They say the way we experience TV is changing rapidly, and for sure there are cool new ways to enjoy real-time interactive ultra high resolution programming on the big screen – and on smaller companion devices and second screens, too.
CouchConnect uses thin HDMI cables to connect mobile devices and big screen TVs.
‘TV Everywhere’ is a major media mantra these days, but there was a time when ‘everywhere’ only meant across the living room floor!
(‘Real paisans’ remember the ‘Clicker’: a remote control system with two hardcover book-sized boxes, one with rows of chunky buttons and selector switches. It was used to control TV channel selection – and only channel selection – from a distance of about 15 feet, as long as the thick, unsightly cable was uncoiled.)
Technology has surely come a long way, and a Canadian company has now released a 21st Century version of the ‘clicker’, one that easily connects a mobile device or smartphone to an HDTV and mirrors the device content on the big screen.
Remote control devices from yesteryear (often called Clickers, although they really went ‘ca-chunk!’) were one way to watch TV everywhere – as long as the cable reached far enough!
Interestingly, CouchConnect is a wired solution, and so once again there’s a cable cutting across the floor. But this one is capable of moving ultra high resolution 4K or 1080p HD signals in real-time from a mobile device to a main screen using thin HDMI cabling.
Not being wireless makes its use a lot easier, says the Markham, ON manufacturer.
There is no need to ‘pair up ‘ devices, no need to deal with Wi-Fi routers or set-up codes; connections are made along a 2.7 mm diameter, 5 metre long HDMI cable, available with A-A, A-C or A-D connectors for compatibility with almost any device.
The market for mobile devices connected to the main TV screen is projected to grow to over $6 billion dollars in the next few years, one reason why CouchConnect was developed.
“With nearly a quarter of a billion HDMI enabled mobile devices and multiple HDMI ports available in the hundreds of millions of main screen televisions shipped each year, we believe that second screen viewership is poised to grow exponentially,” said Tony Stelliga, CEO of Spectra7, makers of CouchConnect.
But the company sees streaming-only devices as being plagued by set-up complexities, poor picture quality, and stutter-step playback issues due to bandwidth limitations.
HDMI-equipped devices for TV or gaming can be conneted to a big screen TV with CouchConnect.
By using its patented technology and building into the CouchConnect its CC7000 digital encoding chipset, Spectra7 says it can deliver real-time 1080p HD or 4K Ultra HD TV with full colour and a high refresh rate, running at up to 18 Gbps.
The CC7000 chip enables connectivity between existing HDMI 1.4b and next generation HDMI 2.0 devices; it is being offered to Spectra7 partners for further product development and integration with today’s expanding universe of mobile devices and high resolution screens.
As the industry migrates from HD 1080p to even more sophisticated digital TV platforms like Ultra HD 4K displays, with greater HDMI capability, more sophisticated Digital Content Protection (HDCP) software, from 8-Bit colour to True Deep Colour, and 30 to 60 frames per second (fps), we consumers are faced with multiple interoperability challenges, just like the transition from SD to HDTV.
How many of us have heard – or encountered – a frustrating home theatre viewing experience because incompatible A/V components only operate at a less-than-optimal level and often cannot deliver high quality video and sound.
Spectra7’s Stelliga says products like CouchConnect, the CC770 and another technology platform, its Detectiv4K, help ensure that A/V systems are future-proofed, and that viewers are happy no matter what comes down the cable.
A Spectra7 spokesperson says CouchConnect will be available online at Walmart.com, and at other Canadian and U.S. retailers, and that price points will be lower than other, dedicated streaming devices.
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