kevin L.
/
- Canada / Ontario
Hi guys,
I recently purchased an IPTV subscription and everything works perfectly except when I try to cast via Chromecast — I get video but no sound.
Here’s what I’ve tried so far:
Tested 3 different streaming formats inside the IPTV player (no luck)
Volume is on everywhere (phone, TV, app)
Using Smarters Player Lite
IPTV works with sound on:
LG Smart TV app
iPhone 11 Pro (iOS)
The issue only happens when casting to a Chromecast 3rd generation.
Has anyone experienced this before?
Is this a known Chromecast limitation, or would upgrading to Chromecast with Google TV fix the audio issue?
QUESTION
That’s a super common headache with IPTV when trying to cast to a Chromecast 3rd gen, especially using Smarters Player Lite.
The good news is that video usually works fine, but audio often drops because the older Chromecast (3rd gen) has limited codec support and struggles with the audio formats many IPTV streams use (like certain AAC or AC3 tracks).
Here are the most effective steps to try, in order of what tends to fix it for most people:
- Switch to a different IPTV player app on your phone Smarters Lite has known compatibility issues when casting to the 3rd gen Chromecast. Many users report success by switching to apps that handle casting better:
- XCIPTV (very popular for IPTV + Chromecast)
- TiviMate (if your provider supports it)
- GSE Smart IPTV or VLC for Mobile Load your playlist/login in the new app, play a channel, and try casting again. This is the #1 fix for most people in your exact situation.
- Try BubbleUPnP as a casting bridge Download BubbleUPnP (free version should work) on your phone.
- Open BubbleUPnP → select your IPTV provider/playlist
- Choose your channel
- Select your Chromecast as the renderer This app often fixes audio dropouts by transcoding the stream slightly on the fly.
- Check your Smarters settings (if you want to stick with it) In Smarters Player Lite → Settings → Player Settings:
- Try switching between Hardware and Software decoder
- Look for any “Audio Passthrough” or “Force audio format” options and experiment
- Also try changing the streaming format/protocol (UDP → HTTP or vice-versa) Unfortunately, even with these tweaks, Smarters Lite still struggles on the 3rd gen Chromecast.
- Consider upgrading to Chromecast with Google TV Since you mentioned you’re willing to upgrade — this is actually a very solid option. The Chromecast with Google TV (the one with the remote) handles IPTV casting much better, supports more audio formats natively, and lets you install IPTV apps directly on the device (no need to cast from your phone). You can sideload Smarters, XCIPTV, TiviMate, etc., and many users say audio issues completely disappear. It’s a worthwhile step up if you use IPTV a lot.
- Quick extra checks
- Make sure your phone and Chromecast are on the same Wi-Fi band (preferably 5 GHz if possible).
- Restart both your Chromecast and router.
- Test a different channel — sometimes specific channels have odd audio tracks that don’t cast well.
- Update Smarters Lite to the latest version from the App Store.
Give steps 1 and 2 a try first — I’d bet switching to XCIPTV or using BubbleUPnP will get your sound working without buying anything new. If you test these and still have trouble, drop me a quick update with what happened and I’ll dig deeper for you.
♣ Enjoy your streams, and let me know how it goes!