Google's Chromecast app by itself doesn't have any provision to stream offline videos...
But there are a lot of 3rd party apps like plex, emby, videostream etc to stream offline videos to the chromecast...
The problem with desktop streaming is that the apps are not standalone programs but rather open up in the chrome browser and then cast from there...
I recently got a chromecast but I have not been able to successfully watch a movie properly from my desktop.. However I have been using an app called localcast from my nexus tab and able to watch a few tv episodes..
This app does not support x265 videos though.. Hence now I'm experimenting more on the desktop apps like plex & emby..
People who are using plex, could you tell me whether I need to pay the activation charge to control the plex server (installed on my desktop) via the plex app on my nexus tab, even though I will be streaming only on local network and do not want the cloud services?
Plex does not have any charges if streaming locally. If you are doing remote streaming, you may need to pay a one time charge of 150 USD for Plex Pass.