Cast Your Device Screen the Way it Was Meant to be with Second Screen

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Not too long ago here on the XDA Portal, we covered how Google had made good on their promise to allow Google Chromecast customers to finally cast and mirror their device screens onto the big screen through the little and inexpensive powerhouse. However, due to limitations on devices for which this feature had become available, our members stepped up to the plate and decided to “fix” Google’s mistake and gave the gift of mirror cast the home screen to pretty much all devices, with a few exceptions. But this article is not about Chromecast or even Google. Rather, we focus on the work that XDA Senior Member farmerbb has brought to the table, which should make a whole lot of you very happy that you decided to take the plunge with that FullHD TV.

The dev presents his app, known as Second Screen. Despite of what its name might suggest, this is not a tool to extend your home screen to a TV but rather a tool to properly cast your current screen onto the big screen. The main issue is that Android natively tries to use any resolution it sees fit whenever it streams its screen. It pays no attention to what resolution your screen actually has and essentially mirrors a raw version of your device’s screen onto the TV it is being cast to. This happens regardless of whether you use DNLA, MHL, or any of the other TV devices such as Miracast–or even the Chromecast. Second Screen aims at providing you with a way to properly cast your screen so that it looks is best whenever you are showing it off to your friends and family. It does so by allowing for a user selectable resolution and even DPI in order to take full advantage of your TV. On top of this, the app has several additional features such as turning the screen and haptic feedback off in order to save battery usage while you cast. Also, it provides easy connectivity options to use either a WiFi or Bluetooth input devices in order to turn your device into a home entertainment system. As for the cherry on top, you can cast Chrome in Desktop mode without manually having to go in and change clients yourself.

The app requires root to work and is, unfortunately, made to work mostly on AOSP-derived ROMs. Feel free to try it on other devices, but the dev makes no guarantees that it will work on other software. Feedback for this is rather paramount, so if you have a device running any AOSP variant and have a Chromecast, Miracast, or any TV fitted with a way to receive a cast, please take it for a spin and report any feedback you may have. Now, go and cast your heart out! You can find more information in the Second Screen app thread.