Cast to Browser: Web Receiver for Any TV Browser (2026)

Cast to browser — quick answer

Cast to browser means turning a normal web browser into the receiving screen. The receiving device opens castb.cc, your phone shows a short code, and CastBrowser sends compatible video to that browser after pairing. It is the fallback path when the screen has no Chromecast, Roku, AirPlay, or reliable DLNA support.

What it is: a hosted Web Receiver at castb.cc. Open that URL on any device with a browser, type the 3-character code shown in the CastBrowser app, and you're paired.
Receiver side: any device with a modern browser — Smart TV, Xbox, PS4, projector, laptop, Chromebook, hotel TV, even a second phone. No app, no extension.
Android TV option: if the receiver is Android TV or Google TV, you can also install the official CastBrowser TV Cast Receiver app so the TV acts as the receiver instead of using the browser.
What it sends: the actual video stream — the receiving browser plays it natively when the format is browser-supported (MP4 and HLS work across most modern TV browsers; MKV and DASH support varies by browser).
What it isn't: screen mirroring. Your phone is just a remote control; the receiver does the playback.

Why “cast to browser” exists

Most casting protocols require something specific on the receiving side — Chromecast hardware, a Roku, a TV with AirPlay 2, a DLNA media renderer. When none of that is available, the only thing left on every modern device is the built-in browser. CastBrowser's Web Receiver uses that browser as the casting target via a hosted pairing page at castb.cc. It works because every Smart TV browser, every games-console browser (Xbox, PS4), every laptop browser, every projector browser, and most hotel-room TVs can play standard HTML5 video — and that's all the receiver page needs.

The result is a universal fallback: when Chromecast won't pair, when Roku is on a different VLAN, when AirPlay isn't supported, when DLNA is broken on your TV — open castb.cc in the browser, type the code, cast.

How to cast to a browser in 4 steps

Install CastBrowser on your phone — Google Play or App Store.
On the receiving device — Smart TV, Xbox, PS4, projector, laptop, hotel TV — open the built-in browser and go to https://castb.cc. The page shows a slot for a 3-character pairing code.
In CastBrowser on your phone, tap the cast icon and pick Web Receiver. The app generates a 3-character code.
Type that code into castb.cc on the TV. The two devices pair instantly.
Browse to a site with video and press play, or pick a local file. The video appears in the browser on your TV.

Pairing happens once per session — every subsequent video you cast from the phone replaces the current one on the receiver automatically. Keep both devices on the same Wi-Fi network; the castb.cc page is hosted online but the actual video stream still flows phone-to-receiver over the local network.

When the Web Receiver is the right choice

• Game consoles — Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S (built-in Edge browser) and PlayStation 4 (built-in browser under TV & Video) don't support Chromecast, Roku casting, or DLNA out of the box, but they can open castb.cc. The PS5 has no standalone browser app, but a hidden-browser workaround exists — see the cast to PS5 guide.
• Older Smart TVs where DLNA / AllShare / SmartShare is broken or missing.
• Smart TVs without Chromecast or AirPlay — most pre-2020 Samsung Tizen and LG webOS models, for example.
• Projectors with a built-in browser (XGIMI, Anker Nebula, BenQ portable projectors).
• Work laptops where you can't install software but you can use a browser.
• Hotel TVs and rentals with restricted firmware but a working web browser.
• Networks where Chromecast or Roku discovery fails — pairing by 3-character code skips the mDNS/SSDP discovery step that often gets blocked on mesh, ISP, and corporate routers. Both devices still need to be on the same Wi-Fi network.

Web Receiver vs other “cast to browser” options

Method	What it does	Quality	Battery on phone
CastBrowser Web Receiver (castb.cc)	Pair phone and any browser via a 3-char code; the receiver browser plays the stream natively.	Full source quality (browser-supported formats)	Low (acts as remote)
Browser screen mirroring (e.g. Chrome tab cast)	Captures a tab as a video stream and re-encodes it.	Compressed, ~720p	High
Phone screen mirroring (Miracast / AirPlay mirror)	Mirrors the entire phone display to the TV.	Compressed, latency-prone	Very high
DLNA / Chromecast / Roku	Native protocol on the receiver. Best quality when supported.	Full source quality	Low

What this method does and does not do

Does: stream non-DRM web video to any device with a modern browser; play browser-friendly formats like MP4 and HLS reliably across most TV browsers (other formats such as DASH, MKV, WebM, and AVI depend on what the receiving browser can decode natively); let your phone go to sleep mid-playback; replace the playing video instantly when you cast a new one.

Does not: bypass DRM (Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, Prime Video stay locked to their official apps); replace the broadcaster's player when DRM or geo-restriction is in use; play formats the receiving browser can't decode (very old console browsers may struggle with HLS even though MP4 works fine).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you cast a video to a browser?

Yes. CastBrowser includes a built-in Web Receiver that turns any device with a modern web browser into a casting target. Open https://castb.cc in the receiving browser, enter the 3-character code shown in the CastBrowser app, and the two devices pair instantly. Works on Smart TVs, Xbox, PS4, projectors, laptops, hotel TVs — anything with a browser. No app on the receiving side, no IP address to type.

What is screen mirroring browser vs Web Receiver?

Screen mirroring captures your phone's screen as a low-resolution video and sends it to a receiver, which is laggy, drains battery, and shows phone notifications on the TV. The castb.cc Web Receiver does the opposite — once paired by code, your phone sends the actual video stream to the TV's browser, the TV plays it natively at full quality, and your phone is just a remote. Use Web Receiver for video; only use screen mirroring when you need to share UI that isn't a video.

Do I need Chromecast or Roku to cast to a browser?

No. The castb.cc Web Receiver works on any device with a browser — no Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, AirPlay, or DLNA support required. This makes it useful for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, older Smart TVs, projectors with built-in browsers, work laptops without admin permissions, and hotel TVs.

Does Web Receiver work on Smart TVs without Chromecast or DLNA?

Yes — every modern Smart TV ships with a built-in browser. Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Sony Google TV, Hisense VIDAA, and Panasonic / Philips models all include one, even when DLNA, Chromecast, or AirPlay support is missing or unreliable. Open castb.cc in the TV browser, type the 3-character code shown in CastBrowser, and the video plays.

Can I stream a website's video to a TV browser?

Yes. Open the website inside CastBrowser on your phone, press play, and the app detects the underlying video stream automatically. With castb.cc paired as the target, the same stream is replayed in the TV's browser — full source quality, no screen mirroring.

Does this work with hotel TVs?

Sometimes. Both the phone and the TV must be on the same Wi-Fi network — connect the TV to the same hotel Wi-Fi as your phone if it isn't already, then open castb.cc in the TV browser, enter the 3-character code from CastBrowser, and cast. If the hotel network has client isolation enabled, no in-LAN casting tool will work; the workaround is to enable a personal hotspot on a second phone and put both the casting phone and the TV on that hotspot.

Is the Web Receiver free?

Yes. The Web Receiver is included free in CastBrowser on Android and iPhone, alongside Chromecast, Roku, Fire TV, AirPlay, and DLNA support. No account needed.