[Google Chromecast] Asphyx:
all the worry and it probably came down to a dirty contact in and HDMI port or just a bad connection when negotiating the HDMI protocols! LOL

Glad we can say for certain it does!

Abuttino deserves all the credit here he got it working and confirmed!

The ROM or the settings. Aggressive Battery saving and sleep settings are usually the culprit when Streaming stops suddenly such as Pandora and other streaming media types.

Yes Plex will stream 1080P just fine. Plex streams better because it has a number of transcoding profiles configured that tell it what type of stream and how fast the connection is to get the best results on the unit that is receiving the stream. aVia doesn't do any of that it is more like a Bucket Brigade, Gets the data from the file and then just passes it off to the CCast.

No you don't need to have it with you you just have to have a MyPlex account (Free) and be sure your Plex Server at home is set up properly and exposed to the Internet. If your Router supports UPNP then it probably configured itself already when you installed PlexServer

To answer your questions...

Situation 1 has bigger issues than where the content is coming from, because CCast will have difficulty connecting to the Internet in some Hotels. If you can get it to connect to the net then both Plex and aVia should work to play content from your Plex Server.

RE ON THE PHONE content - aVia will work regardless of how the content got onto your phone, Plex requires a process to put it on the unit (via SYNC, see below) so it can be played without the server. I have not tried streaming SYNCED content to a CCast, Should work but until I do it can't say for sure.

Situation 2 - since there are no issues with connection you can probably play your entire Plex Library over your friends CCast when your there (you can even share your server with him via MyPlex!) But again ON UNIT unless it has been synced from Plex server (again see below) is not possible with Plex Player! aVia will do what you want.

Truth is playing locally from your unit is NEVER going to be a great experience EVER! Especially not in situations where an Internet connection is available! You will get choppy playback,Burn your battery dry and any interruption on the unit will affect the video being played. Not to mention the storage requirements of your typical Video that for a standard movie at 1080P will take up 3+GB of your 32GB unit storage! If you save it on a SDcard the quality degrades even further because SD Card don't read as quickly as the Native Ram in the unit does! All of that leads to Playback degradation in the end which has nothing to do with CCast and everything to do with your unit and filetype.

best way to stream is with a server designed to do it. One that will transcode on the fly works the best. Local playback should only be used when no server or Internet connection is available!

Thats just My Opinion mind you but if you want the best quality experience thats the way to go.

bhiga is correct here...I think the issue is people are looking for the PERFECT COMBINATION where at this point in time NONE exists!

One option is a Hammer and the other is a Screwdriver! Two entirely separate methods and for the full flexibility you probably really need BOTH to do everything you want in EVERY situation and with the best quality possible!

aVia seems like the most flexible Player due to it's ability to get it's Content from just about any location your Unit knows about. But unfortunately it just sucks in data and spits it back out to the CCast and therefore the content itself MUST be compatible and the stream itself is dependent on the Unit continuing to send. The content never makes a direct connection with CCast Instead the unit connects to CCast directly, so any interruption in the unit interrupts the streaming! It's no different than if you streamed from YouTube and YouTube servers went down. Stream gone!

And since it is dependent on the Unit itself various ROMs will exhibit different behavior depending on Power Saving, Sleep and other modes that may exist in order to stretch out battery time. aVia works down and dirty compared to things like Plex, NetFlix and YouTube which is why those services have a slightly higher requirement as far as Net Access and such. aVia is your only option if you have no interest in running a content server!

PlexPlayer itself will not play (or even see) content that was not added to the Plex Server Library in the first place. (at least I have never found a way to find/see it) There is a SYNC option that seems to be able to save files both in clouds or locally that your unit can then play when it is not in reach of the server. CloudSYNC seems to be useless (IMO) since if you can reach the cloud you can probably reach the server if you have it set up correctly. But thats a feature they advertise and I have never used it so no point in discussing it here.

If you Sync Content LOCALLY from the Plex Server (must be done when you can reach the Server) then it should save files locally to the unit so they can be played when there is no Net Access such as Planes, Hotels with no Internet Etc.

I have not tested Sync at all because I have not had a need to yet. (Sorry Folks Busy Busy Busy here!) But from the looks of the Sync Settings it MAY NOT transcode the file for you when you Sync. You select SYNC say what unit to Sync to and it may or may not transcode for that particular unit (I simply don't know at this point in time). Since CCast is not a SYNC option (can't, no storage space) it's a good bet that if it does transcode the file it will be whatever is native for your device. For most Android folks this will probably be compatible with CCast.

So to sum up YES both can play LOCAL UNIT files...The Difference is in HOW they got on your unit. aVia wll see anything the Unit can see...

Plex will only see files that are part of the Library or have been synced to the unit for playback without a server connection.

I am syncing a file now to see if this file can then be sent to a CCast and if it can then this could solve the quandary many people are having over which to use not related to MONEY.

Both system work in a very different way.

Something else to ponder here where CCast use is concerned.

Casting locally off a unit (such as with PlexSync and aVia) is going to burn through your Battery pretty quick. Unit not only has to stay up and working but it's going to run the proc at higher than idle to send the stream.

Not a problem if you are streaming indirectly like Plex normally works when you send from the server to the CCast.

Then you can shut down the unit (even turn it off) and the stream should continue.

Granted there will be situations where you want to play a file that wasn't on your server or synced to your unit.

In those cases aVia is your APP!

I suggest people get BOTH until such time as Bubble or some other option comes along that does it better and fits EVERY need!

The all encompassing PERFECT solution does not exist. Plex is great and a better experience not just for Android but Computers and Laptops as well! And so far it is the ONLY option that will transcode ON THE FLY for whatever parameters needed for what your streaming to.

But it does not pla Local Content unless you go through a couple of Hoops like adding the content to the Plex Library and Syncing it to your local unit for playback.

When this content I have is finished syncing I will try and see if I can recreate a NO NET situation and see if the CCast function works when no Internet is present...

If it does then that should probably suggest staying all Plex Environment is the way to go, Sync the files you want when you know there will be issues on Net Access, and when Internet connection exists just play it right off the server and have your entire library available to you.

The issue of COST and PlexPass have been addressed fully AFAIC and soon the PlexPass will not be required for CCast support.

The decision on what to use will come down to how you decide to put the content onto the unit.

For the price of BOTH apps I see no reason why people don't buy both and pick the one that best fits the situation they will be in.

The PlexServer is free and will work with BOTH player apps so to me it's a no brainer to set one up if you have a machine that can act as the server that you don't mind leaving on all the time.

I personally chose Plex because I wanted Home Cloud access to my media that my Seagate NAS didn't do well. And my storage space is limited on my Tablet and Phone so all my files are saved in my Home Cloud and only saved localy when I know there will be no internet connection to get them. Like when traveling or in a Cheap Hotel with no Internet access.