Veebeam's Wireless USB-based media streamers are 'content agnostic,' fairly cheap
The universe needs another media streamer like it needs another BP running "cleanup" in the Gulf, but like it or not, Veebeam's fully intent on shipping its newest duo. Announced today over at the DEMO Fall 2010 conference, the media-focused company has announced the Veebeam SD and Veebeam HD, with the latter obviously catching the brunt of our attention. The idea here is to create a "content agnostic" streamer that simply pipes whatever content you have playing on your Mac or PC (yeah, it plays nice with both) to your HDTV. Sounds great in theory, but the problem is the protocol. Both units rely on Wireless USB to handle their streaming, and unless the standard has seen some huge improvements since our Atlona test a year ago, we're willing to bet the actual playback performance is less than incredible -- particularly if you try to send 1080p content over it. The setup itself is fairly simple; just plug a transceiver into your computer and the base station into your tele. From there, it's pretty much plug-and-play. The pair is up for order today, with the SD version selling for $99 and the HD model (complete with HDMI, digital audio and two USB sockets) for $139. We'd personally wait for a review before buying in blind -- nothing against Veebeam, but we haven't been overly impressed with WUSB's ability to handle high-bandwidth applications in the past.
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Laptop Entertainment, Supersized to the TV
Veebeam is Launched In the US and Europe at $99 USD/99 GBP/109 EUR
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and LONDON, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Veebeam, a wireless company dedicated to bringing Internet video content to every TV, has announced today at the DEMO Fall 2010 conference in Santa Clara, a revolutionary 1080p HD media player named Veebeam that offers the easiest, most affordable, way to wirelessly stream anything from your laptop to your TV. Internet-delivered movies, sports websites, photos and more can now be shared on any HDTV.
"Veebeam is the only product on the market that doesn't pre-define the viewer's experience. It is what we like to define as 'content agnostic' - anything from the Internet can be viewed on the TV. The market interest has been incredible – Veebeam is going to enhance home entertainment, and help people to make the most of the Internet," said Andrew Vought, Veebeam CEO.
In a world where individuals use the Internet on a daily basis to access endless entertainment options but are limited by the small screen and weak speakers of a laptop, Veebeam gives every broadband consumer the freedom to share their favorite content with others directly on their TV's big screen. No other product on the market offers an equivalent high-quality experience at such an affordable price, enabling the consumer to maximize the investment in their laptop without replacing their current TV.
In order to address consumer need, Veebeam is built to allow users to play any TV shows and movies from popular streaming sites without restrictions. Aside from being content agnostic, the device is also built on industry standard technology and works on most modern PCs and Macs. The key features are:
* Easy to use – Just plug the Veebeam antenna into a laptop's USB port and it begins streaming the desktop to the TV. Depending on what's being viewed, users can switch between the 'Screencasting' mode, best for sharing websites or photos, and the 'Play-To' mode, to enjoy highest video quality and the ability to multi-task.
* Affordable – Starting at $99 USD/99 GBP/109 EUR, Veebeam lets users make the most of their existing HDTV and laptop.
* Looks great – Veebeam outputs up to 1080p video. Digital media files have never looked better on an HDTV.
* Compatible – Veebeam software works on laptops running Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Mac OSX 10.5 & 10.6.
* Plays anything – If a PC can play it, Veebeam can play it on a TV – anything from TV shows and movies streamed on Hulu, BBC iPlayer, and YouTube, to downloaded video and personal photos.
* Secure wireless USB – Veebeam creates a secure point-to-point wireless connection between a laptop and a TV. Wireless USB is more powerful than traditional WiFi because it offers more bandwidth, better security and less interference in an in-room environment.
Veebeam can be ordered starting today through the company's three online stores (US, UK, Europe) which are accessible through www.veebeam.com. The product is available in two versions, Veebeam SD and Veebeam HD. Veebeam HD includes the same composite A/V outputs as the Veebeam SD but also includes HDMI, Digital Audio and 2 USB ports.
Availability and Pricing
Veebeam is available in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe from the company's website (www.veebeam.com), and soon on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk
* Veebeam SD | $99 USD, 99 GBP (VAT included) & 109 EUR (VAT included)
* Veebeam HD | $139 USD, 139 GBP (VAT included) & 149 EUR (VAT included)
For further information: www.veebeam.com
ABOUT VEEBEAM
Veebeam, Inc., is dedicated to bringing Internet video content to every TV. The company was created by the 2008 merger of Staccato Communications (San Diego, CA) and Artimi (Cambridge, UK), and has offices in Burlingame (CA), Cambridge (UK), and Bangalore (IN). Veebeam, Inc. is privately held and venture backed by several leading technology investors including Amadeus Capital Partners, Intel Capital, Oak Investment Partners, and Vision.
The Veebeam team includes industry veterans with vast experience in bringing to market a wide array of consumer hardware - including wired and wireless Internet connectivity products. CEO Andy Vought is a 30-year veteran of semiconductor and technology companies, with a track record of building market leading businesses and successful teams.
