This is probably a ridiculous question, but I usually stream from my laptop to my LG tv or my phone to any other tv, and I find that using my VPN keeps the casting output option from working. Like in Popcorntime, the Watch Now doesn’t show my tv, only the laptop app or VLC. On my daughter’s fire stick I can’t even cast to it unless I turn my VPN off.
I don’t have any problem streaming Plex or Emby from my laptop to the tv. Is there a way to cast without compromising my privacy?
I can’t offer help on the issue, but as far as I understand there are no legitimate and safe versions of popcorn time anymore. The main version got taken down a few years ago iirc. There’s still plenty of unsafe versions though. Might want to double check you got it from a safe source.
It might be easier for you to torrent normally while connected to VPN, then disconnecting to stream to your device.
I thought I did when I got it. I saw the landscape and was very suspicious. This is a completely unpublicized version. I think I got the link from a careless user. I’ll check my provence and see if I’m ok
Someone who puts out publicly that which should be behind walls. But it turns out its not so private after all…
https://github.com/popcorn-official
The source code is right there for you to look at.
What VPN? What’s its’ endpoint?
Are you at home with this issue, or outside of your network?
The first thing that comes to kind is VPN usually doesn’t do split-tunnel by default, so it’ll consume all your traffic instead of allowing local traffic to go to the LAN with all the rest going VPN.
There may also be a filtering of services permitted through the VPN, so if it’s not split-tunneling, it’s trying to route everything, but blocking streaming.
I wouldn’t want all my traffic going out a VPN only to come back into my LAN via a VPN connection.
I’ve seen similar issues with apps like Tailscale or (a long time ago) Hamachi, where the system resolves to the Mesh network IP before the local IP, routing local traffic over the VPN/Mesh instead of the LAN.
Verify your VPN has a setting to permit local traffic/connect to local network.
Maybe I’m wrong but for the sake of trying to get you started down the right path until someone smarter than me answers for sure. I think you would need to configure a split tunnel on your device. Even then I don’t think that would work either. I think that “casting” just tells the display the server address and it tracks down the stream info. Your casting device then just functions as a remote through the network.
So even if It could work, you’re home network address would be compromised by the network traffic being sent to your display without a VPN.
Like another person has said, your best bet is more likely torrenting to Plex, Emby, Jellyfin then casting from your media server.
Are you using the VPN on your laptop or phone only? If so, maybe try to run your VPN at the router level and see if you can cast then? It might work…
Isn’t Popcorn time dead these days?
