How to Screen Mirror or Cast VLC on Roku? On a media streaming device like Roku, you will have many media streaming applications installed. All of those media streaming applications will certainly have an in-built media player. But some of those applications, with their media players, will not have many features. The VLC media player is one popular media player that comes with a wide range of features and plays content from other media streaming applications as well. This article is all about VLC, its features, and the way to play VLC on your Roku-connected device.
Table of Contents
What is VLC?
VLC is a free open-source media player that not only plays media files available on your device but it also streams media from discs, web cameras, and network streaming protocols. It is adept at playing media in a variety of formats.
Being a cross-platform media player, VLC works on all major platforms such as Windows, iOS, Android, Linux, Amazon Fire TV sticks, Roku, and more. As it works with network streaming protocol, VLC plays even damaged, incomplete, and unfinished files without waiting for them to be downloaded.
While there are plenty of media players available out there, VLC is distinguishably visible as it can handle both low and high-resolution videos without a snap.
It is one of the most preferred media players by users worldwide because it doesn’t allow annoying advertisements in between the streaming of media which scores VLC an extra point over other media players like MX player.
With all this about the VLC media player discussed, you would like to have the media player installed on your Roku device. Unfortunately, VLC is not available officially on the Roku Channels store and you cannot sideload the app to your Roku device. But that shouldn’t be a problem as you can screen mirror or cast VLC on Roku-connected devices from other devices.
Let us move on to the screen mirroring of the VLC media player on Roku.
Also Read: How to Get Twitch on Roku
How to Screen Mirror/Cast VLC on Roku?
You can screen mirror VLC to Roku from various devices such as Android and Windows. The steps are quite simple and easy to follow.
Casting VLC on Roku from Android devices
Screen mirroring or Casting can always be done easily when it is done from a smartphone. This is because you always have your smartphone with you and you suddenly have an urge to watch a movie on your TV. With a Roku connected device, you can’t have the VLC player installed on it. So, the next best way is to cast VLC and its media content from your smartphone. Let us have a look at the steps to screen mirror you from an Android device – say a smartphone.
# Step 1. Connect your Roku device to your TV.
# Step 2. Make sure that your TV and your Android device from which you are going to cast VLC are connected to the same network.
# Step 3. Install the VLC media player app on your Android smartphone.
# Step 4. Launch the Settings app on your phone and click on the Connection and Sharing option.
# Step 5. Click on the Cast option.
# Step 6. Enable Cast by clicking on the toggle switch next to it.
Your phone will be searching for the devices nearby to cast media and applications.
# Step 7. From the list of devices that appear, locate your Roku device and click on it.
# Step 8. Now that your device is connected to Roku, the content of your smartphone will be displayed on the Roku connected TV.
# Step 9. Launch the VLC media player and access the media files from your phone. This will be reflected in the Roku connected TV.
You have now successfully cast a VLC media player from an Android device to Roku.
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Casting VLC on Roku from Windows
The steps to cast VLC from Windows are the same as that of the Android devices. Let us have a look at the steps to cast VLC on Roku from your Windows – say computer or laptop.
# Step 1. Connect your Roku device to your TV’s HDMI port.
# Step 2. Switch on the Roku connected TV, and computer, and make sure that you have connected both devices to the same network.
# Step 3. Navigate to the home screen of Roku by pressing the home button on your remote.
# Step 4. Click on Settings below Streaming channels.
# Step 5. Under the settings menu, click on System.
# Step 6. Choose Screen Mirroring under the System tab.
# Step 7. Click on the Screen mirroring mode and select Prompt to allow other devices to cast content.
# Step 8. Select screen mirroring devices. It will now start searching for the available devices nearby and click on your device when you see it.
# Step 9. Your device is now set up to be cast. Launch the VLC player on your computer and it will be reflected on your TV.
You can now start playing the media files from your computer to the Roku-connected TV.
Why cast VLC on Roku?
Now that you have finished the screen mirroring process, you will realize that casting VLC media player content to Roku is better and simpler than actually installing applications on Roku. This proves to be an advantage on many levels.
Media streaming devices come up with limited storage and installing one app after another will result in the device misbehaving. Casting applications on Roku will not affect the storage of Roku. The only thing you have to make sure of is to connect the Roku-connected device and the device to cast content to the same network. This is done to prevent buffering issues.
Wrapping Up
The VLC media player plays media content of all formats and to cast media through VLC is one of the best things to be done on a Roku-connected TV.
The method to cast VLC on Roku from different platforms such as Android and Windows is simple and easy to follow. All you have to do is select a movie or a TV series of your choice and cast it through VLC on Roku.
Thanks for reading this post. Also Read: How to Add & Activate City TV on Roku?
For further queries and suggestions, leave a comment in the comment box below.
