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Cast to a Chromecast, an AirPlay screen or a DLNA TV

Casting is in Yonto Player’s free app: on an Android phone or tablet, the player’s Cast button sends the video to a Chromecast or Google TV, to an AirPlay screen such as an Apple TV, or to a TV, Kodi box or AV receiver that plays DLNA. A video the receiver cannot play is repackaged on the phone, or converted as it plays, so an MKV with DTS sound or an old AVI still reaches the TV (below). The iPhone and iPad app, which is not out yet, has one Cast button too, with a menu that lists Chromecast and AirPlay; it does not cast to DLNA.

Cast a video

Section titled “Cast a video”
  1. Start the video on your phone or tablet, with the phone and the screen on the same Wi-Fi.
  2. Press Cast. The list under Play on is filled while it looks for screens on your Wi-Fi.
  3. Pick the screen. The video carries on there from where it was, and the phone is the remote.
  4. Choose Stop casting to bring it back to the phone at the same place.

The Android TV app does not cast to another screen.

A video the receiver cannot play

Section titled “A video the receiver cannot play”
  • From a Jellyfin, Emby or Plex server, casting asks the server again for what the receiver plays, and the server converts for it, H.264 for a Chromecast say, unless Let the server convert videos is off for the source. A downloaded title is cast from the phone as it is.
  • A file the receiver cannot read, such as an MKV or one with DTS sound, is repackaged on the phone as it is cast, for a Chromecast, an AirPlay screen and a DLNA TV alike. A DLNA TV says which kinds of file it takes, and one that takes MKV is sent the MKV as it is.
  • On Android, a picture the receiver cannot decode (an AVI with MJPEG or Xvid video, or H.265 on a Chromecast) is converted on the phone as it plays, to H.264 with AAC sound. The cast starts a few seconds later.
  • Converted on the phone, a picture larger than the receiver takes, such as 4K on a Chromecast, is scaled down to fit, and HDR10 or HLG is tone-mapped to SDR, which is what a Chromecast shows.
  • A phone whose video encoder cannot take the picture’s size cannot cast such a file.

A Chromecast takes H.264, an AirPlay screen takes H.264 and H.265, and a DLNA TV is sent H.264 when the picture is converted.

Good to know

Section titled “Good to know”
  • An AirPlay screen has to allow anyone on your network. To cast to a Mac, set it to “Anyone on the same network” and it shows up in the list. A screen that wants a PIN or a password asks for it once.
  • Subtitle files and audio tracks do not go to an AirPlay screen, and AirPlay has no playback speed.
  • DLNA TVs differ a lot in what they play, and Yonto Player has been checked with Kodi 21. A TV that cannot play the video says so on the phone (“This receiver can’t play this video’s format”) rather than showing a black screen. A repackaged video is sent as a live-streaming playlist (HLS), which some DLNA TVs do not play.
  • Subtitle files and audio tracks do not go to a DLNA TV, and DLNA has no playback speed. Many DLNA TVs do not move while paused: drag the slider while paused and the TV goes there when you press play.
  • Stopping the video with the TV’s own remote ends the cast, and the phone carries on from there.

Cast from an Android phone to an Apple TV goes through casting to an Apple TV step by step. Troubleshooting lists the messages casting shows. Video formats Yonto Player plays says which files play on the phone itself. Yonto Player provides no content. Chromecast, Google TV, AirPlay, Apple TV, DLNA and Kodi are trademarks of their owners, and Yonto Player is not affiliated with or endorsed by them.