There are plenty of things you can stream to your Chromecast, but thanks to copyright worries, locally stored video isn't one of them. At least one developer is hoping to change that, though, with an app that streams video files from your device's Gallery, Dropbox, or Google Drive to your television using Google's $35 dongle.

Developer Koushik Dutta posted to his Google+ page today with a link to an early beta of an application he's calling AirCast. After installing it, you select a locally stored video, tap "share," and stream the video to your Chromecast using AirCast. You can then control video playback using your mobile device.

The app is an early beta, and the current APK will "self-destruct" in two days, Dutta said in his post. It seems likely that Google would try to block apps like AirCast, which could upset its relationships with content providers by make it easier for users to play pirated movies on their TVs. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Still, the enthusiastic response to Dutta's post indicates that the market for apps like AirCast will be strong. Chromecast's inability to support local video streaming is currently the glaring difference between it and Apple's AirPlay standard. The existence of AirCast suggests that gap is about to be closed, whether Google is ready for it or not.