For some time now, VLC developers have been working on a support for Chromecast and now, it is supposedly available. Although it is yet to make it to the stable release of VLC, you can still stream videos and audio files from VLC media player on your PC to Chromecast
One thing must be noted and that is the fact that this feature is in its early stages and so it may work or it may not, however, here’s how to go about it.
You’ll need to install the version 3.0 of VLC media player on Windows 64-bit or32-bit, a Chromecast device, or an Android TV device like the NVIDIA SHIELD (they can accept Chromecast-standard streams), or a television that uses Android TV as its software (like one of Sony’s newer TVs). The Windows machine you’re using to stream needs to be on the same local network as your Chromecast device, wired or wireless.
How to Cast Video From VLC
Once you’ve downloaded and installed the appropriate version of VLC, you can get started. First, ensure that your Chromecast and your television are on.
You won’t find a “Cast” icon in VLC–at least, not at the moment. To find your Chromecast,
- Click Video > Renderer > Scan in VLC version 3.0 or Playback>Renderer>Scan in 4.0. If your Chromecast already appears in the menu, skip to the next step.
- VLC will scan for nearby devices. Click Video > Renderer > Your Chromecast. VLC will connect to your Chromecast.
- Open a video file in VLC and click the “Play” button. Use the Media > Open File menu or just drag and drop a video file from your file manager onto the VLC window.
- After you try to play the video, you’ll see an “Insecure site” prompt. Click “View certificate” to view your Chromecast’s security certificate.
- Click “Accept Permanently” to accept your Chromecast’s certificate.
The video file should immediately begin playing on your Chromecast after you agree, with your Chromecast streaming the file from the VLC player on your computer.
- Use the controls in the VLC window to pause, fast forward, rewind, and otherwise control playback.
When you try streaming in the future, you’ll just need to use the Video>Render or Playback>Render menu to scan and connect. Afterwards, you can play video files without accepting the certificate prompt again.
This feature may just need some more time in the oven. If this VLC feature doesn’t work well for you at the moment, try another way to watch local video files on your Chromecast specifically using Google Chrome’s built-in casting tool.
- To start it, open Chrome to any website, then click the Chromecast icon, or click the Menu button and click “cast.”
- Select the drop-down menu next to “Cast to,” then change the source from the Chrome tab to “Cast Desktop.” Then select your Chromecast or Android TV device.
Once Chromecast is broadcasting the whole screen, just open VLC and play your video in fullscreen. Note that, Chromecast’s video streaming protocol is focused on speed rather than quality, thus, video quality will be much lower than in the steps above.
If you want to downgrade back to a stable version of VLC, visit VLC’s homepage, download the current stable build, and install it.