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If you own a Chromecast or TV that can use casting technology, you can utilize DAKboard with it with all your Custom Screens on a Paid Subscription. Using a service called castDeck, you can cast your DAKboard to these devices, and it is really simple to complete. To use this with Chromecast devices, you will need to follow the steps below on an Android iOS device like a Smartphone or Tablet. Chrome made this change when they added Nest integrations to their Google Home app.


NOTE: This option will not work with a Predefined Screen due to the way the URL is generated. Please use Custom Screens only.


Create A Custom Screen:


You can use a Screen you have already designed, or navigate the Screens Page and click the Green ADD button in the top right to create a custom screen as seen below:  



You can also use one of our Templates or Community Templates. Make sure you have an open space to add a new Screen or you will be charged for adding Additional Screens. See our Screen Configuration Article Group for help creating your Custom Screen.



Access castDeck and add your URL:


First, you will need the unique URL from the screen you created. To do this go to your Screen on your DAKboard account you created in the steps above, click the three dots '...' in the lower right-hand corner of your Custom Screen snapshot, and click on view. See below:



Your Screen will load in your browser. Copy the entire address out of the URL bar. This is the private URL for your Screen. See below:

NOTE: Do not share this URL as others will be able to utilize this screen if you do.


Next, you will need to access castDeck from a device on the same network as your casting device. You can access it at the following URL:


https://nlcamarillo.github.io/castDeck/


From here all you need to do is add the URL in the URL bar and Click on Cast. See below:



Any casting device that will work with castDeck on the same network can be used. When you click Cast a list of the devices will show. Choose the appropriate device (in my example it is called Family Room TV) to link the screen. See below:



NOTE: The native resolution of castDeck is 1366x768 with an Aspect Ratio of 16:9. This resolution can be adjusted by clicking the Zoom in, Zoom out, and Zoom reset buttons. See below:



You may need to try a few zoom levels to make your Display appear as it does on the Screen editor with the resolution you have chosen or set your Screen's resolution to 1366x768.



Tips, Tricks, and Notes:


  1. castDeck needs to remain open on whatever device you set it up on for Chromecast to continue to function. If you are to use this method you will have to leave the page open in your browser for it to remain functional.
  2. This will not work with Predefined screens. The Predefined screens' URL will not work through castDeck for either free or paid accounts. 
  3. Casting is a relatively slow process so screens may appear staggered or struggling when updating. Scrolling items will look choppy and the more items you add the slower it will become. Some heavily embedded items will cause the screen to stagger and stop. We suggest keeping the screen simple for this device type and refreshing the screen manually seems to help.
  4. Loops will run on Chromecast, but if you have complex, or heavy-loaded screens it may break. Keep your screens simple and they should work without issue. To load a Loop, use the same method above for a single screen, but with the Loop itself, to find your URL and load that instead.
  5. If the screen completely fails and will not continue to update, try unplugging or powering down the casting device and powering it back on. You will need to send your URL to castDeck and restart the cast to get it back fully
  6. Zooming out to 0.6 is roughly 1920x1080 resolution. Be aware that zooming out further than this will lead to degradation of the signal and may even cause it to stop functioning. You can reset everything by closing the page with castDeck, rebooting the casting Device, and re-adding the URL to your castDeck page.


Feel free to give this method a try and see if you can utilize it.