Chromecast extension gains support for streaming local files

The Chromecast extension for Google’s browser Chrome gains the ability to stream local files. This is currently already possible via a detour, but Google is now going to build in that possibility.

While the Cast extension already supports users to cast a tab or the desktop, the latest beta of Chrome includes a file-selection option, a Google employee says. To do this, users must enable this option via a switch in chrome://flags. Then the extension can stream a local video file to a TV with Cast support or with a Chromecast dongle in it.

Until now, anyone who wanted to stream a local file could cast the tab on which the video played or work with an extension like Videostream. Also, apps that many users use to play video, such as VLC, Kodi, and Plex, have Chromecast support.

It is unknown if and when the file casting feature will appear in the stable version of Chrome. Now that it’s already in beta, there’s a good chance it will happen in the foreseeable future.