LightCast

Project Overview

LightCast is a DLNA screen-casting receiver for Windows that turns a PC into a cast target. When a phone is on the same local network, selecting the LightCast device in any DLNA or casting app pushes the video to the PC, where the embedded libmpv player plays it. A streaming compatibility layer handles common casting issues such as encrypted HLS, hotlink protection and disguised segments.

A wireless casting receiver that lets a PC play what a phone pushes, using libmpv

Key Features

• Embedded libmpv: hardware decoding that supports almost every common video format
• Cast-and-buffer: jumps straight to the player page on receiving a command to shorten the wait
• Streaming compatibility: handles encrypted HLS, hotlink protection, direct-link proxying and disguised segments
• Audio device selection: choose the audio output device, with auto-start and system tray support
• Progress reporting: sends playback progress back to the phone in real time
• Bilingual interface: offers Chinese and English with a Windows 11-style UI

Target Audience

• Desktop viewers: people who want to cast phone content to a computer screen
• Anime and series watchers: users of DLNA-capable streaming apps
• Local-network users: users whose phone and PC share the same Wi-Fi or LAN

Quick Start

1. Make sure the phone and PC are on the same Wi-Fi or local network
2. In a DLNA or casting app on the phone, select the LightCast device
3. Choose the content to play; the PC enters the player page and starts buffering and playback
4. Allow the app through the Windows firewall on first launch

Core Advantages

• Ready out of the box: a bundled playback core means no extra Python or libmpv install
• Strong compatibility: a built-in proxy layer handles many casting error cases automatically
• Flexible use: choose between an installer and a portable package

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
OS	Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)
Architecture	x64
Runtime	Running from source needs Python 3.11 to 3.12 and libmpv-2.dll

Notes

• DLNA has no authentication by itself, so any device on the same network can find and cast to this PC; use it only on trusted networks
• Allow LAN casting sources is on by default for local media sources; turn it off in Settings when not needed
• On public Wi-Fi you can disable Start casting service on launch to reduce exposure