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EricD1's avatar
EricD1
Channel Surfer
7 months ago

25 Feb 2025 Update on Roku Casting

Yesterday, 24 Feb 2025, I spent over an hour with Roku customer support.  I was installing a new (RCA) Roku TV and could not cast.  I was transferred from the intake call center agent after 20 minutes of trying to explain the issue to a product specialist and then to a third level tech support agent.  He said they would get back to me via e-mail after they resolved the issue.  Here are the call details that I think will be of interest to the community:

•  When the TV loaded the software, it downloaded Castify as one of the installed apps.

•  The product specialist told me that Roku has worked with the manufacturers of Castify (Castify is not a Roku native app) and it is the only casting app they will support.  They said not to download any other casting apps.

•  It appeared that the Castify app connected properly to the TV from my phone and tablet (both running new version of Android) but the actual video on the website I was trying to cast would not then play on the TV.  It continued to play on the mobile device.

•  It appeared I was doing everything correctly, and my trouble ticket would be escalated to higher engineering for them to work with the Castify developers, the agent believed.

I just purchased this RCA Roku TV after trying to get help from RCA with the same model that would not Cast, as I thought the manufacturer would be able to help.  They had me jump hoops with videos of the problem and pictures of the TV front and back and then approved a warranty replacement.  I had to destroy the TV and send pictures of a 12-digit number etched in the screen, power cable cut, labels removed and destroyed.  And now I find out that the hardware was probably OK!  And it turns out RCA will not replace the TV but are sending me a cheque.  I purchased the TV on Black Friday, and I thought I could not get a TV again for the same price, but the store had a unit left, still at the same price.  But any other brand was now more expensive.  So I tried the same RCA model thinking the problem was a one unit hardware fault still.

I will update this thread as I get updated myself. Hope this info is of some help.

7 Replies

  • AvsGunnar's avatar
    AvsGunnar
    Community Streaming Expert
    7 months ago

    EricD1 

    The manufacturer of the Roku TV is usually responsible for providing support.  From this thread here https://community.roku.com/t5/Manufacturer-support-warranty-resources/How-to-Contact-support-for-the-Manufacturer-of-Your-Roku-TV/m-p/1013052#M281, you will find that the RCA Roku TV support can be found at https://www.rca.com/us_en/after-sales-service-288-us-en#television-support.

    While I was initially suspect of hearing someone telling a customer to basically take a hammer and physically destroy their TV and wait for a check to be sent in lieu of store replacement or taking to an authorized repair center, it does appear this is indeed the policy of RCA and other manufacturers to prevent customer from repairing and re-selling TV when approved for replacement.

    As for their Castify claim, still have a raised eyebrow on that one.

    -----

    There are a few different channels/apps you can use to Cast to your Roku TV.  While I have used Castify in the past, I now use Web Video Caster. (offer both a free and one-time $5 purchase option).  Very similar procedure to using Castify.

    Install the Web Video Caster (WVC) app to your Android phone. (found in the Play Store).  Install the companion receiver WVC to your Roku device from the Roku Channel Store.  Establish a connection between the app and receiver and Cast your content to the Roku TV.

    https://channelstore.roku.com/details/dd37e6d096d3197a9578787890118e33/web-video-caster-receiver

    ----

    Depending on your Android phone, you may also be able to simply Screen Mirror to your Roku TV as well. (which is similar, but different than casting). 

    https://support.roku.com/article/208754928

    ----

    If you need more help trying to get Castify or Web Video Caster to work with your RokuTV, I would suggest you reach back out here instead of dealing with RCA.  Sometimes when there is an update to either the Roku OS or these casting apps, there may be a bug that needs to be addressed by the developer to get them working properly again.  Usually accomplished with some keystrokes on a keyboard, not a hammer and scissors.

    • EricD1's avatar
      EricD1
      Channel Surfer
      7 months ago

      Thank you for your help, AvsGunnar!  I have been waiting for replies from vendors to get back to you, but will update you with what I have now.

      1.  Yes, as you have said, it is RCA sending the cheque.  Just got a message this afternoon that they put it in the mail today.

      2.  I called Roku Wed 26 Feb 2025 and product specialist (2nd level) got back to me at 11:11pm to say that they are not supporting casting.  I was told to remove Castify (which downloaded automatically) and not use any 3rd part casting software as Roku does not support it and does not work with any developers on this feature.  Told to use screen mirroring.  (Screen mirroring is poor at best, pixilation, lag, poor video quailty). 

      3. I downloaded and tried to use Web Video Caster (WVC) as per your suggestion and it will not work for me.  Even tried the TED.com url they use in the set-up video.  I keep getting an error message that says it may be because my TV does not support the video formats of the videos on the websites I am using.  The main videos I want to cast are my Church webcasts so I can see them on the TV larger screen.  WRL is:  ucg.org.  Any of the webcasts listed on the site, in many video formats, none will work for me.  Mirroring does work with limitations as stated.  WVC automatically creates messages to send to their support team and I sent them. I got a reply yesterday from WVC support asking if I wanted help, and I replied yes!  I sent a request for help earlier today but still waiting for a reply. I was hoping I could have more news from them to tell you but I have to stop work at sundown.  I was going to take the Roku back and get a Google TV OS TV, but I called Google support and they said that, unless Google Cast is imbedded in the website I want to cast, it will not work. So I am keeping the replacement Roku for now as it appears I need a third party app to cast regardless.  A question I have:  Would it help if I saved up and got a higher end unit?  Because this is an OS functionality problem (well, lack-of-feature, problem), I don't think that would help.  Thanks for your time, have a good weekend.

      • AvsGunnar's avatar
        AvsGunnar
        Community Streaming Expert
        7 months ago

        EricD1 

        The team over at WVC are very good to deal with, so no issues there with sending them any requested info.

        As for your Roku TV, go to Settings/System/Advanced System Settings/Control by Mobile Apps and verify that you are set to [Enabled] or [Permissive].

        This will allow casting apps like WVC to automatically launch when casting.  Otherwise, you may have to first physically launch the casting app on the Roku to avoid errors.  I have mine set to Permissive.  When I run into issues, I change it to Enabled.

        Sometimes this forum may inadvertently flag a user's links as spam, so if you want to sent me some links via PM (just click my name/avatar, view profile, send user private message), I can test them using both WVC and Castify for you to see if I see any errors/issues.

        I went to both TED and also the ucg.org website and played some sermons (a few under the Featured) and it cast just fine to my Roku device using WVC.

        Feel free to post questions/responses here in this thread publicly, but send links via PM just to make sure I get them if you want.