SiriusXM on iPhone, Chromecast to WiiM Pro behavior

[rjcrum]

I’m using the SiriusXM app on an iPhone, and Chromecasting to my WiiM Pro. It works well, but I was surprised to discover something today.

I left the house, and my phone disconnected from WiFi. When I returned 45 minutes later, the music was still playing on the WiiM.

I asked my wife if the music had stopped when I left the house, and she said it hadn’t. I then experimented and put my phone in airplane mode, ensuring both WiFi and cellular data were off. The music still played!

How can there be a persistent connection from SXM to WiiM when my phone is out of the picture? It’s almost like a “Spotify Connect” feature.

I don’t understand.

 

[Burnside]

I believe chromecasting is sending the audio from the cloud direct to your endpoint device I.e the WiiM Pro, so doesn’t need your phone in the loop once the connection is established. So, in that respect it is like Spotify Connect and the other major casting protocols.

Edit: Airplay on the other hand does act like an in between and the stream from the cloud needs to pass thru your phone and be sent on to the endpoint device

 

[harkpabst]

Yep, normal for Chromecast, surprising to AirPlay users.

 

[rjcrum]

Wow. Didn’t know that, and very happy with these answers. Thank you!

My biggest beef with using AirPlay is that the connection isn’t persistent! If I leave the house, the music stops.

I will probably use the SiriusXM app on my phone more now, since the connection is persistent. I regularly listen to SiriusXM in my car, and did at home when I had a receiver capable of SiriusXM reception. That disappeared, and that’s the reason that I’ve been waiting for a year or more for Wiim to add SiriusXM to its supported music services.

I would love to use WiiM for everything, and not have to worry about starting apps on my phone. But now I know about the Chromecast persistence, I might be more willing to do so.

 

[slartibartfast]

Yep, normal for Chromecast, surprising to AirPlay users.

So when I cast BBC iPlayer to a Chromecast can I shut down iPlayer on my phone?

 

[harkpabst]

I don't know what BBC iPlayer does.

If you cast from e.g. the Radio Paradise app, the Tidal app, the Spotify app, the Qobuz app or any other app of a streaming service on the Internet to a Chromecast enabled device like one of the WiiMs you can shut down your phone and the music will play forever.

Forever in this context means until the next error occurs somewhere in the chain.

 

[slartibartfast]

I don't know what BBC iPlayer does.

If you cast from e.g. the Radio Paradise app, the Tidal app, the Spotify app, the Qobuz app or any other app of a streaming service on the Internet to a Chromecast enabled device like one of the WiiMs you can shut down your phone and the music will play forever.

Forever in this context means until the next error occurs somewhere in the chain.

BBC iPlayer is the BBC TV app. Whenever I've used it I've always been careful not to close the app down. Now I know I shouldn't have worried about it

 

[Burnside]

BBC iPlayer is the BBC TV app.

And Radio

 

[slartibartfast]

And Radio

That is Sounds now

 

[Burnside]

That is Sounds now

Sorry, you are of course correct. I only use it every day , I’ll forget my name next