Casting to a TV

IPTV Deck casts properly: the television fetches and decodes the stream itself. Nothing goes through the phone, so nothing is re-encoded, the quality is whatever the television can decode, and locking the phone changes nothing.

That is not screen mirroring, and it is why the battery does not melt.

Where casting works

Device	Chromecast	AirPlay	Picture in picture
Android phone and tablet	yes	no	yes, with the button
iPhone and iPad	yes	yes	yes, also by itself when you leave the app
Windows and the Mac	yes	no	yes, from the player’s options
Android TV and Fire TV	no	no	no
Apple TV	no	receives it	no
LG and Samsung TVs	no	no	no

A television running IPTV Deck does not cast to a Chromecast; its Play on another screen lists your other devices instead, see Watch on TV.

Casting to a Chromecast

There is one button for another screen. On a phone it is Cast on a film or series page, the icon on an episode row and on a channel’s page, and the same icon in the player’s bottom bar.

1. Tap it. Play on another screen opens with Chromecast at the top and, under it, Your TVs and phones, the devices running IPTV Deck on your account.
2. Tap Nearby Chromecast devices. On Android the system’s Cast picker lists the Chromecasts on your network. On an iPhone or iPad the first time asks Find devices on your Wi-Fi: choose Continue and allow Local Network access when iOS asks, it is used only for casting.
3. Pick a Chromecast. The app says Playing on and its name.
4. A mini control bar above the tabs gives you play, pause and seek, and the player’s controls keep working on the television (Controls affect the TV).
5. To end it, open the same sheet and choose Stop casting.

On Windows and the Mac the player’s Play on another screen has a Chromecast group with the devices it found on your network, Search again to look once more, your own devices under Your devices, and Stop casting while a cast runs.

An Android phone needs Google Play services to cast; without them the Chromecast part of the sheet is not shown.

While it casts

Audio and subtitle tracks can be chosen from the phone while it plays, and Search subtitles online… works there too. Subtitles from a file are sent to the television rather than burned in. Position stays in sync, so stopping the cast and carrying on locally resumes at the right second.

When nothing is found

• The Chromecast and the phone must be on the same network, and many routers keep guest Wi-Fi separate from the main one.
• Some routers block multicast discovery. If other casting apps also find nothing, that is the cause.
• On an iPhone or iPad, check that Local Network is allowed for IPTV Deck in the iOS settings.
• A device marked Unsupported is a TV without Chromecast built-in: it cannot take a stream from any app. Install IPTV Deck on that TV instead.
• Samsung TVs, and many other TVs, have no Chromecast built-in, so they do not show up or say they cannot take a cast. A Samsung TV from 2021 on can run IPTV Deck itself: install it from the TV’s app store, sign in to the same account, and pick the TV under Your TVs and phones in this sheet, see Watch on TV.
• Could not reach a device means it went off or left the Wi-Fi: turn it on, check the network and try again.

AirPlay

On an iPhone or iPad the player’s bottom bar has an AirPlay button. Pick an Apple TV or an AirPlay TV and the film or channel plays there; the player then shows the name of the device it plays on.

AirPlay works with the built-in player and, on iOS 18 or newer, with AetherEngine (picked in Player settings). When the button is dimmed, tapping it says why:

Message	What to do
AirPlay works only with the built-in player.	Set Player engine to the built-in player in the player settings, then tap AirPlay again
The built-in player couldn’t play this stream, and AirPlay works only with it.	Try another version of the channel or film
AirPlay can’t send this stream’s format.	Try another version of the channel or film
AirPlay can’t send a video with subtitles loaded from a file.	Turn those subtitles off, then tap AirPlay again
Stop casting to the Chromecast first	One way at a time

With some streams AetherEngine keeps the picture on the phone and sends only the sound; the player says so, and the built-in engine sends both.

Picture in picture

The player shrinks to a small window that stays on top while you use other apps.

• Android phone and tablet: the picture-in-picture button in the player’s bottom bar. The small window has play and pause.
• iPhone and iPad: the same button, and it also starts by itself when you leave the app while a film or channel plays full screen.
• Windows and the Mac: Picture in picture in the player’s options. It is not offered while you cast.

Android TV, Fire TV, Apple TV and LG and Samsung TVs have no picture in picture. For several channels at once on a television use Multiview, whose PiP layout puts a second channel in the corner.

If the system has picture in picture turned off for IPTV Deck, the player says Picture-in-picture unavailable on this device; allow it in the phone’s settings for the app. Right after a channel starts, Player is still starting asks you to try again in a moment.

On a phone, Background audio in Settings → Player (on by default) keeps the sound playing when you leave the app or turn the screen off.

Casting versus “Watch on TV”

They are two lists in the same sheet, and it is worth knowing which you want:

	Cast	Watch on TV
What plays it	The Chromecast’s own receiver	IPTV Deck running on your TV
What you get	Play, pause, seek, tracks	The whole app, your profile, your favourites
Needs	A Chromecast	IPTV Deck installed and paired on the television
Works with	Channels, films, episodes	Channels, films, episodes and whole multiview layouts

If your television runs IPTV Deck, picking it under Your TVs and phones is almost always the better choice: it hands the title over to a full app rather than a receiver. A catch-up programme cannot be sent to another device yet.