Appestry - A-Cast for Android

A-Cast lets you cast web videos from your Android device to Apple TV! This app is intended to help cast videos embedded in websites. Install the A-Cast Player and A-Cast in your Apple TV and Android devices respectively. After you connect the devices to the same Wi-Fi network, launch both apps and add the TV to your Android device in A-Cast app. Browse the web for videos in the Android app and cast them to Apple TV. It's that easy!

NOTE: Please keep the A-Cast Player open in Apple TV when using A-Cast app at all times.

You will only be able to cast online videos from webpages and not the videos stored in your phone.

Top

What do I get with A-Cast All-Star Edition upgrade?

A-Cast All-Star Edition is an in-app upgrade priced at 3.99 USD or equivalent in local currency. It has no time limits and removes the ads at the bottom of the browser. It doesn't remove the ads hosted by the websites you visit. Upgrade to watch videos longer than 10 minutes. Please make sure the websites you frequently use work in A-Cast Player before upgrading to All-Star Edition.

Top

How do I connect with Apple TV? I have trouble adding them.

Once you install the apps in your Android device and Apple TV, make sure they are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Open both apps and add the TV your Android device in the A-Cast app. In the Apple TV screen tap (+) to add a new TV using its IP Address.

Please keep the A-Cast Player open in Apple TV when adding it to the A-Cast app.

Top

I have trouble casting videos to my Apple TV, what can I do?

Here are some steps to troubleshoot:

Make sure your Apple TV and your Android device are in the same Wi-Fi network.
If A-Cast Player is not displaying Apple TV's IP Address then look for it Network Settings.
If your TV's IP Address has changed then change it in A-Cast app's TV menu.
In Android 4.4 or newer versions, when you play the video in the web page it will launch the cast menu.
In older Android versions, when the video is playing press the full view button (four arrows) found in the right bottom corner of the video to launch the cast menu.
Keep the A-Cast Player open in Apple TV before casting videos from the A-Cast app.
If the video is already playing or if you don't get the cast menu, refresh the page to get the cast menu.
Make sure the A-Cast Player is installed in your Apple TV.
You will need both the apps (A-Cast & A-Cast Player) for this to work.
If you don't get the cast menu or if the video isn't playing, please contact us. We'll be glad to help you.

Top

What is the "Cast in Mobile Hotspot" option for?

If you don't have a working Wi-Fi/Internet connection and if you want to connect your Apple TV to a mobile hotspot then you can enable this option to cast videos within the hotspot. If you are using Apple TV in a Wi-Fi network then don't enable this setting. Follow these steps to cast videos to a Apple TV device within a mobile hotspot:

Enable "Cast in Mobile Hotspot" option in the Settings menu.
Turn on your mobile hotspot and connect your Apple TV to it.
In the Apple TVs menu add your Apple TV's IP address (192.168.X.Y) and give it a friendly name.
Browse the web for your favorite entertainment.
In Android 4.3 or earlier, play videos in full view for the cast menu.
In Android 4.4 or later, just start videos to launch the cast menu.
Select the Apple TV to cast and enjoy videos in a mobile hotspot!

Top

Do I always need a Wi-Fi network to use A-Cast?

No, if you don't have a Wi-Fi network, you could use A-Cast in a mobile hotspot to enjoy videos on your Apple TV. Follow the steps listed here.

Top

Why do I have to press the full view icon in some websites to get the cast menu?

Videos have to be played in full view in order for A-Cast to get the video information and send it to the Apple TV device. Depending on the Android version, some websites might play the videos in an embedded view within the web page, like YouTube in Android 3.0. In those websites you'll have to press the full view icon (4 arrows at the bottom right corner) to launch the cast menu.

Also, the cast menu will only launch if you have at least one Apple TV device.

Top

Can I cast videos stored in my Android device?

No, you can only cast videos that are available online. Both Android device and Apple TV should have access to the Internet.

Top

Do you collect any information on what is being cast?

No, we do not collect any information about what is being cast. You can be confident that A-Cast does not employ any usage analytics either! We would like to know how much fun you are having with this app so please share your A-Cast stories via email or if you choose to write a review about the app in Google Play. We'd like to hear from our users but their business is their business!

Top

The video continues to play in the browser even after casting the video to Apple TV, why?

In some devices the embedded view continues to play even after casting begins. In that situation, pause the video in the embedded view before pressing the full view icon to launch the cast menu.

Top

I see the upgrade button even after upgrading to the All-Star edition, why?

Please close and reopen the app to refresh the purchase information. If that doesn't work then close the app again, open the Google Play app and select the Google account you used to purchase the upgrade. Reopen the A-Cast app for the purchase to take effect. You'll see the upgrade button if you don't have Internet access. Once you regain network access the app will refresh the purchase information and the upgrade button will disappear.

In some cases Google Play takes a few hours to download purchases made from one device to another device using the same Google account. Please wait a few hours and try again.

Top

In the free version, does the 10 minute time limit apply to the browser or only to the Apple TV?

The 10 minute time limit only applies to the Apple TV. There are no time limits on the browser. You can browse and watch videos locally for as long as you want. To remove ads at the bottom of the browser you have to upgrade the browser.

Top

What features does the browser support?

A-Cast web browser comes with the following features. If you like these features, please check out Split Browser, which offers plenty more!

Toolbar
- Address input supports free text search using Google.
- http:// is optional for web addresses.
- Ctrl + Enter key inserts "www." and ".com" when using keyboards.
- Autocomplete address input from bookmarks and history.
- Press and hold an autocomplete entry to open it in a new tab.
- Navigate backward, forward and refresh web pages when available.
- Press and hold back/forward arrows to view tab history and jump to a page in the list.
- Progress bar indicates the speed of webpage download.
Tabs
- Starting a new tab opens a web page set in the preferences.
- View tabs that are open in the background, open, replace bookmark or close them.
Bookmarks
- Add the current web page as a bookmark using the 'plus' button in the bookmarks menu.
- View, open, edit or delete bookmarks.
- Open bookmarks in a new tab.
Browser
- Open links and images in a new tab.
- Copy links to clipboard or bookmark them.
History
- Manage history across all tabs in one place.
- Items are sorted reverse chronologically showing the time of last visit.
- Bookmark links from history.
- Delete individual items or the entire history.
Settings
- Enable or disable the Apple TV remote app after casting a video.
- Enable or disable "Cast in Mobile Hotspot" option.
- Set the start page and new tab page.
- Restore previously open web pages and tabs upon restart.
- Open a new tab when launching to view links from other apps.
- Turn off hardware acceleration to handle display issues.
- Block Javascript popup message dialogs.
- Block links from opening background tabs.
- View pages in desktop mode.
- Remove controls to widen the address input during entry which is useful in phones to autocomplete.
- Adjust maximum zoom out level effective in most devices.
- Show or hide zoom +/- controls in Android 3.0 and above.
- Remember form data.
- Remember passwords.
- Clear cache, history, cookies, form data and passwords.
- Clear cache, history and cookies when exiting.
- Upgrade to All-Star edition.

Top

How do I contact support?

Please send an email to appestry@gmail.com with your questions and feedback. All emails will be responded typically within 24 hours.

Top