FAQ
WELCOME
1. What is CastTV?
2. How is CastTV different than YouTube, Hulu and other videos sites?
ACCOUNT
3. How much does CastTV cost?
4. Do I have to have an account to use CastTV?
5. How do I create an account on CastTV?
6. Do I have to install special software to use CastTV?
7. I signed up for a CastTV account but have not received the temporary password email?
8. I signed up for a CastTV account but the temporary password I received is not working?
FINDING VIDEOS
9. I can’t find my favorite video on CastTV.
10. I can’t find my favorite video on CastTV and I know it’s online.
11. What’s the dropdown list that appears below the search box as I type?
WATCHING VIDEOS
12. Why do some videos stream quickly while others are slow and pause to buffer?
13. Is there a limit to how many episodes / videos I can watch on CastTV?
14. Why isn’t the latest episode of my favorite show available from my favorite website?
15. I’m trying to watch a video “intended for mature audiences” from the source Hulu. When I try to play the video I get an error message that says “To view this video, please first login to your account.” How can I watch this video?
16. I’m watching a CBS TV show using Flash Player 10. When I click Fullscreen on the CBS player I see a message that says “Fullscreen requires Flash Player 9.0.115.0 or higher. Click here to update.” How can I watch this CBS show Fullscreen?
17. What is MegaVideo?
18. Why does MegaVideo open a second window with an ad?
19. Why is MegaVideo interrupting my show to tell me I’ve reached maximum viewing time?
20. Why is MegaVideo telling me I’ve reached the maximum viewing time of 72 minutes? I haven’t been watching for that long.
21. I paid for a MegaVideo subscription and want to use their video hosting service to watch videos I find on CastTV. What do I do?
22. Why is the MegaVideo audio not in sync with the video I’m watching?
INTERNATIONAL
23. I live outside of the US and I can’t watch certain videos on CastTV. Why not? What videos can I watch?
MORE
24. How can I find out more about CastTV?
CastTV is a free Internet website that offers a “one stop watching” experience for online video. We aggregate TV shows, live events, viral videos, and more. Based on sophisticated video search technology, CastTV provides simple and organized access to online videos, no matter where they are hosted. We automatically search video sites from YouTube, to iTunes, and everything in between, to find the videos that matter to you.
2. How is CastTV different than YouTube, Hulu and other videos sites?
CastTV offers a comprehensive view of the videos available online. We find and organize videos from sites all over the web. CastTV does not host videos.
There is no charge to use CastTV - we are a free service. We want to offer you choices about which videos to watch, so we find and organize free videos, paid videos (to rent or buy), and subscription-only videos. The only time you would have to pay a third party is if you decide to buy or rent a video from a source such as iTunes, or subscribe to unlimited viewing from a website that hosts video such as MegaVideo.
4. Do I have to have an account to use CastTV?
No, creating an account is completely optional. You can use most of CastTV’s features without logging in, including searching for a video or browsing a list of popular TV shows to watch online.
5. How do I create an account on CastTV?
It’s easy! Just sign up here. Creating a CastTV account will allow you to use special features like saving a video in your “Favorites” to re-watch or share with friends.
6. Do I have to install special software to use CastTV?
No, CastTV is a web application and we do not require you install software. However, the website the video is from may require you to install software or in some cases, download the video.
7. I signed up for a CastTV account but have not received the temporary password email?
Please make sure you are checking the correct email account you signed up with and check your spam folder. If you still don’t find it you may have entered your email address incorrectly. Send us an email: help AT casttv.com
8. I signed up for a CastTV account but the temporary password I received is not working?
When you log in, your username is the email address you signed up with. Please type your temporary password (instead of copy / paste) because if you copy / paste an extra space, the temporary password doesn’t work. After you log in for the first time, go ahead and change your temporary password to something only you will remember.
9. I can’t find my favorite video on CastTV.
We find that sometimes users search for TV shows / sports etc but don’t find what they’re looking for. This is because the content owners just haven’t put these videos online (yet!)
10. I can’t find my favorite video on CastTV and I know it’s online.
We want to find all your favorite online videos, wherever they are. Send us an email and let us know how we can improve your experience: help AT casttv.com
11. What’s the dropdown list that appears below the video search box as I type?
This feature suggests TV showpages, movie pages, and other video pages we think you might want to visit, based on your search. Use your arrow and “enter” keys to select any of the pages in this list.
12. Why do some videos stream quickly while others are slow and pause to buffer?
You may have a slow internet connection and / or the website hosting the video could have a slow streaming speed. Sometimes it helps to pause the video and let it catch up. CastTV is a video search engine, meaning we don’t host videos or have control over streaming speed. Instead we provide simple and organized access to online videos, no matter where they are hosted.
13. Is there a limit to how many episodes / videos I can watch on CastTV?
CastTV finds videos from all over the web. Many of the websites we find video from have NO viewing limits but a few do, for example MegaVideo. There may also be workarounds for some of the viewing limits.
14. Why isn’t the latest episode of my favorite show available from my favorite website?
Sometimes new episodes of a show are put online with a delay due to licensing restrictions. For example, Hulu puts House online 8 days after a new show airs, and the CW puts Gossip Girl online 3 days after a new show airs. We recommend you search or browse for your favorite show as CastTV may have automatically found the latest episode from an alternative source.
You can watch the video from another source on CastTV, or you can create an account at Hulu to use when they prompt you to login.
This is a problem with CBS’s embeddable video. The solution is to use the CastTV player at the bottom of the video for Fullscreen capability. Click the orange square on the player to go to Fullscreen. You can also click “Watch at Source” to watch the Fullscreen video at CBS.com.
MegaVideo hosts video. It’s one of many websites CastTV’s video search technology finds video from.
18. Why does MegaVideo open a second window with an ad?
CastTV’s video search technology automatically searches many different websites for TV shows and videos, and those websites have their own unique quirks. If MegaVideo opens a second window for you, close that window and you should see the video playing in your original window. If you still see an ad in the original window, click the green play button to play the video.
19. Why is MegaVideo interrupting my show to tell me I’ve reached maximum viewing time?
MegaVideo limits total viewing time at one IP address to 72 minutes, after which the video you’re watching will stop and you’ll see an image stating you’ll need to wait before finishing the video. The wait time between viewing periods is 54 minutes. You could also try a workaround.
Someone else at your IP address (home, office, wherever) is probably watching MegaVideo. Together you all will have a total viewing time of 72 minutes before it asks you to wait. For more info click here. You could also try a workaround.
Make sure you are logged into http://www.megavideo.com/ in the same browser you’re using http://www.casttv.com/ in. Otherwise, even though you’ve paid a subscription fee to MegaVideo, you still may be hit with the 72 minute limit issue on CastTV.
22. Why is the MegaVideo audio not in sync with the video I’m watching?
This is a MegaVideo issue caused by users uploading AVI files instead of FLV files. They prefer FLV files. If this happens, first trying playing another copy of the video. If that doesn’t work, open the video in 2 windows, sync the sound of one to the visual of the other, and then mute the visual one.
CastTV’s video search technology finds videos from all over the web. Playing or downloading the actual video is not within our control. International streaming is very important to us and we encourage content owners to make their online video accessible to all users across the globe.
We do find videos from international websites including CNN, MTV, MegaVideo, YouKu, YouTube and more. Here are some tips to find videos you can watch outside of the US:
1. When you search for a video, you’ll see a list of list of sources in the left sidebar. Click on one of these international sites to filter your results, and then try playing the videos.
2. Add the name of an international website to your search. Here are some example searches: family guy megavideo, house youku, britney spears youtube.
3. Finally, you can browse a list of popular TV showpages and look for an international site’s icon next to the episode name on the showpage.
We can’t always tell if a content owner has cleared the rights for a TV show or video in a certain area of the world but this will give you a good place to start watching.
24. How can I find out more about CastTV?
Read the CastTV Blog and follow our CEO Edwin Ong on Twitter for all the latest in online video!