SoftAtHome Unveils First Universal “Cast” Dongle
TV Connect 2014, Olympia London, United-Kingdom – March 18, 2014 –SoftAtHome, a provider of home operating platforms enabling convergent services for the digital home, today announced a major breakthrough for the TV industry with the first universal “cast” dongle incorporating all cast technologies in a single miniaturised device, directly connected to the TV sets’ HDMI connector.
The universal Wi-Fi “cast” dongle heralds a revolution in the way media is consumed within the home by providing a single small device to deliver both linear and on demand content to big screen TVs. Powered by SoftAtHome’s SOP software platform and using a Broadcom HEVC/H265 enabled device on a small form-factor designed with the help of the hardware manufacturer Siligence, the universal “cast” dongle represents a new class of device going way beyond existing dongles.
With this dongle and a tablet/smartphone app, it is now possible to cast any content onto any TV set. This content can be a live IPTV stream (full HD H264 or H265 with CAS/DRM protection), a VOD (RTSP, Adaptive streaming, progressive download), an OTT service such as YouTube, Deezer, or online games (using Apple, Google or Wi-Fi Alliance cast protocols) and user generated content cast through DLNA. This content can be consumed on any TV screen at home or on the go.
The dongle is fully compatible with both Google and Apple cast ecosystems, but with the additional vital ingredient of support for live and linear TV alongside on-demand content.
“This “cast” dongle, powered by SoftAtHome, is the culmination of our long-standing research and development around video streaming and OTT technologies. SoftAtHome’s innovation has been devoted to redefining video usage and content consumption. With this dongle we are taking video consumption forward by incorporating all existing cast technologies, anticipating that casting from mobile applications will be the new way of consuming video content, including live premium services” said David Souhami, Product Marketing Director at SoftAtHome. “By gathering all content consumption technologies in a single device, the “cast” dongle puts the operator at the centre of the Digital Home, enabling a first stage of mobile fix convergence. Moreover, with this dongle, operators can take control of any TV screen and stay competitive by embracing all existing ecosystems from OTT players, including Google and Apple themselves.”
Meet SoftAtHome on Stand 45, TV Connect, Olympia, London from 18th to 20th of March 2014 and ask for a demo.
About SoftAtHome
SoftAtHome is an operator-backed software company delivering the best of connectivity, Pay TV and digital services to the home. Through its SOP product SoftAtHome empowers operators to compete against local competition and global players alike by leveraging the ecosystem to deliver outstanding services. SOP is central to delivering standard based cost-effective solutions that are simple and long lasting. SoftAtHome solutions are already deployed on over 17 million Home Gateways and Set Top Box throughout the world in multiple broadband and broadcast deployments. The company is headquartered in France with development and sales teams also in Belgium and the UAE. For more information, visit our website at www.softathome.com or follow us @SoftAtHome.
For Press Information Contact:
Marta Twardowska for SoftAtHome
E: press@softathome.com
M: +31 621-184-585
T: @SoftAtHome