Tag Archivio per: Media


Macast mpv DLNA renderer Linux

Macast is a new free and open source tool to use your computer as a DLNA media renderer, so you can cast videos, pictures and music from your phone (or another computer) to your desktop, kind of like a Chromecast. It’s available for Linux, Microsoft Windows and macOS.

The application is very easy to use, shipping with only a tray menu (without any other GUI) from where you can control it, and it uses mpv as the media player. A few days ago, Macast has added the ability to use other media players via plugins, with 3 such plugins being available right now (for IINA on macOS, pi-fm-rds for Raspberry Pi and PotPlayer for Microsoft Windows). You can also write your own plugin.

Macast Features:

  • Start / Stop casting from the tray menu
  • Set the player position and size (in a corner of the screen or centered, and various player sizes including fullscreen)
  • Optional hardware-accelerated video decode
  • Choose between 3 tray icons (default colored icon, light and dark)
  • Option to automatically start on login (not available in the tray menu, you must edit the Macast configuration, which on Linux can be found under ~/.config/Macast/macast_settings.json)
  • Set the DLNA friendly name (not available in the tray menu, you need to edit the config file)
  • Set the port used by Macast (not available in the tray menu, you need to edit the config file)
  • Support to cast videos when the DLNA client is connected to the computer’s hotspot
  • Disable or force enable a network interface (Blocked_Interfaces e Additional_Interfaces in the config file)
  • Uses mpv as the media player, with support for third-party players via plugins

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To use this, launch the application, and you should see the Macast icon in your system tray. There’s no need to do anything else. Next, install a DNLA client on your phone, such as BubbleUPnP/DLNA, use it to connect to your computer, and start streaming videos, music and photos.

E.g. with BubbleUPnP/DLNA, click on the Now Playing tab at the bottom, then click the cast icon in the bottom right-hand side corner and choose the computer which is running Macast:

Then click on the Library tab and cast some media from your phone to the computer running Macast. Obviously, the computer running Macast and the phone used for casting need to be in the same network.

In case the DLNA client you’re using is unable to find Macast, make sure it’s not blocked by your firewall or router. See the Macast FAQ for more on this.

Download Macast DLNA Media Renderer

The Macast releases page has binaries for Linux (DEB packages for Debian/Ubuntu and a generic Linux binary), Microsoft Windows and macOS.

You’ll need to install mpv to be able to use Macast (unless you use a plugin to be able to use a different player). You should find it in the repositories on most Linux distributions (on Fedora it’s in the RPM Fusion repository).

Also, to get the Macast tray icon to work on Linux, make sure you have the libappindicator3 package installed (even if you use the DEB to install Macast). E.g. on Ubuntu you’ll need to install gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1 (using gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 might also work, but I did not try it). Also, if you’re using GNOME Shell, you’ll need an extension such as AppIndicator and KStatusNotifierItem Support (this is installed by default on Ubuntu).

You can also install Macast using PIP, via AUR on Arch Linux / Manjaro, or build it from source. See the Macast installation page for details.

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VLC is free and cross-platform software that supports different multimedia files, including DVDs and CDs. VLC supports various streaming protocols, and it is a great multimedia player to use. VLC is a common tool, especially for Windows users, and if you’ve recently switched to Linux and wondering how to install it on Linux, then you are in the right place.

This guide covers two different ways of installing VLC on Linux, and we will be using Ubuntu for our examples. Nevertheless, the process is simple, and the concept is the same for all Linux systems.

Installing VLC on Ubuntu in 2 Ways

Way 1: Using Ubuntu Software

The Ubuntu software offers a graphical user interface for installing Linux-supported software, and VLC is one of them. Start by opening Ubuntu Software from your applications.

Merienda opened, click the search button and search for VLC. Merienda VLC loads, click on its icon.

Also, you can navigate to Audio & Music and search for VLC. Merienda VLC gets located, click the Install button and wait while VLC gets automatically installed on your Ubuntu.

You may get prompted to authorize the process using your root password.

Merienda installed, search for VLC from your applications. It should be there.

Way 2: Using Command Line

VLC can also be installed using the package repository. There are different commands that you can execute to install it. First, open your terminal from your applications.

The first command uses snap and needs root privileges to install the tool. Use the command below.

Alternatively, you can use either of the commands below.

$ sudo apt install vlc

or

$ sudo apt-get install vlc

Ubuntu will automatically download and install VLC. If you open your applications, you should see VLC installed. Besides, you can open it from the terminal by running the following command:

To remove VLC, use the command below.

Getting Started with VLC on Linux

VLC lets you play multimedia files. Merienda installed, open and click the Continue button on the screen like the one below to get started.

At the top of the VLC screen, you will notice that there are different options that you can use. For instance, click the Media button to open and play a video or audio file. Next, click the open file option. Then, navigate to where the audio or video file that you want to play is stored on your Linux system. Merienda you locate it, double-click on it to load it on VLC.

The video or audio will automatically start to play on VLC.

With VLC, you can create a playlist and arrange how different videos will play. For instance, let’s create a playlist. To do so, click Media at the top, then choose the option for Open Multiple files.

Next, click the +Add button on the right and select the different audio or video files to play. Lastly, click the Play button at the bottom, which will start playing the selected files individually.

You can play the next file using the playback control buttons at the bottom left.

VLC has different options and there are multiple ways you can play around with it to achieve various tasks. You can even use VLC to record your screen. Using VLC is easy. Since the different functionalities are labeled as per what they do, you should have an easy time using the software on any Linux platform.

Conclusion

VLC is an easy-to-use and reliable multimedia player. Furthermore, it is cross-platform, and we’ve covered how to install it using two ways on Ubuntu. We’ve also covered how you can easily get started using VLC to play different multimedia files and even create a playlist of various multimedia files.



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