Problem with 'Cast to Device' using VLC.

Good morning,

I have a Google Chromecast attached via an HDMI cable to my NON Wi-Fi Smart TV.

I do NOT want to use ANY other media player but I woiuld like to find a solution to this particular issue/problem.

My problem is in two parts.

---

Part 1:-

I have added Cast to Device to the Context Menu using the Tutorial . . .

> How to Add or Remove Cast to Device context menu in Windows 10

Code:

@echo off

:: Created by: Shawn Brink
:: Created on: August 24th 2016
:: Tutorial  : https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/61525-cast-device-context-menu-add-remove-windows-10-a.html

REG Delete "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Blocked" /V {7AD84985-87B4-4a16-BE58-8B72A5B390F7} /F

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

. . . BUT, if I right-click a VLC media file for example, it does NOT show the Google Chromecast. Therefore it is NOT finding the Google Chromecast for some reason!

---

Part 2:-

When I open a VLC media file for example. and then select Playback > Renderer, it sometimes shows as Scanning [ continuously ], OR, it shows up as Living Room TV Available, and when I click that, it plays on the TV.

---

Additional:-

In Google Chrome, if I click the The three dots . . . > Cast, I get the following . . .



BOTH the Cast Tab and Cast Screen work perfectly.

---

WORKAROUND:-

I have a workaround where, using Google Chrome, I click the The three dots . . . > Cast > Sources > Cast Screen, then goto the VLC tab. Works great!

---

Has anyone else had this problem with VLC [ or another media player ] and found a solution please?

Thanks.

Hi Paul -

For Part 1 - I don't use "Cast To" on my desktop but take a peek at this:

Fix: Cast to Device Not Working in Windows 10

For Part 1 and Part 2, you can also try here:

The VideoLAN Forums - VLC media player

HTH a bit.

Cheers.

Thanks for the reply @Compumind, it is appreciated.

Compumind said:

For Part 1 - I don't use "Cast To" on my desktop but take a peek at this:

Fix: Cast to Device Not Working in Windows 10

I have been playing around with the above.

What I should have mentioned in the OP is that after a Restart, the majority of the time I get . . .



. . . and as long as I do NOT close VLC [ pause it at the titles at the end of a video ], it will stay with Living Room TV available showing.

I looked in Device Manager at the Software Devices when the Living Room TV is available and showing and it shows . . .



If I close VLC, the Living Room TV disappears from the list.

As per the link above, I have set the following Services as . . .

Code:

DNS Client - Automatic
Function Discovery Provider Host – Manual
Function Discovery Resource Publication – Manual
SSDP Discovery – Manual
UPnP Device Host – Manual

I have also set the Service - WMPNetworkSvc [ Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service ] to Manual, and the Media Streaming option to Turned On, but this still does NOT give me the guarantee to work ALL of the time.

---

Therefore, I am now thinking of using the Plex Server [ Web App ] on my laptop and casting that way, although I have NO experience of using this so I will need to read up on it.

I found this as a start => Quick-Start & Step by Step Guides for Plex Media Server

As my laptop is quite old, I will need to see if it is compatible [ Benchmark Test ] first!

This is my CPU information . . .

Code:

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   ___  ____  _  _           ____  ____  ____   ___  ____  ____  ____  ____  ____
  / __)(  _ \/ )( \   ___   (  _ \(  _ \/    \ / __)(  __)/ ___)/ ___)/    \(  _ \
 ( (__  ) __/) \/ (  (___)   ) __/ )   /)  O (( (__  ) _) \___ \\___ \)  O ( )   /
  \___)(__)  \____/         (__)  (__\_)\____/ \___)(____)(____/(____/\____/(__\_)

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Architecture                                : AMD64
 Manufacturer                                : GenuineIntel
 Name                                        : Intel(R) Pentium(R) CPU P6200 @ 2.13 GHz
 Install Date                                : --> [NO Date Present]
 Serial Number                               : --> [NO Serial Number Present]
 Part Number                                 : N/A
 Description                                 : Intel64 Family 6 Model 37 Stepping 5
 Device ID                                   : CPU0
 Path [Relative]                             : Win32_Processor.DeviceID="CPU0"
 Processor ID                                : BFEBFBFF00020655
 Processor Type                              : 3
 Max Clock Speed                             : 2.13 GHz
 Current Clock Speed                         : 1.87 GHz
 Number Of Logical Processors                : 2
 Number Of Cores                             : 2
 Number Of Enabled Cores                     : 1
 L2 Cache Size                               : 256
 L2 Cache Speed                              : N/A
 L3 Cache Size                               : 3072
 L3 Cache Speed                              : 0
 Current Voltage                             : 7
 Load Percentage                             : 4.00 %
 Address Width                               : 64
 Data Width                                  : 64
 Power Management Supported                  : False
 Power Management Capabilities               : N/A
 Socket Designation                          : On Board
 Creation Class Name                         : Win32_Processor
 System Creation Class Name                  : Win32_ComputerSystem
 Error Cleared                               : N/A
 Error Description                           : N/A
 Last Error Code                             : N/A
 Thread Count                                : 2
 Virtualization Firmware Enabled             : False
 VM Monitor Mode Extensions                  : False
 Second Level Address Translation Extensions : False
 Scope                                       : System.Management.ManagementScope
 Path                                        : \\System-Admin-LT\root\cimv2:Win32_Processor.DeviceID="CPU0"
 Options                                     : System.Management.ObjectGetOptions
 Class Path                                  : \\System-Admin-LT\root\cimv2:Win32_Processor
 Properties                                  : {AddressWidth, Architecture, AssetTag, Availability...}
 System Properties                           : {__GENUS, __CLASS, __SUPERCLASS, __DYNASTY...}
 Qualifiers                                  : {dynamic, Locale, provider, UUID}
 Status                                      : OK
 Status Info                                 : 3

In your opinion, it this a viable option, and if so, have you got any recommendations or sites that you know of that will help me to smoothly achieve this please?

As I have a customised OS, I think creating a System Image FIRST will be a good idea as well, just in case it does NOT go according to plan.

---

Thanks in advance.

Hi @Paul Black -

Sorry for my delayed response, mate.

I use (free) PLEX for my Roku devices but the same principles apply.

Plex Media Server Requirements | Plex Support

If doing it by Wi-Fi, do have a solid connection:

Internet and Network Requirements | Plex Support

It is a rather robust platform but like all software, it has it's idiosyncrasies.
I would suggest turning off Media Streaming in Windows.

Stream Movies & TV Shows | Plex
Media Server Downloads | Plex Media Server for Windows, Mac, Linux, FreeBSD and More

Go slow setting it all up on your system. I will help if you so desire.
Also, create an account for the PLEX forums.

Plex Support | Plex Media Server Support

And yes, create a complete, restorable system backup before you begin.

Let me know.

Cheers!

@Compumind,

I have still NOT got round to this yet [ I have had a few personal problems ], typical. Hopefully, this weekend I will have some time.

---

I have actually found a sort of solution to my initial post, which it quite bizarre.

If I close the lid of the Laptop, which puts it to Sleep, and then re-open the lid, the . . .



. . . appears. I have tried this several times over several days, and each time it works.

VERY strange indeed !

WORKAROUND:-

I thought that I would post this workaround that I use when my Laptop does NOT show Playback > Renderer > Living Room TV for example in VLC using Chromecast. Instead of putting the Laptop to Sleep and then waking it up, which for some strange reason works, this method is a 3 second fix.

I wrote this Script that WORKS !

Code:

@echo off
:: ############################################################
:: # Title     : Wi-Fi Network Adapter - Disable & Enable     #
:: # Created By: Paul Black                                   #
:: # Created On: 16-Dec-2022                                  #
:: # Filename  : Wi-Fi_Network_Adapter_Disable_And_Enable.bat #
:: ############################################################
set "Title=Wi-Fi Network Adapter - Disable ^& Enable" & set "Author=Paul Black"
title %Title% - Written by %Author%.

setlocal EnableDelayedExpansion
fsutil Dirty Query %SystemDrive% > nul && goto:[RunAs]
echo CreateObject^("Shell.Application"^). ^
ShellExecute "%~0","+","","RunAs",1 > "%Temp%\+.vbs" && "%Temp%\+.vbs" & Exit
:[RunAs]

netsh interface set interface "Wi-Fi" disabled
netsh interface set interface "Wi-Fi" enabled
echo. & echo ^>Press ANY key to EXIT . . . & pause >nul & Exit

I hope it helps someone else who also has this problem.