node-red-contrib-cast for NodeRED

These nodes are based on a fork of the node-red-contrib-chromecast. It is for stream media on a chromecast or a google home device.

Because I no longer use this node myself, there is unfortunately only limited support.

Table of contents

• node-red-contrib-cast for NodeRED
  • Table of contents
  • Installation
  • Quick Start
    • stream a url
    • sends an text to Google TTS
    • play a video on chromecast
    • get status of a cast device
  • Implemented Nodes
  • How to use
    • Media Types
  • Advanced
  • Tip
  • Examples
    • Play local files
    • changing ip, url, contentType, streamType
  • Bugs and Feedback
    • 💰 Donations
  • LICENSE
  • Other

Installation

cd ~/.node-red
npm install node-red-contrib-cast

Quick Start

This package provides a single node, cast, which will be under the "functions" group in the pallete.

stream a url

Simple flow that sends an mp3 to the chromecast or google cast device:

[{"id":"a21f1807.41d7f8","type":"cast-to-client","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","url":null,"contentType":"","message":null,"language":"en","ip":"","port":"","volume":null,"x":590,"y":80,"wires":[["fba1eb3.2515918"]]},{"id":"74313baf.f282f4","type":"inject","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":160,"y":80,"wires":[["53d91dd8.67b924"]]},{"id":"53d91dd8.67b924","type":"change","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"ip","pt":"msg","to":"192.168.1.125","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"url","pt":"msg","to":"http://translate.google.com/translate_tts?ie=UTF-8&total=1&idx=0&textlen=32&client=tw-ob&q=Word%20Up&tl=En-gb","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"contentType","pt":"msg","to":"audio/mp3","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":380,"y":80,"wires":[["a21f1807.41d7f8"]]},{"id":"fba1eb3.2515918","type":"debug","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":790,"y":80,"wires":[]},{"id":"9ef34079.24061","type":"comment","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"stream a url","info":"","x":130,"y":40,"wires":[]}]

sends an text to Google TTS

Simple flow that sends an text to Google TTS and the result to a the chromecast or google cast device:

[{"id":"8d9663a.05e27a","type":"cast-to-client","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","url":null,"contentType":"","message":null,"language":"en","ip":"","port":"","volume":null,"x":590,"y":200,"wires":[["b885e401.447548"]]},{"id":"6faf449b.c11efc","type":"inject","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":160,"y":200,"wires":[["23bdf480.46b85c"]]},{"id":"23bdf480.46b85c","type":"change","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"ip","pt":"msg","to":"192.168.1.125","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"message","pt":"msg","to":"Word Up","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"language","pt":"msg","to":"En-gb","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":380,"y":200,"wires":[["8d9663a.05e27a"]]},{"id":"b885e401.447548","type":"debug","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":790,"y":200,"wires":[]},{"id":"9a5a2ce.5ae7ed","type":"comment","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"say a text","info":"","x":120,"y":160,"wires":[]}]

play a video on chromecast

[{"id":"443984d.4919a7c","type":"cast-to-client","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","url":"","contentType":"","message":"","language":"de","ip":"192.168.1.125","port":"","volume":"","x":490,"y":840,"wires":[["cad88339.e69ff"]]},{"id":"cc601032.ef8b9","type":"inject","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","topic":"","payload":"youtube","payloadType":"str","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":110,"y":840,"wires":[["62aea8fa.99c718"]]},{"id":"cad88339.e69ff","type":"debug","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":710,"y":840,"wires":[]},{"id":"62aea8fa.99c718","type":"change","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"url","pt":"msg","to":"http://commondatastorage.googleapis.com/gtv-videos-bucket/big_buck_bunny_1080p.mp4","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"contentType","pt":"msg","to":"video/mp4","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":300,"y":840,"wires":[["443984d.4919a7c"]]}]

get status of a cast device

[{"id":"82e3c67a.27b218","type":"cast-to-client","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","url":"","contentType":"","message":"","language":"en","ip":"192.168.1.125","port":"","volume":"","x":490,"y":220,"wires":[["6bc79592.92574c"]]},{"id":"a5bddaf0.4e9578","type":"inject","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"str","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":110,"y":220,"wires":[["82e3c67a.27b218"]]},{"id":"6bc79592.92574c","type":"debug","z":"c4dd07cf.84ae98","name":"","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"false","x":710,"y":220,"wires":[]}]

This will given an object of the following form:

{
	"applications": [{
			"appId": "CC1AD845",
			"displayName": "Default Media Receiver",
			"iconUrl": "",
			"isIdleScreen": false,
			"launchedFromCloud": false,
			"namespaces": [{
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.google.cast.cac"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.google.cast.broadcast"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.google.cast.media"
				}
			],
			"sessionId": "8g547685-4ce7-4968-b656-8679b01f9a77",
			"statusText": "Default Media Receiver",
			"transportId": "8g547685-4ce7-4968-b656-8679b01f9a77"
		}
	],
	"userEq": {
		"high_shelf": {
			"frequency": 4500,
			"gain_db": 0,
			"quality": 0.707
		},
		"low_shelf": {
			"frequency": 150,
			"gain_db": 0,
			"quality": 0.707
		},
		"max_peaking_eqs": 0,
		"peaking_eqs": []
	},
	"volume": {
		"controlType": "master",
		"level": 0.15000000596046448,
		"muted": false,
		"stepInterval": 0.019999999552965164
	}
}

or if currently playing media

{
	"applications": [{
			"appId": "12F05308",
			"displayName": "TuneIn Free",
			"iconUrl": "https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HY9FJJF6gvT-JykObo1KvoNbewRoUJa2VjsE8TRgmBUmFFYGDI3FYJRGxGkj9gkMh_f3K-QSytav8G8",
			"isIdleScreen": false,
			"launchedFromCloud": true,
			"namespaces": [{
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.google.cast.cac"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.init"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.initUrl"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.play"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.pause"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.stop"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.addSender"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.mediaLoaded"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.playState"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.tuneDataLoaded"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.scrubberMovedMessage"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.nowPlayingDataLoaded"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.tunein.cast.comm.error"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.google.cast.broadcast"
				}, {
					"name": "urn:x-cast:com.google.cast.media"
				}
			],
			"sessionId": "1f8d64e1-fde4-42kb-xxc3-b77493ej54a6",
			"statusText": "Casting: Radio Dresden",
			"transportId": "1f8d64e1-fde4-42kb-xxc3-b77493ej54a6"
		}
	],
	"userEq": {
		"high_shelf": {
			"frequency": 4500,
			"gain_db": 0,
			"quality": 0.707
		},
		"low_shelf": {
			"frequency": 150,
			"gain_db": 0,
			"quality": 0.707
		},
		"max_peaking_eqs": 0,
		"peaking_eqs": []
	},
	"volume": {
		"controlType": "master",
		"level": 0.15000000596046448,
		"muted": false,
		"stepInterval": 0.019999999552965164
	}
}

Implemented Nodes

• Cast Node - Send media to chromecast or google home devices

How to use

The cast node has a couple of settings, which can be provided by the configuration or by the incoming message object.

Configuration possibilities:

Options for the incoming message object:

• IP, msg.ip or msg.payload.ip the IP address of the device to cast the media. Could also be defined in the configuration of the node.

• Port, msg.port or msg.payload.port the port of the device (if not given default 8009 will be used).

• Media Url, msg.url or msg.payload.url url to a media file which should be cast to the cast device. For a chromecast this could be a media or a video file. For a Google Home device without a display this could only a audio file.

• Media Type, msg.contentType or msg.payload.contentType the content type (mime type) of the file in the url. This property is required if a url is given. Could also be defined in the configuration of the node.

• Image Url, msg.imageUrl or msg.payload.imageUrl url to a image file which represents the artwork for the url which should be cast to the cast device. For a chromecast this should be an image file. For a Google Home device without a display this is irrelevant.

• Image Url, msg.imageUrl or msg.payload.imageUrl url to a image file which represents the artwork for the url which should be cast to the cast device. For a chromecast this should be an image file. For a Google Home device without a display this is irrelevant.

• Title, msg.contentTitle or msg.payload.contentTitle a text which should be send to the google tts engine as the title of the message. For TTS the msg.topic will be set as contentTitle if no msg.contentTitle or msg.payload.contentTitle are given. Otherwise the filename will be used.

• Language, msg.language or msg.payload.language the language which should be used for converting the message to the media file.

• Volume, msg.volume or msg.payload.volume the volume should be set.

• Additional options (not configurable):

  • msg.status is set to true the player status will be queried and send as output, No media will be played
  • msg.lowerVolumeLimit or msg.payload.lowerVolumeLimit will set the volume to this value, if the current volume is below this value.
  • msg.upperVolumeLimit or msg.payload.upperVolumeLimit will set the volume to this value, if the current volume is above this limit.
  • msg.muted or msg.payload.muted the volume will be muted if set to false, otherwise the volume will be unmuted.
  • msg.seek or msg.payload.seek will sets the current position in the stream.
  • msg.duration or msg.payload.duration will sets the duration of the playing stream in seconds.
  • msg.urlList or msg.payload.urlList could be set to a list of urls which should be played. This could be an array or a string with multiple urls separated by comma, semicolon, lineBreak or |.

So the config can be at 3 places. The config of the node, a property of the msg.payload or a property of the msg object. The information is loaded in that order (e.g. url):

• (1st) If the msg.payload is a object and contains a property msg.payload.url this setting will be used.
  • (2nd) otherwise if the msg object contains the property msg.url this setting will be used.
    • (3rd) otherwise if in the configuration the Media Url property is set this url will be used.

Media Types

Example of Common Video File MIME Types are:

Video Type	Extension	MIME Type
Flash	.flv	video/x-flv
MPEG-4	.mp4	video/mp4
iPhone Index	.m3u8	application/x-mpegURL
iPhone Segment	.ts	video/MP2T
3GP Mobile	.3gp	video/3gpp
QuickTime	.mov	video/quicktime
A/V Interleave	.avi	video/x-msvideo
Windows Media	.wmv	video/x-ms-wmv

Common Audio File MIME Types are:

File Extension	MIME Type
au	audio/basic
snd	audio/basic
Linear PCM	audio/L24
mid	audio/mid
rmi	audio/mid
mp3	audio/mp3
mp4 audio	audio/mp4
aif	audio/x-aiff
aifc	audio/x-aiff
aiff	audio/x-aiff
m3u	audio/x-mpegurl
ra	audio/vnd.rn-realaudio
ram	audio/vnd.rn-realaudio
Ogg Vorbis	audio/ogg
Vorbis	audio/vorbis
wav	audio/vnd.wav

Please note that it does not mean that these types are also supported by the respective cast device. For the suported formats, please have a look at the documentation on Google.

Advanced

When no Media Url or Message is setup, the player will stop playing the current media and the status will be queried and send as output. If only the status should be get without interrupting the current playing media msg.status needs to be set to true.

More advanced control is possible by using msg.payload.media. This must be an object with the following properties:

Name	Type	Description
contentId	string	Url of the media. If the url is defined in configuration or by msg.payload.url or msg.url this property will be set or overwritten.
streamType	string	Describes the type of media artifact as one of the following: NONE, BUFFERED or LIVE. If not defined, BUFFERED will be used.
contentType	string	MIME content type of the media being played. If defined in configuration or by msg.contentType or msg.payload.contentType this property will be set or overwritten. If not defined, audio/mp3 will be used.
metadata	object	metadata which should be used.
duration	double	Duration of the currently playing stream in seconds. If defined as msg.duration or msg.payload.duration this property will be set or overwritten.

Tip

To differentiate different receivers, it may be helpful to choose different icons.

This is possible by choosing another icon in the Node Settings:

For this purpose, the node already comes with a selection of useful icons:

Examples

Play local files

The node sends only the address of a media file to the cast device. So the cast device needs access to that media file. For normal local files this is not possible. As a solution to this you can serve an mp3 file directly from Node-Red using an HTTP node:

[{"id":"e9028c5b.27f29","type":"comment","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"Doorbell routine","info":"","x":120,"y":880,"wires":[]},{"id":"8d5390b3.5e3e8","type":"link out","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"","links":["c873cb6.6216e38"],"x":395,"y":1080,"wires":[],"icon":"node-red-contrib-huemagic/hue-group.png"},{"id":"4b9bb17b.5c119","type":"http in","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"","url":"/doorbell","method":"get","upload":false,"swaggerDoc":"","x":110,"y":940,"wires":[["3283748e.b1669c"]]},{"id":"156d5629.1e369a","type":"http response","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"","statusCode":"","headers":{"content-type":"audio/mpeg"},"x":410,"y":940,"wires":[]},{"id":"3283748e.b1669c","type":"file in","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"doorbell.mp3","filename":"/home/pi/.node-red/doorbell.mp3","format":"","chunk":false,"sendError":false,"x":270,"y":940,"wires":[["156d5629.1e369a"]]},{"id":"821eb341.0478b","type":"link out","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"","links":["ac60ad8.0709d5"],"x":395,"y":1120,"wires":[],"icon":"node-red-contrib-telegrambot-home/telegram.png"},{"id":"359f33cd.ed919c","type":"ButtonPressed","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"Dash Button","mac":"${DASHBUTTONMAC}","x":110,"y":1060,"wires":[["5b101da.ce5abe4","59398cb6.bb6134","56f6951f.34631c","ba9ea684.c25988"]]},{"id":"5b101da.ce5abe4","type":"trigger","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","op1":"{\"ip\":\"${CASTIP}\",\"url\":\"http://${NODEREDIP}:1880/doorbell\",\"contentType\":\"audio/mp3\",\"volume\":50}","op2":"{\"ip\":\"${CASTIP}\",\"volume\":50}","op1type":"json","op2type":"json","duration":"13","extend":false,"units":"s","reset":"","bytopic":"all","name":"TTS + reset volume","x":330,"y":1000,"wires":[["f739fc31.14339"]]},{"id":"59398cb6.bb6134","type":"trigger","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","op1":"{\"ip\":\"${CASTIP}\",\"url\":\"http://${NODEREDIP}:1880/doorbell\",\"contentType\":\"audio/mp3\",\"volume\":50}","op2":"{\"ip\":\"${CASTIP}\",\"volume\":30}","op1type":"json","op2type":"json","duration":"13","extend":false,"units":"s","reset":"","bytopic":"all","name":"TTS + reset volume","x":330,"y":1040,"wires":[["61966b21.195fb4"]]},{"id":"56f6951f.34631c","type":"change","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"Hue alert","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"{\"alert\":2,\"hex\":\"ffca7b\"}","tot":"json"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":300,"y":1080,"wires":[["8d5390b3.5e3e8"]]},{"id":"ba9ea684.c25988","type":"change","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"Message","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"payload","pt":"msg","to":"Quelqu'un sonne a la porte !","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":300,"y":1120,"wires":[["821eb341.0478b"]]},{"id":"f739fc31.14339","type":"cast-to-client","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"","url":"","contentType":"","message":"","language":"fr","ip":"","port":"","volume":"","x":490,"y":1000,"wires":[[]]},{"id":"61966b21.195fb4","type":"cast-to-client","z":"9e5f07b4.280818","name":"","url":"","contentType":"","message":"","language":"fr","ip":"","port":"","volume":"","x":490,"y":1040,"wires":[[]]}]

changing ip, url, contentType, streamType

[{"id":"c4d9d977.484068","type":"cast-to-client","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","url":"","contentType":"","message":"","language":"en","ip":"localhost","port":"","volume":"","x":570,"y":600,"wires":[["98ac674c.cf52d8"]]},{"id":"86798168.185b7","type":"inject","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","topic":"","payload":"","payloadType":"date","repeat":"","crontab":"","once":false,"onceDelay":0.1,"x":140,"y":600,"wires":[["b8e606ea.49f628"]]},{"id":"b8e606ea.49f628","type":"change","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"","rules":[{"t":"set","p":"ip","pt":"msg","to":"192.168.1.125","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"url","pt":"msg","to":"http://does niot exists","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"contentType","pt":"msg","to":"audio/mp3","tot":"str"},{"t":"set","p":"streamType","pt":"msg","to":"BUFFERED","tot":"str"}],"action":"","property":"","from":"","to":"","reg":false,"x":360,"y":600,"wires":[["c4d9d977.484068"]]},{"id":"98ac674c.cf52d8","type":"debug","z":"d900d7d9.c4c498","name":"test3","active":true,"tosidebar":true,"console":false,"tostatus":false,"complete":"payload","x":750,"y":600,"wires":[]}]

Bugs and Feedback

For bugs, questions and discussions please use the GitHub Issues.

💰 Donations

Even for those that don't have the technical knowhow to help developing on there are ways to support development. So if you want to donate some money please feel free to send money via PayPal.

LICENSE

Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at

http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations under the License.

Other

this node is published also here:

• NPM package
• Node-Red