TV, especially if someone else was already using it. In terms of corporate account, that's not needed for casting. But Google Workspace accounts are free, so no cost in creating one for TVs.

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wheresthetux@reddit

I've been seeing [Airtame](https://airtame.com/) products deployed more often lately for that type of functionality.

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macprince@reddit

Airtame has a lot of things in the plus column for this kind of scenario, but I think the biggest one is: it's not a consumer home streaming box. The solution for this need should receive audio and video from a client computer, and maybe display digital signage when it's not in use. It doesn't need to stream Disney+ or Netflix.

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pdp10@reddit

We used to use a lot of "DLNA" protocol stack to stream arbitrary media to conference rooms. (Originally using game consoles that were already purchased and deployed.) I'd consider it a feature for users not to be able to log into any streaming service with their private account credentials, but I just wanted to point out that there can be a need for other kinds of features found in consumer devices, so be careful to do your requirements gathering.

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macprince@reddit

Hey, if you want consumer home streaming stuff in your setup, have at it. But then you have to live with all of the drawbacks thereof.

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pdp10@reddit

> it was not approved. What's the driver(s) or most likely driver(s) then? Cost? Ecosystem? Based on the posts of others, it seems like some of the best Miracast devices are not on the market any more. Did that play any role?

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AudiACar@reddit (OP)

Partially. We have Google TVs already and upper mgmt's idea is "well these have casting capability why not use them?" This was before my time, but it is trying to justify spending $10k+ for all our TVs with Barco ClickShare, vs native Google TV Chromecast..

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Jeff-J777@reddit

I would not use Chromecasts in a corporate environment. To many issues and casting to them from a PC is not user friendly. It has been a while for me, but I think you still need to use Chrome to cast. Then both devices need to be on the same network. For us TVs like this would be replaced in an IoT network where our workstations are not. Even then what is to stop a person from casting their device to a different screen and mess up another meeting in progress. We use Yealink devices that have dedicated wireless dongles we can plug into any device to mirror. Do yourself a favor and don't do Chromcast. It will become a support and security nightmare.

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Doublestack00@reddit

I feel quite the opposite, casting to a CC is about as easy as it gets. We have 50+ deployed and literally never get a ticket or call about them.

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AudiACar@reddit (OP)

Could I DM you?

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Doublestack00@reddit

Sure.

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AudiACar@reddit (OP)

Could I DM you?

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mini4x@reddit

>it was not approved. If they didn't like this, why would they say yes to ChromeCast?

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AudiACar@reddit (OP)

Cost/Google TV built in

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techie1980@reddit

These days, I'd suggest against it. Chromecast isn't designed as something to drive displays in an office, it's designed as a consumer media viewing system. 1) Chromecast isn't necessarily a dumb appliance in modern versions. There's a klunky on screen UI full of consumer ads and it's a matter of time before it starts to make noise. 2) I've found it to be less than entirely reliable, especially for the uninitiated who might not know how to use their devices with it. Even in my home I still sometimes need to reboot the chromecast and my phone in order for it to work. 3) Support is basically non-existent. I'm totally fine with that for the past ten years or so as a consumer, but I'm not willing to take that chance when the CEO's pet project won't come up on the big screen when the board is visiting. If "real" solution of an enterprise grade display thing is not approved one way or the other , then my suggestion is to stop and not try and hack a consumer grade appliance into the space.

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JPDearing@reddit

Another device to consider is the Barco ClickShare. We have those at several sites and they work quite well, especially if you preload the ClickShare app onto your Company machines. There is also a dongle that can be connected to to the PC and used to connect to the ClickShare. We like them, very easy to use.

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Carter-SysAdmin@reddit

I ran a ton of these (35+) before a massive Zoom Room migration in 2019. They worked well for the most part, but at the time, their update cadence felt kind of random and we did dedicate what felt like at least an afternoon per quarter updating them so they'd continue to play nicely with up-to-date managed endpoints. Maybe they were older devices or something, just throwing my experience out there.

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SpotlessCheetah@reddit

We have about 100 in Chromecast moderator mode and they seem to work ok. We also have Airtames and those work much better. If you're not using Gmail at work, I would stay away. With Google Admin, you can put them in Chromecast Moderator mode which makes it a better experience but it seems to be short-lived. You'll need the newer ones too and that'll let you ditch all the remotes as well.

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Chromecast in corporate environment

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22 Comments

ryryrpm@reddit

Sasataf12@reddit

wheresthetux@reddit

macprince@reddit

pdp10@reddit

macprince@reddit

pdp10@reddit

AudiACar@reddit (OP)

Jeff-J777@reddit

Doublestack00@reddit

AudiACar@reddit (OP)

Doublestack00@reddit

AudiACar@reddit (OP)

mini4x@reddit

AudiACar@reddit (OP)

techie1980@reddit

JPDearing@reddit

Carter-SysAdmin@reddit

SpotlessCheetah@reddit

Ace417@reddit

sryan2k1@reddit

raptorboy@reddit