TV Cast: Chromecast Smart View

Review by eFreeware

The most interesting thing about TV Cast is that it isn't really a screen mirroring tool, even though the name invites that assumption. It sends media files from your phone to a television over DLNA, so the video plays on the TV itself rather than as a copy of whatever is happening on your handset. The developer points this out directly, noting that casting and mirroring are different things and that you can close the app and keep using your phone without interrupting playback.

That distinction shapes who this is for. If you have a folder of downloaded movies, a camera roll of photos, or a slide deck you want on a living room screen, this is the sort of app that fits. It's free to install and has been downloaded more than ten million times, with a 4.4 average across a large body of ratings. The audience is people with local files and a compatible television, not people who want their entire phone interface projected.

Sending files to the TV instead of duplicating the screen

The core of the app is device discovery. Once your phone and television are on the same Wi-Fi network, the app searches for nearby DLNA-capable screens and lists what it finds. You pick the target, choose a file from local storage or an SD card, and the media starts playing on the television. It's a short chain of steps, and the developer describes it as automatic rather than something you configure by hand.

The payoff is that playback lives on the TV rather than on your phone. Because the television is doing the work, you can leave the app, answer a message or browse something else while the video continues. Anyone who has tried to mirror a screen and then discovered they can't touch the phone without disturbing the picture will recognize why that matters.

It's worth being clear about the trade-off, though. This is file casting, not a live reflection of your display, so anything that only exists as an on-screen experience rather than a saved file won't travel this way. The developer states plainly that casting doesn't reproduce your screen the way mirroring does.

Music, photos, slides and a remote in the same place

Beyond video, the app scans your phone and SD card for music, audio, photos and presentation files, so the same discovery flow works for a photo slideshow or a soundtrack. Multiple video playback modes are included, which suggests some flexibility in how clips are presented rather than a single fixed player behavior.

There's also a remote control function built in, which is a sensible addition for anyone who doesn't want to juggle two devices on the couch. The developer lists support for a long catalog of DLNA equipment, including Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV and Fire Stick, Roku, and televisions from Samsung, LG, Sony, Vizio, Hisense, Panasonic, Philips, Toshiba, Sharp and several others, plus other DLNA-certified hardware.

I'd treat that list as a compatibility guide rather than a guarantee. The developer is explicit that the app isn't an official product of any of those brands and has no affiliation with them, so the names indicate what the app aims to work with, not a partnership. The practical requirement is the certification itself, which I'll come to next.

What the app asks of your network and your TV

Two conditions sit underneath everything else. Your phone and your television need to be on the same Wi-Fi network, and the developer advises turning off any VPN before you start. That's a common constraint for local network discovery, and it means casting from a mobile data connection while away from home isn't part of the design.

The second condition is the television itself. The developer asks you to confirm your TV is DLNA certified before using the app. That's a real prerequisite rather than a formality: a set without that support has nothing for the app to find, however modern it looks. Checking your model's specifications before installing is the sensible first move.

On cost, the app is free to download and it also offers in-app purchases. Both purchases are present in the app. It's a familiar arrangement for a free utility.

Getting a clean first connection

The developer's own sequence is worth following closely the first time. Turn off the VPN, confirm both devices share the same network, open the app, let it search, pick the television from the results, then choose the file you want to play. Doing it in that order avoids the most common reason discovery fails, which is a phone that has quietly switched to a different network or is routing traffic through a VPN.

If a television doesn't appear, the network is the place to look before the app. Guest networks and access points that isolate clients from one another will hide devices from each other even when the names look identical, and that's a router setting rather than anything the app can work around. Once a device is found, the file selection step is straightforward: local storage or SD card, then the media type you're after.

For repeated use, the pattern is quick enough to become routine. Load a few videos or a photo album onto the phone before guests arrive, cast them to the TV, and keep the handset free for other things while they play. The remote function covers the basic control you'd otherwise reach for a second device to handle.

The app was released in September 2020 and the most recent update, from June 2026, focuses on performance and stability improvements. That's a maintenance note rather than a feature announcement, and it tells you the developer is still tending to the app rather than leaving it untouched.

A useful tool for local files and a DLNA-ready TV

TV Cast does one job with a clear boundary: it moves media files from an Android phone to a DLNA-certified television over the same Wi-Fi network, and it keeps playing while you use the phone for something else. The supporting pieces, from SD card scanning to the remote control and the broad device list, round out that single purpose rather than expanding it.

I'd suggest it to people who keep videos, music, photos or presentations on their phone and want them on a larger screen without cables. It's also a reasonable fit for anyone whose television supports DLNA and who wants a simple way to use that capability. The free download and the ten-million-plus install count make it easy enough to try, provided you check two things first: that your TV is DLNA certified, and that you can put both devices on the same network with the VPN off.

The caveats are worth holding onto. Advertising and in-app purchases are part of the package, the app won't reflect your screen the way mirroring does, and the brand names in the compatibility list don't imply any official connection. Within those limits, it's a focused utility that does what it says rather than a general-purpose casting suite.

What's new in version 5.9.3

1.Improved app performance and stability.