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Firecast - Quick Start
- Install Firecast Player app in your Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick
- Install Firecast app in your Android device from Google Play or Amazon Appstore
- Connect your Android device to the same Wi-Fi network as your Fire TV
- The app will detect the Fire TV in your network
- 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 Fire TV to cast and voila!
- Enjoy videos on the big screen!!
Firecast - Help & FAQs
What is the difference between Firecast and Firecast Player app?
What is the difference between Firecast free and Firecast FLAMIN' edition?
How do I connect with Fire TV or Fire TV Stick?
I have trouble casting videos to my Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, what can I do?
What is the "Cast in Mobile Hotspot" option for?
Do I always need a Wi-Fi network to use Firecast?
What video formats does it support?
Why do I have to press the full view icon in some websites to get the cast menu?
Can I cast videos stored in my Android device?
How do I control the video in Fire TV or Fire TV Stick?
Do you collect any information on what is being cast?
I see the upgrade button even after upgrading to the FLAMIN' edition, why?
What features does the browser support?
What is Firecast?
Firecast lets you cast online videos from your Android device to Amazon Fire TV or Fire TV Stick! This app is intended to help cast videos embedded in websites that are not directly accessible in Fire TV.
Install Firecast Player in your Fire TV and then install the Firecast app in your Android device from Google Play or Amazon Appstore. Once you connect the devices to the same Wi-Fi network, the app will detect the Fire TV.
Browse the web for videos in the Firecast app and cast them to the Firecast Player in your Fire TV. It's that easy!
Please note that not all videos can be cast (like Flash videos, live streams, etc). Videos in the web that are not in high definition, might not look the same on your HD TV as they look in a small screen.
What is the difference between Firecast and Firecast Player app?
Firecast app is a browser that runs in an Android device, while the Firecast Player app runs in Fire TV. You use the Firecast app to browse online videos and cast them to the Firecast Player app which plays the video in Fire TV.
What is the difference between Firecast free and Firecast FLAMIN' edition?
Firecast app is available in 2 editions - free and FLAMIN':
- The free edition contains ads and can only cast for 10 minutes at a time.
- The FLAMIN' edition 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.
How do I connect with Fire TV or Fire TV Stick?
Once you install Firecast app and Firecast Player app in your Android device and Fire TV respectively, make sure they are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. The Firecast app will automatically detect Fire TV in your network. If it is not able to find the Fire TV, use the 'refresh' button in the Fire TVs menu to scan for Fire TVs in your network.
Once it finds your Fire TV, you can give a friendly name to each Fire TV in the Fire TVs menu.
If you're having trouble then you may add the Fire TV manually using the 'plus' button in the Fire TVs menu. Enter the Fire TV's IP address from the Settings > System > About > Network menu in your Fire TV and give it a friendly name.
I have trouble casting videos to my Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, what can I do?
Here are some steps to troubleshoot:
- Make sure your Fire TV and your Android device are in the same Wi-Fi network.
- Check if your Fire TV is listed in the Fire TVs menu, if not refresh or add it manually.
- In Android 4.4 or newer versions, when you play the video in the web page it will launch the cast menu.
- If the video is already playing or if you don't get the cast menu, refresh the page to get 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.
- Make sure the Firecast Player app is installed in your Fire TV.
- You will need both the Firecast app and Firecast Player app for this to work.
- Not all videos can be cast (like Flash videos, live streams, etc).
- 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.
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 Fire TV to a mobile hotspot then you can enable this option to cast videos within the hotspot. If you are using Fire TV in a Wi-Fi network then don't enable this setting. Follow these steps to cast videos to a Fire TV within a mobile hotspot:
- Enable "Cast in Mobile Hotspot" option in the Settings menu.
- Turn on your mobile hotspot and connect your Fire TV to it.
- In the Fire TVs menu, manually add your Fire TV's IP address (192.168.x.y) and give it a friendly name.
- Refreshing devices might not work in a mobile hotspot, so you might have to add it manually.
- 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 Fire TV to cast and enjoy videos in a mobile hotspot!
Do I always need a Wi-Fi network to use Firecast?
No, if you don't have a Wi-Fi network, you could use Firecast in a mobile hotspot to enjoy videos on your Fire TV. Follow the steps listed here.
Some videos do not play, why?
Not all video websites work in Fire TV. For instance, Flash videos and live streams will not work. Please make sure the videos sites you frequently use work before upgrading to the paid version.
What video formats does it support?
It plays all video formats supported by Android and Fire TV: 3GP, MKV, MP4 & WEBM.
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 Firecast app to get the video information and send it to the Fire TV. 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 and above. 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 Fire TV.
Can I cast videos stored in my Android device?
No, you can only cast videos that are available online. Both your Android device and Fire TV should have access to the Internet.
How do I control the video in Fire TV?
Use the Fire TV remote to pause, rewind or fast forward the video after it starts playing. To skip a longer period, pause the video first and then press the rewind or fast forward button multiple times to move the seek bar. Press the menu button in your remote to view the play clock.
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 the Firecast app or Firecast Player app do not employ any usage analytics either! We would like to know how much fun you are having with this app so please share your Firecast stories via email or if you choose to write a review about the app in the app store. We'd like to hear from our users but their business is their business!
The video continues to play in the browser even after casting the video to Fire 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.
I see the upgrade button even after upgrading to the FLAMIN' 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 Firecast 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.
Amazon Appstore Users:
If your upgrade button is not going away after you have purchased the upgrade, please make sure you are using the same Amazon account. Go ahead and purchase the upgrade again, Amazon will not let you buy the same upgrade twice. You will get an error saying that you already own the upgrade. This time when you exit and reopen the app the upgrade button and ads will go away. You should be able to cast without limits.
In the free version, does the 10 minute time limit apply to the browser or only to the Fire TV player?
The 10 minute time limit only applies to the Fire TV player. 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.
What features does the browser support?
Firecast 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 "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.
- 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 FLAMIN' edition.
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.