Casting

Casting to a TV

VLC Redesign plays what is playing on a Chromecast or on a DLNA / UPnP TV of your network. The film goes on there from where it was, and the bar of the player goes on controlling it: pause, seek and change the subtitles here, the TV follows.

	Chromecast	DLNA / UPnP TV
Found by	mDNS (the Chromecast protocol)	UPnP discovery (a DLNA media renderer)
Reads the film from this computer on port	8010	7070
Picture on this computer too	No	Yes, with Show the video here too
Converted when	Its format can't play there, or a subtitle is shown	Its format can't play there, a subtitle is shown, or the TV stops it in its first 15 s
Checked with	A real Chromecast Ultra, and a test device	A real Samsung TV, and a test device

When a TV does not appear, does not play a file, or Windows asks about its firewall, see Casting: when a TV does not play. What is known of each TV model is in TV compatibility.

Before you start

• The TV (or the Chromecast) is on, and on the same network as this computer.
• The TV or the Chromecast reads the film from a small server VLC Redesign runs on this computer. Windows Firewall has to let it in: VLC Redesign asks Windows for that the first time it is needed (see the firewall question).
• Nothing else to install: the Chromecast and DLNA parts are in VLC Redesign.

Put the Cast button in the bar

The default bars have no Cast button. Add it once:

1. ⋯ → Customize Player (or the gear of the player's bar → Customize player).
2. Drag Cast to TV onto the player's bar. It comes right after the 31 items of the design's palette, before the bar's own controls (Play, Previous, Next...).
3. Save.

The button belongs to the profile you edited (⋯ → Profile); see Customize the player.

Without the button, a right click on the video (while a media plays) → Playback → Renderer lists the same devices in a classic menu: <Local> is this computer.

Cast

1. Play a video (or a song).
2. Click the Cast button. The panel Cast to opens; a dot in the accent colour pulses while VLC looks for devices (about 20 seconds).
3. Click the TV or the Chromecast. The panel closes and the player shows Connecting to TV…, then Playing on TV.

The panel lists:

• This computer, with a check mark while the media plays here.
• The devices found: a TV icon for a screen, a note icon and Sound only for a speaker. The one you cast to last comes first. Five are in view; the list scrolls for more.
• Show the video here too: the picture stays on this computer as well while the TV plays (DLNA TVs only; "With a Chromecast, the video plays only there.").
• The subtitles shown go to the TV with the picture: the subtitle you see is drawn into the picture sent to the TV.

A device that failed reads Not playing: choose it to try again; one being reached reads Connecting….

When nothing is found yet: Looking for TVs and Chromecasts on your network…, then No device found. Turn your TV or Chromecast on, on the same network as this computer.

After the first search (the first time the panel opened), VLC Redesign looks for your devices quietly, once per session, 3 seconds into a playing video, so they are already in the list when you open the panel.

While it plays on the TV

• The player shows the card Playing on TV, with the title of the media and Pause, seek and change the subtitles here: the TV follows.
• The Cast button is lit, and its tooltip reads Casting to and the name of the device (Cast to TV otherwise).
• Pause, seek, the next or previous media of the playlist, and the subtitles (choose another one, or none) are done here; the TV follows. A playlist goes on to its next film on the TV, and a subtitle file beside a film goes with it.
• Stop casting on the card, or This computer in the panel, brings the media back here: it goes on where the TV was.

Chromecast

• Found on the network (mDNS), listed with its name.
• The video plays only on the Chromecast (no picture here).
• A format the Chromecast cannot play, or a subtitle shown, is converted on this computer while it plays. Cast quality in Settings › Recording trades the quality of that conversion against the processor time it takes (High / Medium / Low / Low CPU; Medium by default).
• The server the Chromecast reads from uses port 8010 (Cast HTTP port, under Advanced Options of Settings › Recording). Send Dolby audio as is passes (E)AC-3 sound unconverted; leave it off unless your receiver plays Dolby.

DLNA / UPnP TV

• Found by UPnP: TVs that act as a DLNA media renderer, as many smart TVs do (Samsung, LG, Sony…). Only a Samsung has been checked so far: see TV compatibility.
• The TV reads the film from VLC Redesign's server on this computer, port 7070, at the pace of the film (one second ahead of it).
• A film the TV can play as it is goes as it is, in MPEG-TS when the TV takes it. A film it cannot play, a subtitle shown, or a film the TV stops within its first 15 seconds is converted (H.264 in MPEG-TS). A 4K film is made smaller for the TV by the graphics card; films of 50 and 60 frames per second go at 25 and 30.
• Show the video here too works with a DLNA TV.

Good to know. To cast a film exactly as it is (no conversion, least work for this computer), turn the subtitles off before casting: a subtitle shown is drawn into the picture, which needs a conversion.

Settings for casting

⋯ → Settings → Recording, section Casting (see Settings: Recording):

• Discover cast devices (on): VLC looks for devices when the Renderer menu opens. Off, that menu shows Search for cast devices instead, and VLC only looks when you choose it. (The cast panel always looks when it opens.)
• Cast quality: see Chromecast above.
• Advanced Options: Send Dolby audio as is, Cast HTTP port (the Chromecast's, 8010).
• The DLNA lead (how far ahead of the film the stream goes) is VLC's option sout-dlna-lead: see TV compatibility.

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Casting: when a TV does not play · TV compatibility · Home