Today, SkreensTV is launching an indiegogo campaign to manufacture hardware that will allow viewers to watch up to five screens on their television at once. Founder Marc Todd comes from a digital background and was sick of kicking everyone out of the living room to watch the Bruins:
I have four kids and everyone wants a piece of the TV. I start flipping through channels and everyone leaves the room. And when I [hooked up Skreens], all of a sudden I can put the Bruins on and the kids can play XBOX and everyone starts coming back into the room.
The prototype is a little white box with five HDMI outputs. You’ll plug in your devices and then get to watch them all on the one big screen. You can play around with layouts, and save them, so if you have a Sunday football layout you like, or need to tweet along with “Scandal” every Thursday you won’t have to waste any time. Through the Skreens app, you can adjust volume and play around layouts. If you want to watch the news while someone plays XBOX, you can fight over who gets the volume and who has to stream the audio through earbuds.
This is just a prototype, for now. Todd is looking for “Founding Members” who want early access. “The big objective here is that I’m looking for consumers that want to support the company and change TV. We want to do more with the TV.” He explains:
I’ve been in stealth mode for over two years. What I’ve done in that time, I have a team of about twenty, and I’ve filed significant patent pendings and patent structures and feel confident in the uniqueness of what we’re doing. It’s only possible now through some advanced silicone technology. The other thing is that with crowdfunding campaigns, some people think there’s a crazy idea and the guy can just collect the money and head off to Bermuda. That’s not what I’m trying to do. I’ve been in the industry a long time, I’ve created local supply chains and manufacturing in Boston, I use the product in my house. I think this is the next thing in television. It’s bringing it all together.
For $399, you get a serial number that will allow early shipping and access to apps. There are other packages and ways to support SkreensTV, too.