Cable just got a modern makeover.
First introduced to American homes during the 1940s, television has since become a staple of American life. Once a relatively social experience, one where families could gather together to watch their favorite scheduled programming, high definition streaming and smart devices now allow viewers to watch content at any time and place of their choosing.
Thinking about how quickly this historic past-time has evolved feels a little bit like the show Black Mirror, but it’s also incredibly innovative and exciting. Bigscreen, an immersive social platform that allows you to access your computer in VR, aims to continue revolutionizing the TV viewing experience with Bigscreen TV — a VR streaming experience that opens up access to over 50 major television providers.
“With Bigscreen, users can watch a Netflix show or a Twitch stream in an IMAX-like virtual movie theater,” Bigscreen reports. This means users from around the world can gather together to watch big championship games or their favorite shows with their friends as though they are together on the same couch.
Bigscreen will feature over 50 channels and will include access to content on streaming platforms such as YouTube and Twitch. These will be accessible to thousands at a time, split up into social rooms of up to eight users. Each TV room is public, allowing you to enjoy new programming with like-minded strangers or meet-up with close friends for your 18th rewatching of The Office.
Here’s a small sample of Bigscreen TV’s 50 plus offerings:
- Movies & TV: Rifftrax, MST3K, Anime, Pokémon, Pluto Movies, Comet, Shout! Factory, and more
- Gaming & Sports: Red Bull TV, 24/7 Poker, 24/7 Trivia, CBS Sports, FOX Sports, Top Twitch (Ninja, Shroud, Sodapoppin, Timthetatman, Lirik, DrDisrespect, DrLupo, Pokimane, Summit1g), and more
- News & Finance: NBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Sky News, Newsy, Cheddar News, RT America, Weather Nation, Crypto News, and more
- Random: Monstercat, Lofi Hip Hop Beats Radio, Comedy Central, NASA, SpaceX, 24/7 Cats, and more
While there are several existing video streaming solutions already available, Bigscreen TV aims to simplify the process by offering users the easiest and most convenient way to stream content with friends in real-time. One of the ways they’ve achieved this is by making the experience entirely cross-platform, which means users can stream and watch content with friends no matter what device they’re on.
Surfing through content has also been made more convenient thanks to the addition of one-click menus that breakdown content depending on whether it’s free (YouTube, Twitch, Pluto) and what’s live (NBC, Sky News, Cheddar). Some programming, such as CNN, will not be available in every country.
“We built a new VR video browser technology that can load video streaming and live streaming sites,” Bigscreen says. “Bigscreen TV enables VR users to access the content they can already access via a web browser, but with a user experience that’s like an Apple TV.”
Bigscreen will also feature a cinema environment to watch major championships and upcoming events, such as this week’s Overwatch tournament (July 11–14), the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launch (July 21), and the DOTA 2 International Grand Finals (August 25).
The Bigscreen TV beta begins today on every major PC and mobile/standalone VR headset. You can download the app for free on mobile, Oculus Rift/Rift S, Oculus Quest, and SteamVR.
Featured Image Credit: Bigscreen TV
