Cast to sends the music you play in Helium to a speaker or media player on your home network, such as a Sonos speaker, a network amplifier or AV receiver, or a smart TV. Helium keeps doing everything it normally does. You use the play queue, playlists, equalizer and player controls as usual, and the sound comes out of the device you picked.

Cast to works with devices that support UPnP AV / DLNA playback (often called a DLNA renderer or media renderer). Most network speakers and receivers do.

This is a Premium feature.

This is a preview feature

Cast to is released as a preview. It works, and we use it every day, but it is still evolving and not every device behaves the same way.

We would love to hear from you! Tell us which devices you use, what works well and what doesn't. Your feedback decides where this feature goes next. Send it through the Helium support portal or email us at dev@imploded.com.

How it works

While you cast, Helium plays the music as usual and at the same time turns it into an MP3 stream (192 kbps) that it sends to the device over your network. The device shows the artist and title of the current track, and the album cover if it can display pictures. When the track changes, the device display updates too.

Requirements

  • Helium with a Premium license.
  • The computer and the device must be on the same local network. Casting doesn't work across a guest network, a separate VLAN or a VPN connection.
  • One-time setup in Options → Cast to, which needs Administrator rights (one Windows prompt).

Setting up Cast to

You only need to do this once.

  1. Open Options and go to Cast to.
  2. Check the settings:
    • Port: the network port Helium uses to send audio to the device. The default is 51900. Keep it unless another program already uses it.
    • Mute local speakers while casting: when checked (default), your computer goes silent while the music plays on the device. Uncheck it if you want sound from both.
  3. Look at Setup status:
    • Not set up yet for this port: continue with the next step.
    • Ready — Cast-to is set up for this port: you're done.
    • This port appears to be in use by another application: choose a different port, then continue with the next step.
  4. Click Set up Cast-to and accept the Windows Administrator prompt. Helium adds a Windows Firewall rule for the port and allows Helium to receive connections on it.
  5. The status changes to Ready — Cast-to is set up for this port.

If you change the port later, click Set up Cast-to again for the new port.

Casting your music

Start casting

Start playing something in Helium, then open the Cast to menu. You can open it in three ways:

  • Click the Cast to button (the broadcast tower icon) in the player bar.
  • Open the main menu and choose Cast to….
  • Right-click the player and choose Cast to….

Helium searches your network and lists the devices it finds. This takes a few seconds (the menu shows Discovering devices…). Click a device to start casting to it. New devices that come online later show up in the list by themselves. If a device is missing, click Refresh devices.

While you cast:

  • The player bar shows Casting to device name with a stop button.
  • The device you cast to has a checkmark in the Cast to menu.

Controlling playback

Use Helium the way you normally do:

  • Play, pause, next and previous in Helium control what plays on the device.
  • Seeking in the waveform or position bar works. The position bar is briefly dimmed while the device catches up.
  • The volume slider changes the volume on the device, if the device allows it. Most devices do.
  • Playlists and the play queue keep playing track after track on the device.

Switching device

Cast to one device at a time. To switch, open the Cast to menu and click another device. Helium stops casting to the first device and starts on the new one.

Stop casting

Do one of these:

  • Click the stop button next to Casting to device name in the player bar.
  • Open the Cast to menu and choose Stop casting to device name.

Your computer's volume goes back to what it was before you started casting. When you close Helium, casting stops. It doesn't start again automatically the next time you open Helium.

Hiding the Cast to button

If you don't use Cast to, you can hide the button in the player bar under Options → Visual → Player → Hide Cast to button.

What to expect

  • A short delay. The device holds a few seconds of music in a buffer, so pause, resume, seek and skip take effect after a moment. Resuming after a pause can take a few seconds while the device reconnects.
  • Short gaps between tracks on some devices. Most devices update the track title without a break. Some devices briefly reconnect when the track changes, which gives a short gap.
  • Album covers only show on devices that can display pictures (or in the device's own app, such as the Sonos app).
  • One device at a time. Playing to several devices at once (multi-room) is not supported yet.
  • The device follows Helium. Pausing or skipping from the device or its own app isn't reflected in Helium. Control playback from Helium.
  • Security. The audio stream is sent unencrypted on your local network, as with most DLNA media servers. Any device on your network that knows the address can listen to it.

Troubleshooting

No devices found

  • Make sure the device is switched on and awake and connected to the same network as your computer.
  • Disconnect any VPN on the computer, and make sure the computer isn't on a guest Wi-Fi network.
  • Click Refresh devices in the Cast to menu and wait a few seconds.
  • Check that the device supports UPnP/DLNA playback. Some devices need it turned on in their own settings.

The device shows the track, but there is no sound

This usually means the device can't reach Helium through the firewall.

  • Go to Options → Cast to and click Set up Cast-to again.
  • If you use a firewall other than Windows Firewall (for example one that comes with your antivirus program), allow incoming connections on the Cast to port (default 51900).

"This port appears to be in use by another application"

Choose another port in Options → Cast to, and click Set up Cast-to for the new port.

The sound stops after a pause

Some devices close the connection if the music is paused for a while. Helium reconnects automatically, but it can take a few seconds before the sound comes back. If it doesn't come back, stop casting and start again.

Cast to shows "This feature is only available in the Premium version"

Cast to requires a Premium license.