Roku App On Mac

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Roku streaming is a convenient and cost effective way to watch TV as you just need to plug in your computer and connect to the internet. Sometimes, you may want to mirror your Mac screen to Roku and share the files or videos with others. But how can you that? Well we’ve done some in-depth research and we collected the following ways for you to mirror Mac to Roku.

How to mirror Mac to Roku

Mirror Screen to Roku

Mirror Screen to Roku is one of the most advanced screening mirroring apps for Mac. This allows you to stream your Mac’s screen, as well as other brands, to virtually all models of Roku devices and TVs wirelessly. In addition, no cables or any additional third party hardware is required. Here are the steps on how to screen mirror Mac to Roku.

The Roku app is now available right on your wrist. Starting today, the free Roku app is available on Apple Watch! To access the new functionality, simply update the Roku mobile app to version 6.1.3 via your iPhone, and the app will appear on Apple Watch. The Roku app on Apple Watch features: Remote – Control your Roku device directly from. Make sure that your Roku device is on the same local network and same subnet as your Mac. After launching the app, you will see the app icon appearing in the top bar of your Mac and the app will look for your Roku device on the network. It will show your device when it has found it.

  1. Download and launch the app on your Mac or any other Roku supported receiver on your network and install a companion channel on your Roku devices.
  2. In the app’s “Mirror Source” section, select the content that you want to mirror to your TV. You can choose Mac main screen or any specific app running on your Mac.
  3. To include your Mac’s system audio while mirroring, please select the option to “Enable Mac Audio on TV”. (Please note that you need to install an audio driver. You can download it for free.)
  4. Next, click “Mirroring To” and select the device that you want to mirror.
  5. At this point, the mirroring process should start immediately. To end an ongoing mirroring session, disconnect the receiving device in the “Mirroring To” section.

RokuCast

RokuCast is a Google Chrome extension that works well on Mac. This will allow you to stream the entire Mac’s desktop to Roku wirelessly. It allows you to send videos, photos, and music on your Roku devices. Moreover, you can stream photos, music and videos from your phone or other media servers to a bigger screen. Proceed to learn how to mirror Macbook to Roku using RokuCast.

  1. Install RokuCast on your Roku device. Once done, go to your Roku settings’ page and update it. You should now see the application in the home page of your Roku.
  2. Connect your computer and your Roku device to the same network. Also, make a note of your Roku IP address.
  3. Install RokuCast on your Mac using your Chrome browser.
  4. On your Mac, click on the RokuCast extension, click on the small gear icon in the bottom right. Enter the IP address of Roku and click on the “Go Back” icon.
  5. Next, play any video to stream it on Roku. Now if you click on the RokuCast Extension, you should see a small cast button next to the video file. Click that and it will send the video link to Roku. Now you can close your Mac to watch the video on your Roku.

Extra tip – mirror iPhone to Roku using ApowerMirror

  • Make sure that your Roku device is on the same local network and same subnet as your Mac. After launching the app, you will see the app icon appearing in the top bar of your Mac and the app will look for your Roku device on the network. It will show your device when it has found it.
  • To mirror Mac on Roku TV, you will need a third-party app. Just above you have the guide on how to use JustStream to screen mirror Mac to Roku.JustStream can easily do the same thing with a wide range of TV producers such as LG, Samsung, Sony, Panasonic, etc.

If you’d also like to mirror your iPhone to Roku, you can use ApowerMirror. With this amazing tool, you can have a better viewing experience on a larger screen display. Moreover, it is compatible with both Mac and Windows operating systems. This is perfect for mirroring presentations, documents and even playing games on a bigger screen. To screen mirror your iPhone to Roku using ApowerMirror, you can follow the steps below.

  1. Firstly, download the application onto both your iPhone and Mac.
  2. Connect your iPhone to the Mac via Airplay or Screen Mirroring by connecting them to the same WiFi, and start streaming your iPhone screen to Mac.
  3. Then, use an HDMI cable to connect your Mac to TV to display your phone’s screen to your Roku TV.

Conclusion

Those are the ways on how to mirror Mac to Roku. These ways are highly recommended for all Mac users who are having a hard time finding apps to mirror their Roku TV. With these methods, you can now easily connect your Mac and Roku, and enjoy streaming videos on a bigger screen.

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By default, both the Netflix and YouTube apps support an open protocol called DIAL (Discovery and Launch), meaning you can cast any Netflix and YouTube videos from your phone to TV connected with Roku. To do so just simply launch your YouTube or Netflix app on your smartphone and tap on the Cast button. It should automatically discover Roku on the same network and start casting that video. Easy peasy. It also works, if you want to cast YouTube from your computer onto Roku.

Unfortunately, you can’t use the DIAL protocol on anything except YouTube and Netflix.Imovie mac app store. So, if you want to cast videos to Roku from other video channels or even the videos you may have in the local storage; you’ll have to use the combination of screen mirroring and third-party apps. So, today, I’ll show you how to cast any video on Roku from Windows, Android, and even Mac.

Before we begin

Make sure the screen mirroring is enabled (it usually is enabled by default), you can check by going to Settings > System > Screen Mirroring on your Roku and making sure it is set to Prompt or Always. Also, It is important that both the devices are on the same Wi-Fi network for it to work. Now, with that out of the way, here’s how you cast to Roku.

Read: How to watch Netflix on TV (5 ways)

1. Cast To Roku From Windows

All the Windows versions support Miracast and we can use Roku to project the Windows (8/10) screen to the TV via Roku.

To mirror your Windows 8 or 10 screens to Roku, connect it same WiFi network as your Roku, and click the notifications button in the bottom right of the taskbar. You’d see multiple options there, look for ‘Project’
You’d see multiple options there, look for the Project button and select ‘Connect to a wireless display’.

A list of available devices for projection, Select Roku and you would get a prompt on Roku as well to allow the device to project to the TV, allow the dialog box on your TV using the remote.

Now, if you play any video on your browser or local storage, it should easily stream to Roku.

Cast To Roku From Android

Android added support for Miracast for versions 4.2 and above and eventually canceled it for its proprietary Google Cast. Fortunately, you can still use the Miracast protocol to cast your Phone’s screen to Roku using the Miracast. The steps are rather simple and easy to follow.

On your Android phone, go to Settings and look for Display and tap once to open a new set of options, select Cast screen.
It’ll show you a list of available devices on which you can mirror your Phone’s screen. Select the Roku device and you’re done.

Read: 5 Ways iPhone/Android Can Cast Screen to TV Without Chromecast

However, It gets tricky with the Apple ecosystem and there are a few workarounds. We need to use Roku to our Advantage and find out ways to cast the devices on Roku.

Roku App On Mac

Cast To Roku From Mac

Roku

Mac never adopted Miracast and uses its proprietary Airplay for all the wireless streaming across the ecosystem. However, this doesn’t mean we can’t use it with Roku. Roku cast is a chrome extension that works well on Mac and lets you stream the entire Mac desktop to Roku wirelessly. Let’s see how it works.

Roku App On Macbook

Install Rokucast on your Roku by clicking on this link (CL9D5D). It’ll give you a warning, which you can ignore. Once done, go to your Roku settings page and update it. You should now see Rokucast on the home page of Roku.

Connect your computer and your Roku device to the same network. While you are at it, make a note of your Roku IP address, we’ll need this later.

Install Rokucast on Google Chrome on your Mac. It’s not available on the chrome store, so you’ll have to sideload the CRX file from Github, unzip it and drag and drop it to the chrome extension page i.e. chrome://extensions.

Roku App For Mac Desktop

If it’s not working, make sure developer mode is on

Roku App For Macbook

Go to Mac, click on the Roku cast extension icon, click on the small gear icon in the bottom right. This will open a new window, enter the IP address of Roku, that we noted previously. And then click on go back icon.

Next, play any video on your chrome browser (remember it has to be html5 video) and now if you click on the RokuCast extension, you should see a small cast button next to the video file. Click on that and that’s it. It’ll send the video link to Roku. Now, you can close your mac and watch the video on your Roku as it directly fetches the video from the internet, just as Chromecast.

iPhone and iPads also lack the Miracast protocol and you can’t directly stream your iPhone screen to Roku. However, Roku lets you stream the content to your TV with the official app, just download that and stream your iPhone to the TV. This app is not available outside the US yet so this method won’t work anywhere else but the US.

Screen Mirroring To Roku App On Mac

Using Roku as Chromecast

The functionality isn’t just limited to broadcasting channels, you can use Roku to connect your personal devices to stream content. It can stream your Windows( 8 and above) Desktop with the Native Miracast. Android also has an inbuilt Miracast standard and you can use this to your advantage and stream your mobile screen to your TV. These were a few different methods to cast the screen to Roku and it covers the majority of the devices. Let us know in the comments which device you use to cast on Roku.

Roku Remote On Macbook

Must Read: Chromecast vs Firestick vs Roku vs AndroidTV vs Apple TV: Which to buy?