Shortly after Google launched its Chromecast HDMI dongle, app developer, Koushik Dutta, released AllCast, an app which allowed Android users to stream video and images from their gallery, Dropbox or Drive folders to compatible devices, including Chromecast. Unfortunately, AllCast’s capabilities were cut short when Google updated the Chromecast, rendering it incompatible. But AllCast is back, and although it won’t work with Chromecast yet, it works with pretty much any device that supports DLNA.
Today, AllCast returned to the Google Play Store in the form of a free version and a $5 premium version. While the free version will allow photo sharing, it limits video streaming lengths. The premium version also ditches all ads, Compatible devices include just about anything that supports DLNA, including Apple TV and Roku set-top boxes, Samsung and Panasonic smart televisions, Xbox consoles, Google TV devices and more. The app provides easily accesible controls via a pull-down screen a seek bar for quick video scrubbing. It’s important to note that, in order for the app to work, the device must remain awake, potentially drawing a lot of power.
Dutta seems confident that one day AllCast will be compatible with Chromecast. With Google’s recent announcement that it intends to open up an SDK to developers at large, that does seem feasible. Then again, Google almost certainly has its own ideas about the future of casting. Time will tell. For now, check out Dutta demonstrating it below.
