Many consumers find Google's Chromecast dongle a handy solution for turning their normal TV into a Smart TV but the device may soon have a competitor as Netgear has unveiled its own wireless media streaming device Neomediacast.
The NeoMediacast NTV300D is roughly the size of a large USB pen drive and connects directly into a television's HDMI port. Plugging in the dongle allows users to stream media and online content using 802.11ac Wi-Fi or via Bluetooth 4.0 using their Android devices. The device also has a Micro-USB port and microSD card slot for storage and playback, and supports Miracast for local streaming at up to 1080p.
"Subscribers want intuitive, plug-and-play access to all forms of video content across multiple screens in their homes. They also want simple integration with their home networks," said Jeff Heynen, principal analyst covering broadband access, pay TV and video for Infonetics Research. "The Netgear NeoMediacast HDMI Dongle provides both, bringing true content integration to reality."
Instead of aiming the product at consumers, however, Netgear is eyeing television service providers as its market for the NeoMediacast. The company apparently wants to position the device as set-top box replacement service providers provide their subscribers and says that the device is a cheaper alternative to set-top boxes.
"Combined with NTV300D support for DRM, this offers service providers a low-cost alternative to set-top boxes. By supporting this seamless portability of existing Android applications and the cost-effective development of new applications, the NeoMediacast Dongle enables service providers to instantly turn any TV into a Smart TV," the company said in a statement.
The NeoMediacast may not even threaten Chromecast for market share at all because it may not be sold directly to consumers. "With the NeoMediacast HDMI Dongle, our service provider customers have the means to provide a plug-and-play solution to their subscribers that also provides opportunities for additional revenue stream," said Michael Clegg, senior vice president and general manager for Service Provider Business at Netgear.
The NeoMediacast will become available for deployment to service providers in the first half of 2014 albeit there is no word yet on the price and end user availability.
