Starting receiver when Chromecast Audio is playing?

I got started on a new automation where I have a Chromecast Audio connected to my Denon receiver.
When I start casting to the Chromecast Audio I want the receiver to turn on and change source.

The problem I see is that the Chromecast Audio never changes from off directly to playing. This means I cannot use this automation:

trigger:
  - platform: state
    entity_id:
      - media_player.altan
    to: "playing"
    from: "off"

Checking the logs, I can see that it usually goes from Off → Inactive → Buffering → Playing.
I know I can have it trigger each time the state changes to Playing and skip the “from”-part. But this will trigger the automation every time you pause or skip song.

I have the same issue with turning the receiver off when I stop casting. Right now I have it trigger when it changes from Playing, but then it turns off everytime i pause or skip a song.

This may not apply to your situation, but this is my setup.
I have several Chromecasts and the amplifiers are connected to either a Zigbee or Zwave plug. I have an automation that in the mornings turns on the amplifier plugs and also casts a specific radio station url to the Chromecasts.

“Off” to “Idle” has been working for me for quite some time, since this progression only happens when I start playing music on the Chromecast.

For shutting it off, I just have the trigger be “Off” for 15 minutes so I don’t end up cycling the receiver just because I paused something for a short bit.