If you watch any sort of video content on your computer, Mac, Windows or Linux system, you really should have a copy of the fantastic open source program VLC. It’s one of the first programs I install on any new computer, it’s that handy. Better, it supports way more than the Windows media player or Apple’s Quicktime system, so those MKV and other odd format files you might <cough> download <cough> work just fine too.
With the release of the 3.0 version of VLC, there’s now built-in support for Chromecast too, which is a boon for anyone who has a Chromecast device plugged into their television or, as in the case of the Vizio TV line, has the capability built into the television set itself. If not, the Chromecast unit is a ridiculously cheap $35 at the Google Store, well worth the price.
The problem with the Cast support in VLC is that it’s in a very odd place. It took me some research to figure out how to get it working, even as someone who’s been using VLC for years…
To start, let’s fire up a video from my YouTube channel on my MacOS X system:
Should look familiar as the basic playback features and layout remains the same. My first thought was that the “fill screen” button would add an option to Cast the video but… nope. Along the top are a lot of menus and features (one great thing about VLC is that it gives you a ton of control over video playback), so perhaps “Playback“?
Nope. Nothing. No “Cast…” or “Choose output device…” or similar.
How about the “Video” menu?
Seems like it could be in that first section but nope. After some digging it turns out that Casting is indeed a part of the Playback menu – which is the logical place to locate the feature – but that it’s hidden behind developer technical jargon rather than a user friendly option.
Go back and look at the Playback menu again. Do you see it?
Turns out that Casting video content is categorized as “Rendering”, and the “Renderer” menu shows all the expected Chromecast options:
I have three options for casting in my home: A Vizio soundbar, Vizio TV and Google Home unit. It’s the third one in the pic above that’s the actual television, so that’s what I’ll select. And after a few seconds, the video’s being shown on my television and it looks gorgeous:
Meanwhile, on the computer screen the playback controls and such could do with a bit of a facelift, but they’re nonetheless functional:
See them along the bottom? It definitely works, but perhaps something a bit more visually pleasing could show up as part of the VLC 3.1 update? 
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