Mozilla has announced a new feature for Firefox for Android Beta that will allow users with a Roku set top box or Chromecast dongle to cast videos from webpages to their TV.
The feature is now available for testing and users that choose to test it will be able to play, pause and close videos within Firefox for Android from the Media Control Bar along the bottom of the phone’s screen.
Supported video content will display the familiar ‘send to’ logo along with regular media controls but this will only show up once any ads have already run through.
How to Get Started
To test this feature on Roku or Chromecast, follow these simple instructions:
1. Install Firefox for Android Beta if you haven’t already.
2. Make sure Roku or Chromecast is set-up on a nearby TV and is running on the same WiFi network as your Android phone.
3. If streaming to a Roku, add the Firefox channel to the channel list – instructions from Roku on how to add a new channel are here
4. Go to a site with a video embedded. Once you start playing a supported video (after any ads have finished playing), the above ‘send to’ icon will appear over the video controls indicating that it can be sent to a nearby streaming device.
5. You can send the video you are watching to a nearby media streaming device by tapping on the video and selecting ‘send to’ from the video controls or touching the ‘send-to’ icon in the URL bar. Both actions will automatically launch the Firefox channel on Roku or activate Chromecast for streaming and send the video to a nearby TV.
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