How to watch videos from your computer or a NAS on your phone and TV

5 min read

You have home movies, family recordings or a collection of videos on your computer or a NAS, and you want to watch them on your phone or on the living-room TV without copying them one by one. You can do it with what you already have: all it takes is for the computer or NAS to serve the folder over HTTP on your home network, plus a list that points to it. This guide explains it step by step.

The idea

Whatplay plays videos that are at a web address, including when that address is on your own network, like http://192.168.1.20:8000/. The plan has three steps: serve the folder over HTTP, create a list with the videos’ addresses and add it to Whatplay. From there, you can cast them to the TV like any other video.

Why HTTP and not DLNA

DLNA, based on UPnP, is a long-standing system for sharing content at home: a server announces its videos on the network and compatible TVs or apps list them. Many NAS devices come with it. Whatplay doesn’t browse DLNA servers: it opens HTTP or HTTPS addresses, either from a list or from its browser. And to send to the TV it uses Chromecast and Google TV, which, as the help explains, works with far more TVs and lets you control playback from your phone (Why isn’t there DLNA?). HTTP has its advantages too: almost any NAS offers it, any computer can serve it with a small program, and the same address works on your phone, on your TV and in any browser.

Step 1: serve the folder over HTTP

From a NAS

Most NAS devices can serve folders over HTTP, with a built-in web server or a web-sharing option. Look for it in the control panel, enable it for the local network only and note down the address it gives you, with its IP and port. If the folder requires a username and password, playback may fail: the simplest option is a read-only folder that can only be reached from home. If your NAS only shares over SMB (Windows network folders), you’ll also need to turn on the web server.

From a computer

If you have Python installed (it usually comes with Linux; on Mac and Windows you install it from its official website), open a terminal in the videos folder and type python3 -m http.server 8000. On Windows it’s usually python -m http.server 8000. As long as the window stays open, the folder is served on port 8000; to stop it, press Ctrl+C. There are also programs with a window that do the same thing: any one that serves files over HTTP will do.

Find the IP

You need the address of the computer or NAS on your network. On Windows, use the ipconfig command (look for “IPv4 Address”); on Mac, the network settings, in the connection details; on a NAS, its control panel. It usually looks like 192.168.1.20. Since the router can change it, reserve a fixed IP for that device in the router’s settings.

Check it

From your phone, connected to the same Wi-Fi, open http://192.168.1.20:8000/ in a browser. You should see the list of files. If it doesn’t load, check the computer’s firewall: it has to accept incoming connections on that port from the private network.

Step 2: create the list

With a text editor, write an M3U with each video’s address:

#EXTM3U
#EXTINF:-1 group-title="Familia",Boda de Ana y Luis
http://192.168.1.20:8000/familia/boda-ana-luis.mp4
#EXTINF:-1 group-title="Viajes",Asturias 2024
http://192.168.1.20:8000/viajes/asturias-2024.mkv

Save it as videos-casa.m3u in the same folder, so it’s served over HTTP too. If a name has spaces or accents, they’re encoded in the address (%20 is a space); if you copy the link from the browser in the previous step, it’ll already be written correctly. You’ll find the full format, with covers and groups, in how to make your own M3U list.

Without writing the list

For something quick, open the folder’s address in Whatplay’s browser: it detects the video links on the page and shows them in “Videos on this page”, ready to play. For a large collection, a list is better: it’s more convenient and has groups and images.

Step 3: add it to Whatplay

1. In Lists, tap “Add list” › “URL”.
2. Type http://192.168.1.20:8000/videos-casa.m3u and tap “Import list”.
3. On Android 17 or later, Whatplay will ask for the “Nearby devices” permission, which Android requires to open things on your home network. Tap “Allow”.

If you leave the list’s automatic sync on, any videos you add to the M3U on your computer will show up on your phone by themselves.

Watching on the TV

• With Chromecast: the TV tries to request the video directly from the computer or NAS; if it can’t, or if the format doesn’t suit it (an MKV, for example), your phone acts as a bridge or converts it while you watch.
• With WebCast or TV Link: the list appears on the TV and you choose with the remote. Your phone has to keep Whatplay open.
• With the Android TV app: add the same address on the TV, and the TV box will open it without needing your phone.

The differences between these options are in watching on your TV.

Security

• Serve only the videos folder, never your whole personal folder or the entire disk.
• Don’t open that port on your router to the internet: anyone could see your videos. If you need to watch them away from home, a VPN into your own network is safer.
• Stop the server on your computer when you’re not using it.
• The guest Wi-Fi usually isolates devices: from it, your phone won’t see the computer.