The Route to the Big Screen That Does Not Need an App

Casting turns a phone into the way people find something and a television into the way they watch it, which is how a large number of households actually behave. It also reaches televisions your apps do not.

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The Route to the Big Screen That Does Not Need an App

Typing on a Remote Control Is Not How Anybody Wants to Spend an Evening

Searching a catalogue with a directional pad and an on screen keyboard is genuinely unpleasant, and viewers avoid it wherever they can. What they do instead is find the thing on the device already in their hand, where typing is easy and browsing is fast, and then move it to the screen they actually want to watch on. Casting exists to serve that behaviour rather than to be a lesser alternative to a television app. It is worth designing for properly, because for a meaningful share of households it is not a fallback at all. It is the normal route, and a service that treats it as an afterthought feels broken to exactly the people who use it most.


Vodlix Chromecast and Airplay
One control, in the player

A cast button where the viewer already is, rather than a separate mode they have to know exists. If it has to be discovered, most of your audience never will.

Vodlix Mobile Apps
The phone becomes the remote

Pause, seek and volume from the device in their hand, which is a better remote control than the one that came with the television.

Vodlix White Label TV Apps
Reaches sets you do not

Casting works on televisions and streaming sticks where you have no app at all, which quietly widens your addressable audience without another build.

The Phone Is Not Relaying the Video

This is the part viewers misunderstand and it changes what they expect. When something is cast, the television fetches the stream itself rather than receiving it via the phone, which is why quality is not limited by the phone connection, why the battery is not drained, and why somebody can leave the app or take a call without playback stopping. It also means the television is doing the adapting, so the rendition it selects reflects what the television can receive rather than what the phone could. That is usually better, since the television is generally on a stronger connection. How that selection works is covered under adaptive bitrate streaming.


Casting Does Not Get Around Your Rules

A cast stream is still a stream, which means it is checked the same way as any other. The viewer has to be entitled to the title, the territory still applies, and the session counts against the concurrent screen limit on their plan. That last point is worth stating plainly, because it is the question operators ask first and the one viewers occasionally hope the answer to is no. It also means casting cannot be used to bypass a quality cap, since the ceiling belongs to the plan rather than to the device. The enforcement behind all of that is described under conditional access, and the screen counting under device management.


It Does Not Replace Having Apps

Casting and television apps solve overlapping problems and neither makes the other unnecessary. An app gives you the lean back experience, a presence on the platform store, and a service that works when nobody has a phone to hand, which matters more than it sounds in a household where the television is shared. Casting gives you reach onto devices you have not built for and a far better search experience for everybody. The services that get this right offer both and make the handoff between them invisible, so somebody who cast last night and opens the television app tonight finds the same position waiting. That continuity comes from continue watching, and the apps themselves from TV apps.


Frequently Asked Questions

Have questions about taking advantage of this limited-time offer? Check out the FAQ for answers.

Why do viewers cast rather than use the TV app?
Mostly because searching with a directional pad and an on screen keyboard is unpleasant. Finding something on a phone and sending it to the television plays to the strengths of both devices, and for many households it is the normal route rather than a fallback.
Does the video go through the phone?
No, the television fetches the stream itself. That is why quality is not limited by the phone connection, the battery is not drained, and somebody can take a call or leave the app without playback stopping.
Does a cast session count against the screen limit?
Yes. A cast stream is still a stream, so it is checked for entitlement and territory and it counts against the concurrent screens the plan allows. Casting is not a way around the rules on a subscription.
Can casting bypass a quality cap?
No, because the ceiling belongs to the plan rather than to the device. A viewer on a plan capped below ultra high definition gets the same ceiling on a television as on their phone.
Does this replace having television apps?
No, they solve overlapping problems. An app gives you a store presence and works when no phone is to hand. Casting reaches devices you have not built for and gives everybody a better way to search. Most services want both.
Can the phone control playback after casting?
Yes, pause, seek and volume all work from the phone, which is a considerably better remote control than the one that came with most televisions. Being able to scrub with a thumb rather than a directional pad is the clearest example.
What happens to the position if they switch to the TV app later?
It follows them, because the position belongs to the account rather than to the device or the method. Somebody who cast last night and opens the television app tonight finds the same place waiting.
Does casting work on televisions where I have no app?
That is one of its main benefits. Casting reaches televisions and streaming sticks you have not built for, which widens your addressable audience without another build or another store review.