Amazon recently launched Fling as an answer to Google Cast, and while its app support is sorely lacking right now, that could soon change soon it’s supposed to be quite easy for app makers to support Fling if they already work with Chromecast. Just be aware that none of these devices offer an Amazon app, making them non-starters for Amazon Prime subscribers. All of them include full Chromecast functionality, along with a proper remote and TV apps. What are your other options? If you haven’t already bought a Fire TV, you could pick up an Android TV device such as Google’s Nexus Player, Razer’s Forge TV, or Nvidia’s Shield Android TV. You could very well spend $8 now and be left with a useless app a few months down the road. Even though Google doesn’t have control of the Amazon Appstore, it can still stop unauthorized cast receivers from working, and it has done so in the past. My only concern with YouMap is that Google will at some point shut it down. Adding those capabilities to the Fire TV could be well-worth the $8 asking price. It can allow your device to receive screen mirroring. This includes Youtube App for Kindle Fire, which will let you watch HD videos. The most advanced wireless streaming receiver for AirPlay, Cast, Miracast, and DLNA. After being connected, you can now go to various app on your phone that also supported media casting. For couch potatoes who always keep a phone or tablet handy, using a touch screen to browse and send content to the television can feel borderline magical. To use the Chromecast App for Kindle Fire, you can simply open the app and search for the activated Chromecast dongle that is also connected to your Wi-Fi connection. I’ve written before that Chromecast is a love-it-or-hate it device. Also, if the Fire TV is in sleep mode, you may have to initiate casting twice, as the first attempt merely wakes the device without actually making the connection. Apps that have on-screen volume controls seem to work fine. YouMap taps into the existing Google Cast buttons in apps such as CBS (left) and Pandora (right).Ī couple other quirks worth mentioning: YouMap doesn’t support controlling volume with your phone or tablet’s hardware buttons, as some apps do with Chromecast. Just look for “Fire TV” in the Cast menu from Netflix’s iOS and Android apps. While YouMap doesn’t work with Netflix, that’s a non-issue for Fire TV users Netflix already supports casting to Amazon’s media streamer out of the box.
Here’s a list of apps that ran successfully when casting from my iPhone 6 Plus: Still, I was pleasantly surprised by how many apps did work. YouTube, Twitch, Pluto.TV, and Watch Food Network wouldn’t even show YouMap in the Cast menu, and Crunchyroll failed to connect with the Fire TV. A Chromebook works without any additional apps, or at least, without any apps that Google doesnt. With HBO Go, Google Play Movies & TV, and Hulu, I received error messages saying they couldn’t load licensed or protected content. This scenario is due to Chromebook locking on Chrome OS. There’s just one catch: YouMap doesn’t work with video apps that use digital rights management (DRM). YouMap supports mirroring Chrome browser tabs on video sites like.