Chromecast

How it works#

Fliks ships its own Chromecast receiver app rather than relying on a generic media receiver. When you cast, the sending client (web, mobile or desktop) tells the Chromecast to launch that receiver and hands it a direct URL to stream from: the Chromecast then pulls the video straight from your Fliks server, not through the sending device.

So the Chromecast must be able to reach the server at the address Fliks hands it. Discovery is done by the sending device, not the server, so a Docker install works on the default bridge network; set Public address if the Chromecast can't reach the address Fliks would otherwise use (see Chromecast on a bridge network).

The receiver uses the same adaptive-streaming player engine as the rest of Fliks, so quality switching, subtitles and multiple audio tracks all work the same way they do everywhere else. It also answers a short capability probe when a cast session starts, so the server knows which codecs that particular Chromecast model can decode before it picks a format.

Casting from a client#

Cast settings#

App settings > Chromecast controls what gets sent to a Chromecast once you start casting. The page isn't shown on TV clients.

The volume slider that appears while casting controls the Chromecast device's own volume, not the phone or computer you're casting from.

See also#

• Streaming and transcoding for how Direct Play, Direct Stream and Transcode decisions are made.
• Pairing and remote control for controlling playback on another device, Chromecast or otherwise.