Version 2.1

User Guide - VEA Cast 2.1

Description

VEA Cast is an exclusive technology from VEA Digital Media that allows you to mirror your computer's browser tab to your VEA television, making it easy to share audio, video, or images from websites with your friends. In future versions, we will incorporate more options such as sharing your computer's full screen and audio/video files.

NEW 2.1 Quality Control: New global Quality preset selector (Auto / High / Balanced / Low) lets the host cap bandwidth and resolution for the whole room with one click. Per-viewer override drops a quality preset on a single viewer who has a slow connection, while the rest of the room keeps full quality.
NEW 2.1 Real-time Stats: Detailed per-viewer connection stats (resolution, framerate, bitrate, P2P/TURN, RTT, packet loss) right next to each viewer's name, plus a sender-side Upload Stats bar diagnosing your own bottleneck (CPU, bandwidth, frame drops). Diagnose user complaints in seconds — and tell apart your problems from theirs.
V1.6 Previous Update: Forced TURN Server technology (VSP Edition exclusive) allows hosts to override connection methods for users experiencing network difficulties, ensuring stable streaming behind complex firewalls or restrictive networks.
V1.5 Older Update: Enhanced stereo audio quality and optional viewer identification, allowing viewers to set custom display names that are visible to the host.
HOT VSP Edition Exclusive: Forced TURN Server technology allows hosts to manually override connection methods for specific viewers experiencing network issues, providing a more reliable streaming experience in challenging network environments.

Features

Full HD Resolution

Enjoy content in high definition.

Stereo HD Audio

Crystal clear sound quality with stereo support for an immersive experience.

Private Rooms

Complete control over who can join your transmission.

Universal Compatibility

Supports any video or audio content visible in your browser.

Dynamic HDR+

Automatic enhancement of colors and visual quality.

Automatic Synchronization

All users see the same content simultaneously.

Viewer Identification

Viewers can set custom display names for easy recognition by the host.

Quality Presets

Global bandwidth control (Auto / High / Balanced / Low) plus per-viewer override for mixed-connection rooms.

Real-time Stats

Per-viewer connection stats and sender-side Upload Stats bar to diagnose issues at a glance.

Force TURN Mode

VSP Edition exclusive: Manually override connection methods for specific viewers.

Technical Requirements

Capacity by TV Model

Step-by-Step Guide

1. On your VEA television:
  • Access the "VEA Cast" option in the main menu.
  • Click on "Screen-share" to generate the control link.
  • Press the "Copy sender URL" button to copy the link to your clipboard.
  • You don't need to do anything else on your TV; it will configure automatically.
2. On your computer:
  • Open Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge.
  • Paste the copied link (Ctrl+V) into a new tab and press Enter.
  • You'll see the VEA Cast control screen. Verify that the status line shows "Connected to signaling server".
3. For viewers (introduced in v1.5):
  • When joining a stream, viewers will see a welcome dialog where they can enter a display name.
  • This name will be visible to the host to easily identify who is watching.
  • The name is optional - viewers can leave it blank or press Enter to continue.
  • Names are remembered in the browser for future sessions.
4. Preparing the content:
  • Open a second tab in Chrome or Edge with the content you want to share (e.g., YouTube, Netflix, etc.).
  • It's recommended to mute this tab (right-click on the tab and select "Mute site").
5. Starting the transmission:
  • Return to the VEA Cast tab.
  • Click "Start sharing" to begin the transmission.
  • Select the tab you want to share in the dialog that appears.
  • Make sure to check the "Share audio" box if you want to include sound.
  • Confirm your selection.
6. Viewing:
  • The transmission will automatically start on your VEA TV.
  • Additional viewers will be connected automatically if they have accessed the receiver link.
  • The host can see the names of connected viewers in the viewers list.

Sender Controls

Reading the Stats

VEA Cast 2.1 surfaces detailed real-time stats both for your overall sender health and for each individual viewer — useful to tell apart problems on your side from problems on a specific viewer's network.

Upload Stats bar (your sender, below the buttons):

The bar also shows: capture resolution × FPS · total uplink bitrate (sum across all viewers) · viewer count.

Per-viewer stats (next to each connected viewer):

1280×720 · 30fps · 1200 kbps · P2P (LAN) · 12ms · 0.0% loss

Color-coded by packet loss:

Diagnosing user complaints:

  1. Check your Upload Stats bar. If it's Healthy, the problem isn't on your side.
  2. Look at the affected viewer's per-viewer stats. Red color, high RTT (>200ms), TURN connection type → their network/NAT is the bottleneck.
  3. Drop them to a Low per-viewer override to give them a smoother (lower quality) experience without affecting other viewers.
  4. (VSP Edition / Lumiere only) If their P2P keeps failing, force TURN for that user.

Using Quality Presets

Per-Viewer Quality Override

Using Force TURN Mode (VSP Edition Exclusive)

Receiver Controls (TV)

Optimizing the Experience

PRO TIP Chrome Split View: Right-click a tab in Chrome and choose "Split tab to right" to display two tabs side by side in the same window. Put your VEA Cast control on one side and your content (YouTube, Netflix, etc.) on the other so you can monitor viewers, stats and quality without ever leaving the content. Share the content tab; the cast follows it normally.

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Screen not sharing: Verify that you have correctly selected the tab to share.
No audio: Make sure you checked the "Share audio" option when starting the transmission.
Poor video quality: First check your Upload Stats bar — if it's Healthy, the issue isn't on your side. Then look at the affected viewer's per-viewer stats: red color or high packet loss indicates their network is the problem. Drop them to Low via the per-viewer dropdown. If the whole room struggles and your bar shows Bandwidth limited, lower the global preset.
Viewer connection issues: Use the per-viewer stats to confirm where the problem is — if you see red color, TURN connection or high RTT for that user, their network is the bottleneck. Try a Low per-viewer override first. If the issue persists, activate Force TURN for that specific user (VSP Edition / Lumiere only).
Disconnections: If frequent disconnections occur, try restarting the process or check your internet connection.
Black screen: Some content with DRM protection may not be compatible with screen sharing.

Usage Recommendations

Important

Due to the high consumption of bandwidth and server resources, when we detect excessive use or use that exceeds the established limits, we will proceed to block your connection to the server. This ensures that other users can continue to enjoy the service normally.

VEA Cast is a constantly evolving technology. We appreciate your feedback and suggestions to improve the service.