PlayOn Preps Amazon & ESPN Chromecast Streaming

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Our pal Brad Linder got the scoop on PlayOn’s next move from a NYC press event earlier this week… and Chromecast support is in the pipeline. While we’d originally portrayed PlayOn as something of a sketchy hack, our thinking has evolved… Given the rights holders sluggish metamorphosis and often onerous playback restrictions, we now recognize PlayOn for the digital media liberators they are. The way it works is you drop the PlayOn software onto a Windows PC (sorry, no Mac) and then beam over 60 online video services to your Xbox, Roku, etc. Well, as soon as the Chromecast SDK becomes official, PlayOn will also support Google’s $35 dongle – using your iPhone or Android smartphone as a remote. While it’s likely many of these services will ultimately support Chromecast, I can’t imagine them all hitting at once and there’s something to be said for control via a single interface. PlayOn’s revised their pricing scheme several times over the years and it looks like the current dealio is $9/mo, including recording and offline smartphone viewing.

5 thoughts on “PlayOn Preps Amazon & ESPN Chromecast Streaming”

  1. So if it’s compatible with the Chromecast it’ll work with the Roamio too? That’s what I’m getting from the TivoCommunity “DIAL” threads.

  2. last i checked playon doesnt do HD content, ‘though as more websites begin to offer it, they will support it soon’ has been in their faq for years…

  3. Mike, probably not… While it’s true the Roamio utilizes the same DIAL protocol, the TiVo end point is surely configured differently. There’s potential here, but it’s not so cut & dry.

    htc, I spoke with them at CES and I believe they were streaming some content in HD resolutions but they were somewhat cagey on how and which – not to mention many websites (think television channels, versus Netflix of Amazon) are like 480p or some such. I assume the processing power to transcode and concerns over folks’ home network configurations may also be limiting factors. But we’re definitely seeing folks will take access over reduced quality, and I know I often make the trade. I’m more bummed that they remain PC-only – it’s their skill set. Sadly, while my iMac is on 24/7, my wife’s Windows 8 laptop is only on when she’s working.

  4. Awe now i’m kind of bummed.

    i must have gotten the wrong impression when you first spoke about TiVo supporting DIAL, i thought you were saying if it worked on Chromecast it would work on RoamIO

    How do we tell if something will work on RoamIO? I just ordered mine on Friday.
    Is this DIAL feature even enabled yet?

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