Although YouTube is once again changing their API for developers and third party apps, one of our favorite apps Tubecast is getting a big update today, including fixing some recent bugs.
If you recall, a few weeks ago Tubecast for Windows 8.1 joined the ranks with its Windows Phone brother to become a universal app. Today is the first update for both apps, bringing some improvements and new features. Let's take a look!
Tubecast 1.2 for Windows 8.1
- Screen stays on while playing videos
- Search handling in the app by hitting keyboard directly
- Latin Serbian language
- Improve annotation handling
- All the player zone is clickable for play/pause
- Bigger newsfeed for logged users
- New button for opening Application bar (easier for Windows 10 users)
- Bugs fixed
Tubecast 3.0 Windows Phone
- New video quality: 4K (only use it for casting, no smartphone can decode it correctly at the moment)
- Windows 8 merged design and code
- Landscape Navigation
- Network error' fixed, it was due to YouTube API quota
- Bigger newsfeed for logged users
- Improve DLNA (with new SmarTV)
- Improve annotation handling
- New pinch gesture and double tap for fullscreen videos
- All the player zone is clickable for play/pause
- New Icon
- Bug fixes
Some other fixes and improvements include the developers universalizing/merging the "trial" purchase in the PRO version so that it is $3 for universal casting in Windows 8 and Windows Phone. This change should clear up any confusion over previous and future purchases carrying over between apps. However, if you do not want to have the universal unlock, you can still just unlock for each platform at the lower $2 mark.
In the Windows 8.1 version, you can now just type to search anywhere in the app as this action launches the search pane. Certainly that is convenient.
Finally, speaking of those YouTube API version 3.0 changes the developers of Tubecast have told us this:
"Tubecast is built at 90% on APIv3, so it's not a big deal to go to 100%, we are ready for it :) and will publish a new update asap (before April 20th)".
So look out for that update in the coming days.
A Note on Silverlight vs. WinRT
Some people have noted (and complained) that Tubecast for Windows Phone still uses "legacy" Silverlight 8.0 instead of Silverlight 8.1 or even WinRT APIs. It does seem counterintuitive, but the developers behind the app have their reasons. As usual, they have to do with limitations that Microsoft has on individual APIs, which tie the hands of developers, in short:
- WinRT lacks "run under lock" API, which is needed for casting
- Silverlight 8.1 loses the Background Audio Agent because Microsoft removed this API
- Silverlight 8.0 does not let you install the app to the SD card
So, of the three limitations listed, Tubecast has gone with the third: you cannot install to the SD card. While unfortunate, considering the app is about YouTube and casting, the other two programming choices are not just not options.
Until Windows 10 comes around, developers will constantly have to make these trade-off calls. So hurl the blame at Microsoft, not developers doing the best they can with what they got.
Download Tubecast Pro 1.2 for Windows 8.1 (Free, optional in-app purchase)
Download Tubecast Pro 3.0 for Windows Phone (Free, optional in-app purchase)
