

YouMap Cast Receiver is a new Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick app that adds Google Cast support to your device, which essentially turns your Fire TV into a Chromecast. The app is priced a bit high at $7.99, but may be worth it to some if it can live upto it’s promise of replacing the functionality of the $35 Chromecast. The good news is, you don’t have to take the developer’s word on the app’s abilities before shelling over the dough. The developers are letting anyone try the app for free until the end of August. Just sideload this APK file, which will stop working on August 31st, to give the app a try.

Adding Chromecast receiver capabilities to your Fire TV means you’ll be able to use any number of Chromecast enabled Android apps to wirelessly send audio and video from your Android smartphone or tablet to your Fire TV device. Amazon’s new Fling protocol, added to Fire TV devices last month, performs the same functionality but is not yet supported on anywhere near as many apps as those that support Google’s Cast protocal.

YouMap supports many Google Cast compatible apps, but it does not fully replace the functionality of a Chromecast. While the app supports streaming Google Play Music and trailers from Google Play, it does not work with media containing DRM copy protection, like Google Play Movies and TV show episodes. It does however support Chrome browser tab mirroring, which allows you to stream any webpage, including its audio, to your Fire TV using the Chrome browser on a computer and the YouMap app.

The same way the numerous AirPlay apps that exist for the Fire TV don’t replace the rock solid Airplay capabilities of an Apple TV, YouMap is not going to make Chromecasts obsolete. The app is great when it works, which is most of the time, but comes with issues you would expect from an unorthodox implementation of a proprietary protocol. YouMap is great to use with the odd service that’s unavailable on the Fire TV, or for an easy way to put what’s in your Chrome browser onto your TV, but expect to run into occasional lag and connection issues.

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