The VLC 3.0 update brings a long-awaited feature: Chromecast support. On macOS (and soon iOS) it is possible to stream downloaded videos to the HDMI dongle. In this article you can read how it works and what you should pay attention to.
VLC Chromecast: this is how you stream videos
We had to wait a long time for it, but finally video player VLC has an option to stream videos to the Chromecast. This is possible on almost all major platforms, including macOS and soon iOS. Handy, because this allows you to send videos from your Mac or MacBook directly to your television, which saves a lot of hassle. It works quickly and easily, although you have to search where you can find the position. We explain it in the steps below.
- Download and install VLC 3.0 from the website of developer VideoLAN;
- Once you have installed the update, play a video from your computer;
- As you can see, this still happens in the video player itself. You activate the Chromecast function by tapping ‘Play’ in the menu bar at the top, going to ‘Renderer’ and selecting your Chromecast there;
- Once you have done this, the video will automatically play on your television.
As you are used to from VLC, you can play almost all file formats, even while streaming to the Chromecast. You can pause, rewind or fast forward and stop the video from your Mac. On Android devices you will automatically see a notification that allows you to pause the video from your phone, but unfortunately on iPhones this option is not available. Chromecast Audio users can also stream music using the VLC Mac app.
Not yet on iOS
Unfortunately, Chromecast support is not yet available on iOS devices. Version 3.0 does bring some innovations, such as Drag & Drop and Face ID support, but you will have to wait for the streaming. According to the developers of VLC, an update for this will be rolled out in the coming weeks.
It is nice that the VLC app is optimized for the iPhone X, so you can no longer see the ugly black bars at the top and bottom. The latest iOS version of VLC can be downloaded and installed via the link below.
→ Download VLC from the App Store (free)