🍿 Home Cinema & VR Streaming
Level: Beginner • Time: ~15 minutes • Flavor: Standard or Legacy
| Русский | Українська |
Watch your series collection directly from your home PC - on your phone, tablet, or Android-based VR headset (Meta Quest, Pico). No copying files. No USB cables. Just press play.
How does this work? Your phone and PC are on the same home Wi-Fi. The app connects to your PC’s shared folder and streams the video directly - just like Netflix streams from their servers, but using your own home network. The video file never gets downloaded to your phone; it plays on-the-fly.
What You Will Need
- Phone / tablet / VR headset on the same home Wi-Fi network as your PC
- Videos on your PC or NAS (your router box with storage)
- FastMediaSorter installed
Step 1 - Share Your Video Folder on the PC
First, make the video folder reachable over your home network.
On Windows:
- Open File Explorer, navigate to your video folder (e.g.
D:\Series) - Right-click the folder → Properties → Sharing tab → click Share..
- In the dropdown choose Everyone (or your username) → click Add → click Share
- Note the IP address of your PC - you’ll need it in Step 2
How to find your PC’s IP: press Win + R, type
cmd, press Enter. Typeipconfigand press Enter. Find the IPv4 Address line under your Wi-Fi adapter. Example:192.168.1.100.
Step 2 - Add the Video Folder in FastMediaSorter
- Open the app → tap Add (⊕) → “Network folder SMB”
- Tap “Scan Network” - the app scans your home network for available PCs
- When your PC appears in the list, tap it - the address fills in automatically
- Enter the share name (the video folder name), username and Windows password
- Tap Test Connection → Save
Didn’t find your PC via scan? Enter the address manually:
\\192.168.1.100\Series(replace with your IP and folder name). See the full SMB Setup Guide for all connection scenarios.
Step 3 - Open the Video Folder
Tap your newly added resource on the main screen.
Your series folders and video files appear as a grid with thumbnails - just like browsing locally.
Step 4 - Set Up Auto-Next Episode
So the next episode starts automatically when one ends - no need to pick the next one manually:
- Go back to the main screen → long-press your video resource → tap Edit
- Set Supported Types → Video only (hides non-video files)
- Set Sort mode → Name (A→Z) - this ensures episodes play in order (Episode 1, 2, 3..)
- Tap Save
Then in Settings → Operations → enable “Go to next file after playback”.
Why sort by name? Episode files are usually named
S01E01,S01E02, etc. Sorting by name puts them in the correct episode order automatically.
Step 5 - Start Watching
- Open the folder, navigate into the series subfolder
- Tap Episode 1 - the video player opens immediately and starts streaming
- The video plays over Wi-Fi - no waiting for downloads
Step 6 - Controls While Watching
Touch gestures during playback:
- Swipe left → skip to next episode
- Swipe right → go back to previous episode
- Tap screen → show / hide controls
- Pinch → zoom in or out (useful for widescreen films on a portrait phone)
- Double-tap left / right edge → rewind / fast-forward 10 seconds
When “Auto-next” is enabled, the next episode starts automatically when the current one ends - just like Netflix.
Step 7 - For VR Headsets (Meta Quest, Pico)
This section is for people with a VR headset (like Meta Quest 2/3 or Pico 4). If you don’t have one, skip this step.
Android-based VR headsets can run FastMediaSorter. Install it via sideloading:
- Download the APK from the Downloads page
- On your headset, enable “Install from unknown sources” in Developer settings
- Install the APK using SideQuest or directly via ADB
Once installed, the video player works exactly the same:
- The video fills the virtual flat screen inside the headset
- Use the controller trigger to tap buttons
- Use thumbstick to swipe between episodes (if your headset maps media buttons)
- For regular 2D movies and series - works immediately, no extra setup
For VR cinema experience: you can use a dedicated VR cinema app as a launcher, and then choose “Open with FastMediaSorter” for file management. FastMediaSorter handles the file browsing; the VR cinema app handles immersive 360° display.
Done! What to Try Next
- Add a Google Drive or Dropbox resource for movies stored in the cloud - works the same way
- Use Favorites (tap the ★ star button while watching) to bookmark your “currently watching” series - jump back to it any time
- Subtitles: if your video folder has matching
.srtsubtitle files next to the video files, tap the CC / subtitle button in the player toolbar to enable them
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to try |
|---|---|
| Video stutters or buffers | Run a Speed Test: long-press the resource → Edit → Speed Test. If speed is below 5 Mbps, try switching your phone to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi band (faster, but shorter range) |
| Video won’t play (format error) | In the player, tap Options (⋮) → switch Decoder from Hardware to Software (slower but more compatible) |
| Episodes play in wrong order | Make sure Sort mode is set to Name (A→Z) in folder Edit settings |
| Auto-next doesn’t start | Check Settings → Operations → confirm “Go to next file after playback” is enabled |
| VR headset can’t install the APK | Go to headset Settings → Developer → enable “Allow installs from unknown sources” |