 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video on demand, Streaming, Internet TV |
| Founded | 2011 [1] |
| Headquarters | Orlando, Florida, U.S. |
Area served | United States |
Key people |
|
| Products | Rabbit TV, SelectTV |
| Website | freecast |
FreeCast, Inc. is an American digital media distribution company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. [3] The company offers streaming media accessible via web browsers. [4]
FreeCast was founded in 2011 by William Mobley, who also serves as the CEO of the company. [5] In its early years, FreeCast operated as a search engine for web video content, actively locating and categorizing a significant volume of new videos daily across 5000 categorized channels. [6] Additionally, the company introduced a Facebook app that allowed users to watch video programming directly from their Facebook page. [7]
Primary product of the company is Rabbit TV, which is a web-based virtual library of entertainment media created in collaboration with A. J. Khubani's company, Telebrands. [8] In 2012, the company, in partnership with Telebrands, transformed its service into a physical device known as Rabbit TV. This product was subsequently sold through major U.S. retailers in the form of a USB stick, providing users with access to a web-based guide interface. [9]
Rabbit TV functions by aggregating links to various digital media sources, including TV shows, news broadcasts, live sporting events, movies, music, and radio stations. [10] [11] Following the achievement of one million paid subscribers, FreeCast announced plans for further Rabbit TV development, including enhancements such as increased social media integration, compatibility with multiple devices, and the introduction of a la carte programming packages. [12]
A digital video recorder (DVR) is an electronic device that records video in a digital format to a disk drive, USB flash drive, SD memory card, SSD or other local or networked mass storage device. The term includes set-top boxes with direct to disk recording, portable media players and TV gateways with recording capability, and digital camcorders. Personal computers are often connected to video capture devices and used as DVRs; in such cases the application software used to record video is an integral part of the DVR. Many DVRs are classified as consumer electronic devices; such devices may alternatively be referred to as personal video recorders (PVRs), particularly in Canada. Similar small devices with built-in displays and SSD support may be used for professional film or video production, as these recorders often do not have the limitations that built-in recorders in cameras have, offering wider codec support, the removal of recording time limitations and higher bitrates.
Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as television shows and films, as streaming media delivered over the Internet. Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable television, and/or satellite television systems.
Flixster was an American social-networking movie website for discovering new movies, learning about movies, and meeting others with similar tastes in movies, currently owned by parent company Fandango. The formerly independent site, allows users to view movie trailers as well as learn about new and upcoming movies at the box office. It was originally based in San Francisco, California and was founded by Joe Greenstein and Saran Chari on January 20, 2006. It was also the former parent company of Rotten Tomatoes from January 2010 to February 17, 2016. On February 17, 2016, Flixster, including Rotten Tomatoes, was acquired by Fandango.
Social television is the union of television and social media. Millions of people now share their TV experience with other viewers on social media such as Twitter and Facebook using smartphones and tablets. TV networks and rights holders are increasingly sharing video clips on social platforms to monetise engagement and drive tune-in.
Xumo, LLC is an American internet television and consumer electronics company. It is a joint venture of Charter Communications and Comcast that operates the free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) and advertising video on demand (AVOD) service Xumo Play, and distributes Xumo Stream Box digital media players and Xumo TV smart TVs. The Xumo Play platform's service operations are based in the Los Angeles suburb of Irvine, California. As of October 2020, Xumo Play has 24 million monthly active users.
PlayOn is a streaming media brand and software suite that enables users to view and record videos from numerous online content providers. The suite consists of two main products: PlayOn Cloud and PlayOn Desktop. PlayOn Cloud is an online service for recording digital video streams, accessible via native iOS or Android mobile device applications. PlayOn Desktop is Windows-based software that acts as a streaming dashboard and hub on the PC. The available streaming websites are organized as channels in both products. Users browse through or search the video content found in those channels in order to record the videos for later viewing. PlayOn Desktop allows watching the videos real-time on the PC, or casting the videos to a TV via a streaming device or gaming console.
Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming of video or audio in real time or near real time. It is often referred to simply as streaming, though recorded content, such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos, are streamed as well but not live.
RealNetworks, Inc. is a provider of artificial intelligence and computer vision based products. RealNetworks was a pioneer in Internet streaming software and services. They are based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The company also provides subscription-based online entertainment services and mobile entertainment and messaging services.
Clicker was an Internet video directory and search company based in Los Angeles, California. Their website aimed to be the TV Guide for all full episodes of programs available to watch on the Web. It is owned by CBS Interactive.
UltraViolet was a cloud-based digital rights locker for films and television programs that allowed consumers to store proofs-of-purchase of licensed content in an account to enable playback on different devices using multiple applications from several different streaming services. UltraViolet also allowed users to share access to their library with up to five additional people. UltraViolet was deployed by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), an alliance of 85 companies that included film studios, retailers, consumer electronics manufacturers, cable television companies, internet service providers (ISPs), internet hosting vendors, and other systems and security vendors, with the notable exceptions of Walt Disney Studios, Google, Amazon and Apple.
An over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms—the types of companies that have traditionally acted as controllers or distributors of such content. It has also been used to describe no-carrier cellphones, for which all communications are charged as data, avoiding monopolistic competition, or apps for phones that transmit data in this manner, including both those that replace other call methods and those that update software.
A second screen involves the use of a computing device to provide a different viewing experience for content on another device.
Chromecast is a line of digital media players developed by Google. The devices, designed as small dongles, can play Internet-streamed audio-visual content on a high-definition television or home audio system. The user can control playback with a mobile device or personal computer through mobile and web apps that can use the Google Cast protocol, or by issuing commands via Google Assistant; later models introduced an interactive user interface and remote control. Content can be mirrored to video models from the Google Chrome web browser on a personal computer or from the screen of some Android devices.
Google Cast is a proprietary protocol developed by Google for playing Internet-streamed audiovisual content on a compatible consumer device. The protocol is used to initiate and control playback of content on digital media players, high-definition televisions, and home audio systems using a mobile device, personal computer, or smart speaker. The protocol was first launched on July 24, 2013, to support Google's first-generation Chromecast player. The Google Cast SDK was released on February 3, 2014, allowing third parties to modify their software to support the protocol. According to Google, over 20,000 Google Cast-ready apps were available as of May 2015. Support for Google Cast has since been integrated into subsequent devices, such as the Nexus Player and other Android TV devices, as well as soundbars, speakers, and later models of the Chromecast. Consumer devices that natively support the protocol are marketed as Chromecast built-in. As of October 2017, over 55 million Chromecasts and Chromecast built-in devices have been sold.
Qello Holdings is an American-based entertainment company founded in 2010, in New York, by Brian Lisi, Bob Frank, and Richard Johnson. Qello is the parent company of digital streaming service Qello Concerts, and over-the-top content service provider Qello Media Solutions. Qello Concerts is a digital streaming music service specializing in on-demand concert films and music documentaries. In 2016, Qello Concerts added live streaming events and original programming. The company is headquartered in New York City.
An online video platform (OVP) enables users to upload, convert, store, and play back video content on the Internet, often via a private server structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally upload video content via the hosting service's website, mobile or desktop application, or other interfaces (API),and typically provides embed codes or links that allow others to view the video content.
Roku is a brand of smart TV operating systems, smart TVs, streaming devices, smart home and audio products designed and marketed by Roku, Inc. headquartered in San Jose, CA. Roku's smart TV products primarily offer access to streaming media content from online services.
Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation since 2020. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly active users. In January 2023, Tubi has 64 million monthly active users. As of September 2023, Tubi reached 74 million monthly active users.
Pluto TV is a free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global.
GMA Affordabox is a Philippine ISDB-Tb digital terrestrial television provider distributed and being marketed by GMA New Media, a subsidiary of GMA Network, Inc. The service distributes digital set-top boxes and USB OTG dongles with free-to-air digital TV channels, broadcast markup language, emergency warning broadcast system, functional auto-on alert, digital display, and info display services to select areas in the Philippines.