26.09.24 04:02
Watch a Live Broadcast
Level: Beginner • Time: ~3 minutes • You need: the link, the QR code or the
.fmsbcastfile the broadcaster sent you
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Someone is broadcasting from their phone or their watch with FastMediaSorter and sent you the address. This page shows how to open it on another Android phone, on a Wear OS watch, and on a Windows PC.
Before You Start
The broadcast is served by the broadcaster’s own device, not by a server on the internet. Your device and theirs must be on the same Wi-Fi network. Nothing is recorded: you hear and see what is captured from the moment you connect.
The broadcaster can hand the broadcast over in three ways, and all three carry the same description:
- a link that opens the app,
- a QR code on their screen,
- a
.fmsbcastfile they send you.
On Another Android Phone (FastMediaSorter)
- Install FastMediaSorter on your phone if it is not there yet.
- Use whichever of the three the broadcaster sent you:
- Link: tap it. The app opens and the broadcast is added to your Streams list. If the app is not installed, the link opens a web page offering to install it first.
- QR code: in FastMediaSorter open Streams, tap the scan button and point the camera at the code on the broadcaster’s screen.
- File: tap the
.fmsbcastfile in your messenger or file manager and choose FastMediaSorter to open it.
- The broadcast appears in the Streams list. Tap it to start listening or watching.
If nothing plays, check that you are on the same Wi-Fi as the broadcaster and that their broadcast is still running - the address stops working the moment they stop it.
On a Wear OS Watch (FastMedia Wear)
- Install FastMedia Wear on the watch - see Put FastMedia on Your Watch.
- Add the broadcast on the phone first, as described above.
- On the broadcaster’s phone screen there is a Send to watch button while the broadcast is live; from your own phone use the same action on the broadcast in the Streams list, and it lands on your paired watch.
- On the watch, open the broadcast and play it. The watch needs the same Wi-Fi as the broadcaster - it connects to the broadcaster directly, not through your phone.
On Windows (StreamsPlayer)
- Install StreamsPlayer on the PC.
- Give it the broadcast address: open the link the broadcaster sent, or paste the text their QR code contains.
- Play it. The PC has to be on the same network as the broadcaster.
Using a broadcast as a microphone. A phone or watch broadcast can feed any Windows program: install the free VB-CABLE virtual audio cable, set StreamsPlayer’s output to CABLE Input in the Windows volume mixer, then choose CABLE Output as the microphone in the program you want to use.
If It Does Not Connect
- “Cannot reach the broadcast”: you are on a different Wi-Fi, or the networks are separated by a guest-network setting on the router.
- The broadcast was there and went silent: the broadcaster stopped, or their device left the network. Ask for a fresh link - the address changes with the network.
- The link opens a web page instead of the app: the app is not installed on that device, or the page was opened on a desktop browser. Install the app and tap the link again on the phone.