Casting Troubleshooting

Casting: when a TV does not play

What to do when a TV or a Chromecast is not listed, does not play a file, or when Windows asks about its firewall. How casting works is on the Casting page; what is known of each TV is in TV compatibility.

Quick checks

Symptom	First thing to try
The TV is not listed	Turn it on (not standby), same network, wait 20 s, open the panel again
Windows Firewall doesn't let...	Allow on private networks on the card, and approve Windows' question
...couldn't read the video...	Another firewall or security program; ports 7070 (DLNA) and 8010 (Chromecast)
The picture stutters on the TV	Subtitles off (no conversion), or a lower Cast quality for a Chromecast
...refused to play this video.	Try again: a DLNA TV then gets the film converted

The TV is not in the list

• The TV (or Chromecast) must be on and on the same network as this computer. A TV in standby may not answer.
• Give the search its time: the dot next to Cast to pulses while VLC looks (about 20 seconds). Close the panel and open it again to search again.
• With Discover cast devices off (Settings › Recording), the Renderer menu (right click on the video → Playback → Renderer) only looks when you choose Search for cast devices. The cast panel always looks.
• VLC Redesign does not look for devices when it starts: only when you open the cast panel (or the Renderer menu), and, after that first search, quietly 3 seconds into a playing video.

The TV does not play, or stops

When a cast fails, the card of the player says why, with Try again and Play here (back to this computer, where the TV was). In the cast panel, the device reads Not playing: choose it to try again.

The card says	What it means, what to do
TV doesn't answer. Check that it's on, and on the same network as this computer.	The TV did not answer VLC. Check it is on and on the same network, then Try again.
Windows Firewall doesn't let TV connect to this computer to read the video.	See the firewall question below.
TV couldn't read the video from this computer.	The TV could not read the stream from VLC's server on this computer (port 7070 for a DLNA TV, 8010 for a Chromecast). A firewall or security program other than Windows Firewall can keep it out too.
TV refused to play this video.	The TV refused the file. Try again: a film a DLNA TV refuses as it is gets converted.
TV stopped playing.	The TV stopped by itself, or from its remote.
TV is playing something else now.	Another app or phone took the TV or Chromecast.
TV couldn't play the video.	Any other failure. Try again, or Play here.

A file the TV cannot play

VLC Redesign converts what the TV cannot play, while it plays:

• A DLNA TV gets a film as it is when it lists that format, else converted to H.264 in MPEG-TS. A TV that refuses a film as it is, or stops it within its first 15 seconds, gets it converted instead of an error.
• A subtitle shown goes into the picture, so the film is converted. To send a film as it is, turn the subtitles off before casting.
• A Chromecast gets converted what it cannot play. Cast quality (Settings › Recording) trades quality against the processor time of the conversion: Low CPU for a slow PC.
• A 4K film is made smaller by the graphics card for the TV; films of 50 and 60 frames per second go at 25 and 30.

If the picture stutters on the TV during a conversion, the computer may be too slow for it: turn the subtitles off (a film the TV plays as it is needs no conversion), or, for a Chromecast, choose a lower Cast quality.

The firewall question

A TV reads the film from a small server VLC Redesign runs on this computer. Windows Firewall keeps other devices of the network out of a program unless a rule lets them in, so a TV cannot read the film until there is a rule for VLC Redesign.

• VLC Redesign asks only when it is needed. It opens no network ports when it starts, so Windows does not ask anything then. When you choose a TV and the firewall would keep it out, VLC Redesign asks Windows at once to add an inbound rule named VLC Redesign for this program, on private networks (and on public ones when this computer is on a public network). Windows asks for an administrator's approval; the rule is made once.
• Declined? The card of the player says Windows Firewall doesn't let TV connect to this computer to read the video, with a button Allow on private networks (Allow on public networks too on a public network) and Play here. The button asks Windows again (Waiting for Windows… meanwhile). Once the rule is there, the TV starts again from where it was.
• A rule that blocks VLC Redesign (made when Windows' own question was declined once) wins over any allowing rule: the button then replaces the inbound rules of this program with the one of VLC Redesign, in one approval.
• A device on this computer itself (a test device, a receiver app running here) needs no rule.
• To see or remove the rule: Windows Security → Firewall & network protection → Advanced settings → Inbound Rules, the rule VLC Redesign.

It used to fail, it works since 0.3.0

• A film cast to a TV now plays to its last picture, also with a subtitle file beside it and for the next film of a playlist.
• The TV starts once, with the picture and the sound together.
• A Samsung TV keeps a paused cast paused, and plays a film sent as it is (as MPEG-TS) beyond its first second.

If a TV failed with an older version, update to the latest one (see Small updates) before reporting it.

Report a TV

If a TV or a Chromecast does not work, open an issue with its brand, model and year, what you cast (the format, with or without subtitles), what the card said, and a log: turn on Settings › General › Diagnostics › Save a log (with Log details on Everything (debug)), close Settings, then cast again; see Save a log. See TV compatibility.

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Casting · TV compatibility · Troubleshooting and FAQ