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SamDel edited this page Sep 16, 2024 · 29 revisions

Welcome to the ChromeCast-Desktop-Audio-Streamer wiki!

You can use this tool to stream the captured audio of your desktop to Chromecast devices.

Chromecast devices are discovered at start-up and listed in the Devices box. To start streaming you can press a play button. Volume can be adjusted per device in the Devices box, or for all devices in the 'Volume all devices' box. When streaming you can mute the audio on your desktop if you like.

You can create groups in the Google Home app and use them in this application to play devices synchronized.

See below for all options, configuration, troubleshooting and the roadmap. If you have issues then please log them here.

Troubleshooting

Chromecast devices are not found

  • You can add your Chromecast devices in the config file.
  • Turn off the firewall temporary to check if it's blocking the discovery packages.
  • Check if the router isn't blocking discovery packages. UPnp (or MDNS, or multicast, or IGMP) should be enabled.
  • Check your network setup. Try switching from wifi to ethernet.

Chromecast device doesn't start streaming

  • Make sure your desktop plays music.
  • Try switching the recording device.
  • Try switching the IP address.
  • Check if the firewall is not blocking incoming connections for 'ChromeCast.Desktop.AudioStreamer'. Also check the Wi-Fi network profile (public/private).

Dropouts / gaps when streaming

  • Try changing the stream format. Most likely the dropouts are caused by the network load. Streaming in Wav takes a lot of bandwidth, streaming in Mp3 128 kbps takes very little bandwidth.

Error when running the installer: 'This advertised application will not be installed ...'

  • Try installing from a command prompt:
msiexec /i Setup.msi /qb

Problems when using VPN

Please read this thread on how to white-list IP addresses.

Options

  • IP4 address used: This is a dropdown with the local IP addresses. The one that's used for streaming is selected. You can try to change the IP address when things are not working.

When your desktop changes from e.g. a network cable to a WIFI connection this list is updated with the new IP addresses. When the current IP address is not available anymore the tool tries to automatically use the new IP address.

  • Recording device: You can change the device from which the audio is captured.

  • Stream format You can change the audio format used for streaming. Mp3 320 kbps is default. Wav is lossless but takes a lot of network bandwidth. Mp3 128 kbps takes the least network bandwidth.

  • Language The user interface language.

  • Filter devices You can choose if devices and/or groups are shown in the devices box.

  • Device buffer You can add an extra audio buffer on the device. The lag between the desktop and the device increases but the connection gets more stable.

Not all home setup are stable on the default device buffer settings. 
Please set it to a setting where your speakers produce the appropriate delay:

- When streaming in wav format: < 5 seconds
- When streaming in mp3 320 format: < 10 seconds
- When streaming in mp3 128 format: > 20 seconds

Post a message in discussions if you still have a problem.

  • Use Keyboard shortcuts: Up = Ctrl+Alt+U; Down = Ctrl+Alt+D; (Un)Mute = Ctrl+Alt+M: When checked you can use the keyboard shortcuts to change the volume of all devices.

  • Show window at startup: If unchecked the window is hidden at start-up, you can show/hide the window by clicking the tray icon.

  • Automatically start devices at startup: If checked then streaming to a device starts automatically after it's added to the Devices box.

  • Automatically start last used devices and groups at startup The same as 'Automatically start devices at startup', but only the devices that were playing when the application closed are started.

  • Automatically restart when the stream is closed: When the stream is stopped an attempt is made to restart the stream.

  • Log device communication If checked the log tab is visible. You can post the content to help development in situations where the application doesn't work as expected.

  • Scan again for devices If you turned a Chromecast device on after you started this tool, you can use this button to add it to the Devices box.

  • Reset Settings Reset the settings to their default values. Known devices that don't exist anymore are removed.

Rest API

The application has a Rest API with the following options, all GET (see this issue for more information):

* http://<ip>:27272/list - list of all devices
* http://<ip>:27272/togglemute - for all devices
* http://<ip>:27272/togglemute/<device name>
* http://<ip>:27272/volume/<device name>/<level> - level between 0 and 100
* http://<ip>:27272/stop - for all devices
* http://<ip>:27272/stop/<device name>
* http://<ip>:27272/start - for all devices
* http://<ip>:27272/start/<device name>
* http://<ip>:27272/restartrecording

Configuration

In the install folder (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\Desktop Audio Streamer\Desktop Audio Streamer) there's a config file ChromeCast.Desktop.AudioStreamer.dll.config where you can change the configuration:

IpAddressesDevices: You can add your Chromecast devices here (sometimes they are not automatically discovered). The format is: <add key="IpAddressesDevices" value="192.168.0.1,DeviceName1;192.168.0.2,DeviceName2" /> etc.

IgnoreIpAddressesDevices: You can add Chromecast devices that should be ignored by DAS here. The format is: <add key="IgnoreIpAddressesDevices" value="192.168.0.1;192.168.0.2" /> etc.

ShowLagControl (experimental): If true the lag-control box is visible in the UI. You can experiment to reduce lag, but the sound quality is degraded!

Roadmap

Current status of this project: Stable, there's no active development but issues are resolved.

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