The Google Chromecast are really practical devices that allow us to see Netflix , Amazon Prime Video , DAZN , HBO and other similar services without the need for a smart TV. But what about lifelong live television?
For these cases, an app that is capable of streaming Spanish DTT channels , online TV in Latin America , or whatever broadcast we normally see on the TV screen, would be needed . In this way, we can watch live TV from a computer monitor , or from a TV without a digital signal or antenna : all we need is an Internet connection.
How to stream TV from a Chromecast with KODI
To carry out our objective we are going to use the KODI multimedia player. As many users of the application will already know, the player is not compatible with Chromecast as standard, but to solve that we will apply a little trick that will allow us to cast KODI content to the TV without major difficulties. Note: This tutorial is updated to work with the latest version of the KODI 19 Matrix.
Step # 1: Install KODI
If we still do not have the KODI app installed on the mobile, we can download it from the Android Play Store or from the player’s official website , where we will find versions for iOS, Linux, Windows or Raspberry among other systems.
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Kodi
Developer: Kodi Foundation
Price: Free
Step # 2: Load the TV channel list
The next step is to load the TV channels we want to watch on KODI. For this example we are going to use the IPTV broadcasts of the Spanish DTT channels (which broadcast openly over the Internet), although we can do the same if we have the IPTV broadcasts of the channels of another country.
- We entered the Github repository of the TDTChannels project developed by LaQuay and downloaded the complete list of TV channels in a .M3U8 format file. We can also find the download file ( m3u8 ) on the TDTChannels official website HERE .
- Now we open the KODI app and in the side menu click on ” Add-ons -> Download“.
- We navigate to ” PVR Clients” and click on the add-on called ” PVR IPTV Simple Client “.
- Now what we will do is install the client, by clicking on the ” Install” button.
- For everything to work properly we will also have to install a couple of additional add-ons. Click on « OK«.
With this we will have the add-on to watch TV installed in KODI. The next step will be to add the IPTV list that we have previously downloaded.
- Go back to the main KODI menu, and from the sidebar go to « Add-ons -> My add-ons«.
- Click on « PVR Clients«.
- Choose ” PVR IPTV Simple Client” and click on the ” Configure ” button.
- Then, in the “General” tab, click ” Location -> Local path” to choose the M3U8 file you want to play. Note: You can also select “Remote Path” if you have a URL where the M3U8 list is located.
- Click on ” Path to M3U List” and show KODI where the file with the TV channels is located.
- Press « OK«. We are almost done.
- Finally, go back to the main KODI menu and go to ” TV -> Channels” where you will see all the channels included in the IPTV list. Simply click on the desired channel and it will start playing the live broadcast automatically.
Step # 3: Establish a connection between KODI and the Chromecast
Now that we have the TV configured in KODI, we only need to be able to send said content to the Chromecast . To achieve this we will use the LocalCast application, which is free and can be perfectly downloaded from the Play Store.
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LocalCast for TV
Developer: Stefan Pledl
Price: Free
Once we have the app installed, we follow these steps:
- We download the playercorefactory.xml file. This is a very important file, since it is the script that is responsible for forcing the transmission of content from KODI to LocalCast so that we can send it directly to our Chromecast.
- Next, we open the file explorer of our Android phone. If we do not have any installed, we can try ASTROa fairly complete and easy-to-use lightweight manager. Then, we go to the browser settings menu and in ” Configure the default view settings ” we activate the tab to show the hidden files .
- The next step is to navigate with the file explorer to the “Downloads” or “Downloads” folder and locate the xmlfile that we have just downloaded. We copy it and paste it into the ” userdata ” folder . This folder is located inside the internal memory of the phone, in ” Android -> Data -> org.xbmc.kodi -> files -> .kodi “.
With this, what we achieve is that whenever we reproduce something from KODI, such as a television broadcast, LocalCast gives us the possibility of sending all that content directly to the Chromecast, which is just what we are looking for. In addition, it also works with the mobile screen off .
Step # 4: Enjoy Internet TV on your Chromecast
From here on, we only have to test the system that we have just assembled: We open KODI, go to the TV section and select a channel. The first time we will have to configure a couple of parameters to establish the connection with the TV, but from there, all the reproductions will automatically open on the Chromecast device. Practical and very easy to use.
