Be it on a desktop computer, laptop or Android smartphone, VLC is the go-to media player for every type of media consumption.
The app is more than capable of handling all types of video and audio files yet lacked one important feature. The player never supported Google Chromecast until now.
The developers of VLC media player have officially released an update on the Google Play Store. The beta version of the app is available for download and if you choose to get it, you can use it to stream videos locally from your smartphone to your television. Users can also pick content from their media server or online to stream them in their HD television by making use of this new cast feature.
Before you decide to download it right away, it is important to know that VLC for Chromecast is still in its beta stage and had some issues as confirmed by a couple of users. The app works perfectly when you cast a movie or song from your smartphone to the television that uses the Google streaming stick. It is easy to say that the developers got this one right. When the same was experimented by trying to stream movies from a media storage server, it didn’t load fully and had some stuttering issues.
The app is still in its beta stage which the team calls as experimental and the original version of the app remains untouched for now. It is available only for select users who like to always get ahead of everyone else on the beta channel and try experimental features. Google Chromecast was originally launched way back in 2013 and in the past four years, they have managed to convince every top-tier app developer to support casting.
Android is owned by Google which makes it easier for them to integrate it in all their smartphones. Apps like ES file explorer, Plex followed suit and a host of other streaming apps like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Video also support Chromecast allowing you to stream your favorite movies on the big screen without batting an eyelid. VLC is definitely late to the party but considering the fact that it is the best and the most versatile media players out there capable of playing so many formats, it’s better late than never to have support for streaming. There is no update on when it will come out of the beta channel.