The developers of popular free media player VLC have revealed that the rumours are true: they are currently developing Chromecast support and it is coming soon. While they are already close to finalising the iOS and Android versions, they admit it will take a little more time to finish the support for the desktop versions.

VLC is hugely popular because it lets you play almost any type of media file, an attribute that Chromecast users would love to have for better streaming capabilities. VLC is mostly used on desktops and laptops, but is also fast gaining traction on Android devices. According to VLC lead developer for OSX and iOS Felix Paul Kühne, the next iOS update for VLC will probably contain the new Chromecast support, but he refused to give a specific date, except it might be in the next four to six weeks. As for the Android app, he said that it will probably be added after they’ve launched the iOS support.

However, what will take a little more time to develop is the desktop app for Windows, Mac or Linux. This is due to the fact that Google doesn’t have an SDK yet for native apps on those platforms. The options for the VLC team would be to either work on a support with the Chrome browser or to reverse engineer it, which of course, will be a longer and more complicated process.

Having Chromecast support for the desktop version of VLC is important for a lot of users since it would be much easier for them to stream the videos from their computer hard drives to their larger TV screens. Until then, you would just have to settle for using the mobile versions first when it comes to your Android device soon.

VIA: Slashgear

2 COMMENTS

  1. Currently the best way to stream from your PC to chromecast is via Plex either drecctly from your PC or via a smartphone with the Plex app, and it’s free. Plex trancodes most video formats to whatever is acceptable to Chromecast.

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