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Casting Alternatives Compared: Devices, Protocols and Plugins for Publishers

UUnknown

2026-02-17

10 min read

After 2026 casting shakeups, publishers must pair AirPlay, CMAF/LL-HLS, WebRTC fallbacks and flexible WordPress players to keep second-screen playback reliable.

Stop betting on a single cast button: practical alternatives for publishers in 2026

Publishers and content creators are frustrated: legacy casting features break unpredictably, device support is fragmented, and relying on app-level casting (like many sites used to) is no longer safe. After Netflix's January 2026 decision to restrict casting on many devices, one thing is clear — you must offer robust, platform-agnostic second-screen options now. This guide walks publishers through side-by-side, practical alternatives: devices, protocols, and WordPress plugins that replace or supplement legacy casting with reliable, modern solutions.

Quick summary — what to do right now (executive recommendations)

Prioritize web standards: HLS + CMAF for broad compatibility; implement LL-HLS for live low-latency where needed. See notes on edge orchestration when you design origin/edge flows.
Offer multiple second-screen paths: native AirPlay (Safari), Google Cast where available, and a WebRTC-based fallback for low-latency or unreliable cast environments.
Choose a player that supports modular adapters: Video.js / Shaka / commercial players (JW, Bitmovin, THEO) give the most flexible integrations with Cast SDKs and WebRTC.
For WordPress sites: use a modern video plugin with extensible player support (Presto Player, FV Player, or a Video.js integration). Avoid relying on the browser’s default controls alone.
Audit your audience devices: data-driven targeting avoids wasting dev time on unsupported platforms; instrument analytics and be prepared for outages with an operations plan informed by outage preparedness.

The 2026 landscape: why casting as you knew it is unstable

In January 2026, Netflix removed or limited casting capabilities across many smart TVs and devices — a reminder that platform-level casting depends on app choices and vendor partnerships. As a publisher you can't assume every viewer will retain a functional cast path from phone to TV. Device firmware, app policies, and ecosystem politics can change overnight.

"Casting is dead. Long live casting!" — an apt industry takeaway after major platforms tightened cast boundaries in late 2025 and early 2026.

This volatility accelerated two trends in 2025–26: (1) greater adoption of web-native streaming protocols and low-latency solutions like LL-HLS and WebRTC; and (2) a focus on modular players and plugin ecosystems that let publishers implement multiple second-screen options without rebuilding from scratch.

Devices: what to target and what to expect

Chromecast & Chromecast Built-In

Chromecast hardware (legacy dongles) and Chromecast Built-In (smart TV integrations) remain a significant audience reach on many properties, but expectations must be tempered. App-level changes (like Netflix's) can block casting even where the device supports it. If you provide a Cast-enabled web receiver or integrate Google Cast SDK into your player, you can control the experience — but you still may hit fragmentation across TVs' receiver versions.

AirPlay / Apple ecosystem

AirPlay continues to be the most consistent second-screen option for Apple users. Safari and iOS expose native AirPlay APIs. For publishers targeting premium audiences (iPhone + Apple TV), implement and test FairPlay DRM and the AirPlay button within the player UI.

DLNA, Miracast, and legacy UPnP

DLNA and Miracast exist, but they're niche in 2026. DLNA is common on older smart TVs and home media stacks; Miracast is spotty on Android devices. Treat these as fallbacks only — focus development elsewhere unless analytics show significant usage.

Smart TV apps, gaming consoles, and set-top boxes

Building native apps for leading TV platforms (Roku, Samsung Tizen, LG webOS, Amazon Fire TV, PlayStation, Xbox) still provides the most reliable second-screen experience, but it increases maintenance significantly. A middle path: a robust web receiver (for Cast) plus native apps for top markets.

Streaming protocols — pros, cons and best uses in 2026

HLS and CMAF (recommended foundation)

HLS remains the universal baseline for segmented streaming. With CMAF adoption maturing in 2025, publishers can deliver a single chunked format that plays across HLS and DASH-capable players, simplifying packaging and CDN strategies. Implement LL-HLS where you need sports-level low latency and pair it with edge strategies from edge orchestration guides.

MPEG-DASH

MPEG-DASH still has its place, especially where DRM interoperability (Widevine/PlayReady) and adaptive bitrate requirements are critical. Use DASH with CMAF packaging to maximize reuse.

WebRTC (second-screen and low-latency)

WebRTC moved past proof-of-concept in 2024–25 and is widely used in 2026 for sub-second interaction: live auctions, betting, live Q&A, and second-screen sync. For publishers, WebRTC is an ideal fallback when Cast or AirPlay is unavailable and when you need real-time playback with remote control from a phone — a trend also noted in creator tooling predictions.

WebTransport & WebCodecs

Newer browser APIs like WebTransport and WebCodecs enable advanced client-side streaming patterns and peer-assisted experiences. These are powerful but require more engineering; use them selectively for interactive features or where heavy client-side decoding is justified.

SRT, RTMP (legacy)

SRT is great for contribution (ingest) to your origin; RTMP is legacy and should be used only where required by upstream tools. Neither is a direct cast alternative for end-user playback but they matter in the origin stack feeding HLS/DASH/WebRTC output. Make sure your origin and storage (including object storage) are optimized — see object storage reviews for guidance.

Side-by-side: Devices, Protocols, and When to Use Them

AirPlay: Best for Apple-first audiences; native Safari support. Use for VOD and remote control in Apple ecosystems.
Chromecast / Cast SDK: Good reach on Android and many TVs; implement web receiver for control. Risk: app-level removals can affect behavior.
WebRTC: Use for interactive, low-latency experiences and as a resilient fallback when cast is blocked.
HLS + CMAF + LL-HLS: The production foundation for broad device compatibility and live low-latency delivery.
DLNA / Miracast: Fallback for older devices; avoid investing first unless analytics indicate demand.

WordPress plugins and video players — practical reviews (2026)

This section focuses on options that let WordPress publishers implement modern second-screen behavior without a ground-up rewrite. Each entry highlights compatibility, strengths, and trade-offs.

Video.js + WordPress integrations

Video.js is an open-source, highly extensible player. In 2026 it's still a top choice for publishers who want modularity. Key points:

Pros: Wide plugin ecosystem, supports HLS via hls.js or native playback, WebRTC integrations available, contributed Chromecast plugins exist.
Cons: Requires dev work to integrate Cast SDKs and DRM; community plugins may lag behind vendor SDK changes.
Best for: Publishers with an engineering team that wants full control. Pairing this with robust CI and local testing (see hosted tunnels and local testing) speeds up release confidence.

Shaka Player

Shaka Player (Google) excels at DASH + wide codec/DRM support and has been extended for Cast integration. It’s a technically strong option for publishers delivering DASH or CMAF-packaged streams. Shaka is more engineering-centric than turnkey WordPress plugins.

JW Player

JW Player remains a commercial option with built-in features: ad support, DRM, analytics, and Cast/AirPlay integrations. In 2026 JW offers enterprise features that simplify implementing second-screen controls.

Pros: Turnkey, mature analytics and ad ecosystem, professional support.
Cons: Licensing cost; less flexible than open-source stacks for custom experiments.
Best for: Publishers who want a managed, end-to-end solution.

Bitmovin & THEOplayer (enterprise)

These commercial players support the broadest set of protocols (HLS/DASH/WebRTC), DRM, and device receivers. They are ideal for large publishers needing guaranteed performance and long-term support.

Flowplayer

Flowplayer still targets publishers that want a balance of performance and extensibility. It includes plugins for Chromecast and has improved LL-HLS support since late 2024.

Plyr & lightweight players

Plyr and other lightweight players are attractive when the priority is fast load times and simpler UX. They rely on browser/native AirPlay support and need plugin work for complete Cast or WebRTC fallbacks.

WordPress-specific plugins: Presto Player, FV Player, MediaElement.js

WordPress publishers benefit from plugins that bundle player logic with WP admin integration:

Presto Player — modern WP plugin focused on hosting and embedding, offering integration paths to popular players and CDN workflows. Good for creators who want low-friction publishing.
FV Player — long-standing premium WP video plugin with ad, analytics and player customization; can be extended for casting workflows.
MediaElement.js — historically used by WordPress core. Lightweight but increasingly limited for advanced second-screen features without extension.

For each plugin, confirm up-to-date support for HLS/CMAF, LL-HLS, DRM, and preferred cast paths before committing. Store and manage your assets with scalable solutions (object storage and cloud NAS) to keep uploads and CDN origins predictable.

Implementation patterns: engineering options that work

Client-side cast + receiver app

Use Google Cast SDK (web sender + receiver) when you want a TV-optimized UI and to offload playback to a receiver app. Requires maintaining a web receiver (or using the Default Media Receiver) and testing across TV firmware.

AirPlay native integration

Leverage Safari/iOS AirPlay APIs — minimal custom code — but ensure DRM compatibility and smooth fallback for non-Apple viewers.

WebRTC-based second-screen (recommended fallback)

Implement a WebRTC handshake between the controlling device and the display (or a browser-based receiver) to stream the same content with sub-second latency. This approach is resilient to vendor cast restrictions and works across platforms where a browser is available. Prototype and iterate quickly using local testing patterns and hosted tunnels to validate pairing flows and QR-code based receivers.

Progressive enhancement and fallbacks

Detect and expose native AirPlay if on iOS/Safari.
Enable Google Cast sender if Cast API is available and your receiver is registered.
If neither available, open a WebRTC receiver tab or provide a QR code to pair the TV browser with the phone controller (test locally with hosted tunnels before wide rollout).

Security, DRM and analytics

DRM matters more than ever: device-level restrictions and content agreements require FairPlay, Widevine and PlayReady implementations. Choose a player and CDN that support multi-DRM and test on target devices. For analytics, measure cast attempts vs. success rate, device breakdown, latency, and playback failure modes; these metrics guide whether to add native apps, WebRTC fallback, or more testing. Feed analytics into your marketing and CRM stack — see integration checklists to ensure ad and subscription continuity.

Accessibility and UX considerations

Second-screen features must be accessible: keyboard navigable pairing flows, clear screen-reader announcements when playback moves to another device, and fallbacks for users who cannot cast. Provide explicit in-player state and an easy “return to device” control.

Decision checklist for publishers (actionable)

Run a device analytics audit (one month) to identify top devices and OS combinations.
Choose an adaptive bitrate stack that uses CMAF and supports LL-HLS if you need live low latency.
Select a primary player (Video.js/Shaka for in-house dev; JW/Bitmovin/THEO for managed solutions).
Implement native AirPlay and Google Cast sender integration where analytics justify it.
Build a WebRTC fallback for interactive or latency-sensitive content; make it your canonical fallback for casting failures.
Integrate multi-DRM (FairPlay, Widevine, PlayReady) and test playback across representative devices.
Measure and iterate: cast success rate, fallbacks used, average latency, and ad/analytics continuity across devices — and prepare an incident playbook (see outage playbooks) to respond to large-scale failures.

Case study (practical example)

Publisher X (mid-sized sports site) used to offer a simple “Cast” button implemented with a third-party app. After cast failures surged in Q4 2025 they implemented the following in early 2026:

Repackaged their live stream as CMAF with LL-HLS for low latency.
Integrated a Video.js frontend with a Cast SDK adapter and an AirPlay detection path.
Added a WebRTC receiver that launched from a QR code when cast failed, tested end-to-end via hosted tunnel workflows.
Deployed multi-DRM for premium content and instrumented device-level analytics; object storage and edge orchestration supported reliable origins (see object storage reviews and edge orchestration).

Result: cast fallback success improved by 38%, average latency dropped from ~6s to ~1.2s for low-latency events, and subscriber churn during live events decreased noticeably.

Final verdict — what “replacing casting” really means in 2026

There is no single drop-in replacement for the old one-button casting paradigm. Instead, modern publisher-grade second-screen support is a layered strategy combining web standards (HLS/CMAF, LL-HLS), native platform APIs (AirPlay, Cast where available), and real-time transport fallbacks (WebRTC). For WordPress publishers, the right path is to choose an extensible player or plugin, instrument your audience, and adopt multiple casting alternatives rather than betting on one. If you’re building this stack, consider serverless edge patterns for compliance and performance as outlined in serverless edge strategies.

Action steps — get started this week

Audit device analytics and tag the top 10 device classes.
Pick a player and test HLS/CMAF playback end-to-end on those devices.
Implement AirPlay support immediately for Apple-heavy audiences.
Prototype a WebRTC fallback (even a basic receiver page) and instrument its usage — use local testing and hosted tunnels to validate pairing flows before shipping.

If you want a checklist template and a decision matrix tailored to your audience data, click through for our downloadable worksheet and a companion plugin compatibility matrix (updated Q1 2026).

Call to action

Don't wait for another platform to remove support your site depends on. Start a short device audit today and pick one protocol and one fallback to trial this month. Sign up for our weekly themes.news updates for plugin compatibility audits, vendor benchmarks, and hands-on tutorials that will keep your publishing stack resilient in 2026.

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