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Overview

ChromeCastService is a singleton service that manages ChromeCast device discovery, connection handling, and remote media playback for Aradia Audiobooks. It provides a Flutter interface to the flutter_chrome_cast plugin. File: lib/resources/services/chromecast_service.dart

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Initialization

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initialize()

Initializes the ChromeCast service with default Google Cast settings. 
final chromeCastService = ChromeCastService();
await chromeCastService.initialize();
This should be called once during app startup (typically in main.dart). Subsequent calls are ignored.

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Device Discovery

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startDiscovery()

Starts scanning for available ChromeCast devices on the local network. 
chromeCastService.startDiscovery();

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stopDiscovery()

Stops the device discovery process. 
chromeCastService.stopDiscovery();

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devicesStream

Stream of discovered ChromeCast devices. Returns: Stream<List<GoogleCastDevice>> 
chromeCastService.devicesStream.listen((devices) {
  for (final device in devices) {
    print('Found: ${device.friendlyName}');
  }
});

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Connection Management

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connectToDevice()

Connects to a specific ChromeCast device.
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device
GoogleCastDevice
required
The ChromeCast device to connect to
final device = devices.first;
await chromeCastService.connectToDevice(device);

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disconnect()

Ends the current ChromeCast session and stops casting. 
await chromeCastService.disconnect();

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isConnected

Check if currently connected to a ChromeCast device. Returns: bool 
if (chromeCastService.isConnected) {
  print('ChromeCast is active');
}

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sessionStream

Stream of ChromeCast session state changes. Returns: Stream<GoogleCastSession?> 
chromeCastService.sessionStream.listen((session) {
  if (session != null) {
    print('ChromeCast session active');
  }
});

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Media Playback

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loadAudiobook()

Loads an audiobook into the ChromeCast queue and starts playback.
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audiobook
Audiobook
required
The audiobook to play
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files
List<AudiobookFile>
required
List of audio files to queue
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startIndex
int
required
Index of the file to start playing
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startPosition
Duration
required
Position within the file to start playback
await chromeCastService.loadAudiobook(
  audiobook,
  audioFiles,
  0,  // Start from first file
  Duration.zero,  // Start from beginning
);
The service automatically creates a queue with metadata including title, author, and cover art for each audio file.

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Playback Controls

play() Resumes playback on the ChromeCast device. 
await chromeCastService.play();
pause() Pauses playback on the ChromeCast device. 
await chromeCastService.pause();
stop() Stops playback and clears the media queue. 
await chromeCastService.stop();
seek() Seeks to a specific position in the current track.
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position
Duration
required
The position to seek to
await chromeCastService.seek(Duration(minutes: 5));
skipToNext() Skips to the next item in the queue. 
await chromeCastService.skipToNext();
skipToPrevious() Skips to the previous item in the queue. 
await chromeCastService.skipToPrevious();

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Media Status Monitoring

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mediaStatusStream

Stream of media playback status updates. Returns: Stream<GoggleCastMediaStatus?> 
chromeCastService.mediaStatusStream.listen((status) {
  if (status != null) {
    print('Playback state: ${status.playerState}');
  }
});

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currentPosition

Get the current playback position. Returns: Duration 
final position = chromeCastService.currentPosition;
print('Currently at: ${position.inSeconds}s');

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Cleanup

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dispose()

Cancels all subscriptions and stops device discovery. Call when the service is no longer needed. 
chromeCastService.dispose();

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Integration Example

// Initialize ChromeCast
final chromeCastService = ChromeCastService();
await chromeCastService.initialize();

// Start discovering devices
chromeCastService.startDiscovery();

// Listen for devices
chromeCastService.devicesStream.listen((devices) {
  if (devices.isNotEmpty) {
    // Connect to first device
    chromeCastService.connectToDevice(devices.first);
  }
});

// Monitor connection state
chromeCastService.sessionStream.listen((session) {
  if (session != null) {
    // Load audiobook when connected
    chromeCastService.loadAudiobook(
      audiobook,
      audioFiles,
      0,
      Duration.zero,
    );
  }
});

// Monitor playback
chromeCastService.mediaStatusStream.listen((status) {
  print('ChromeCast status: ${status?.playerState}');
});

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