About this project
Skreens: Everything you want on one display.
$471,909
1,263
Studio-quality compositing. 1080p/60 with no lag.
Skreens is how you seamlessly combine multiple HDMI signals into one high definition output — with absolutely no lag. So you can have your XB1, PS4, Chromecast, Roku, GoPro and any other HDMI source all together, all at once. And with a built-in web browser you don’t even need a PC.
Streamers will be blown away by the capabilities — unlimited video frames composited together in real time. Output your game and camera and web to Twitch or YouTube or just make every pixel count on your 4K display. And you have total control over your layout, down to the pixel.
A little device with massive amounts of power.
Skreens is powered by patent-pending innovation at the silicon layer — the Skreens Media Accelerator. This chip is designed and manufactured here in the United States and is one of the most powerful FPGA chips available, with the horsepower to blend together almost unlimited high definition streams into a single interface — all in real time. So you get zero lag along with the ability to customize virtually any part of the interface to combine windows from different devices or the web.
The Plus comes with two or four HDMI inputs depending on the backer reward you choose, and you can chain together as many as you need - chain together 2 four-port units together and put 8 HDMI inputs on a single screen if you want. With a built-in web browser and WiFi, you can put web content up on the screen next to your HDMI inputs.
Multi-channel Audio Mixing Now Included
We told you at TwitchCon that we were working on it, and we’re here to deliver. The Plus Four Pro is going to deliver multi-channel audio mixing! This is up to 5 digital audio feeds — including Dolby 5.1 surround. Control the audio mixing with the Skreens Controller app or through the API if you want, and you’ll get linear PCM 5.1 output. The user can select the primary audio channel to transmit out the HDMI and optical S/PDIF outputs to your home audio system - all other audio outputs are available as streaming output via WiFi. And you can even stream audio channels to your iPhone or tablet to listen on your individual earbuds or headphones.
Gigabit Ethernet Now Included
Right on the Nexus Four Pro will be 10/100/1000 Ethernet RJ45. Bandwidth-hungry applications — like all those ones that Skreens is made for — can start rejoicing now.
So simple to use, it’s just plug, play and play.
With all of your HDMI devices plugged in, use the iOS or Android app to control your what goes on the screen, where it’s positioned and how big it is. You can use predefined layouts, create your own, or if you’re a developer, get into the RESTful API to make your own controls.
Choose from Basic and Pro Models
Skreens Basic Units (Plus Two and Plus Four) provide you with the ability to combine HDMI inputs and web content into a single screen. But sometimes you need to go further. That's why there's the Pro version, designed specifically with streamers in mind. The Pro versions give you even more control over how content is displayed:
Universal Remote Control. Compatible HDMI inputs can be controlled directly from the iOS or Android Skreens Controller app.
Streaming Audio Over WiFi or BlueTooth. Output the audio coming through the Skreens device directly to the iOS or Android Skreens Controller app.
Full Access to the Developer API. Create your own controller! Using a RESTful API, you can control layouts, HDMI inputs, transparency and any of the other features through a simple API.
Streamer Must-Haves: Video scaling, priority, cropping, chroma-key and transparency
Exclusively through Kickstarter
Skreens will not be available through retail until late 2016. We are 100% focused on delivering the best experience possible for you when this product arrives in your hands and want to get you engaged first.
This means that once this Kickstarter is done, there will not be another way to get your hands on Skreens for at least a year.
Stretch goals
We're so stoked to have made our first stretch goal! We couldn't have gotten here without all of the support from our backers, so THANK YOU! All of the Skreens devices will now come with full USB support for headsets, cameras and more — bringing more capabilities to the already amazing box that you're getting.
We're EVEN MORE STOKED to break through our second stretch goal! There's been considerable demand on the commercial side and with a recent purchase we've funded everything needed to unlock one-button streaming for all Plus Four Pros! This is incredible and we're so happy to get this into your hands!
Stream and record with a single button.
We’ve been thrilled with the response to Skreens. Streamers and gamers have particularly seen this as a game-changer. But we’ve heard from the top streamers and Twitch directly that there’s another issue they need solved — compressing and streaming without needing a compression card and a PC.
We will add dedicated H.264 compression hardware supporting both main and high profiles, 10920x1080p60 with IP network RTMP push to Twitch or YouTube. This will be the first dedicated video hardware that will allow up to 4 simultaneous HD signal sources with video compositing, transparency, chroma-key, layering, resize, repositioning and HTML background for streampro.io and other custom scenes all within 1 frame time (average 10ms). No capture card required, no extra PC required.
We are working hard to make sure we make the best technology for gamers and streamers. I know we will have more requests for added features, and we’ll continue to push hard on the engineering of the product to support your needs. Thank you for all your support and keep the comments coming.
Lon Reviews Skreens
The Skreens Technology
Find Our How Skreens Came To Life
Marc Todd, Inventor, Founder and CEO of Skreens, talks about how Skreens was created and the team that's been involved in its creation.
Watch the Skreens Plus Two and Plus Four In Action
Small, aren't these? Great walkthrough of the differences between the PlusTwo and the PlusFour.
The Skreens Tech Team
Shep Siegel – Sr. Circuit Designer/Electrical Engineer
CTO Atomic Rules, Mercury Computer
Broadcast Video Expert and Emmy award winner for outstanding engineering achievement
Senior Member of the IEEE, member of the ACM, SIGDA, TC-FPGA
Aaron Severance – Circuit Designer/Electrical Engineer
PhD in Electrical Engineering from UBC
Video and Circuit Design Expert
John Miller – Sr. Firmware/Software Engineer
BSEE Electrical Engineering from UMass Lowell
Embedded systems, embedded Linux and hardware driver expert
David E. Acker – Broadcast Electrical Engineer/Hardware PCB Design Engineer
Engineering VP - Broadcast Pix Inc.
Elected SMPTE Fellow in 1992
BSEE Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute - MSEE Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Lynn Birch – Product and System Architecture
BSEE, University of Rhode Island
MS, Business Innovation Northeastern University
Arash Payan – Sr. iOS/Android Application Engineer
“Visionary Byte Pusher”
BS/MS Computer Science, University of Southern California
Tim Zerrip – Sr. Mechanical Engineer
Owner Out-of-the-Box Design and enclosure design expert
Elizabeth Jordan — Skreens Vancouver
Judy Pagliuca – Member of Skreens Board of Directors
Managing Director of PagsGroup Fund
Thanks to our Partners and Supporters
Special Thanks To:
David Wright
Marc Clement
Paul Kusiak
Liz Jordan
The Skreens Community
We are extremely passionate about giving a voice to our customers. Customers today have more information and say than ever before. At Skreens, we aim to break down existing stereotypes and viewing models and create an experience driven by our customers. If you're interested in developing HTML5 applications for our platform, we'd love to hear from you. If that's not your cup of tea, you're in luck, you can benefit from others that do. You can download our HTML5 applications and enhance your experience even further, or simply create your SkreensTV templates and layouts. Simply send us a message via our Kickstarter page to find out more details!
Risks and challenges
Similar to many Kickstarter projects, we face risks and challenges in bringing this amazing technology to market. The primary risks for us include:
1. Engineering:
To achieve the level of simplicity in user experience that we have, we have to design and engineer a very complex system. We have taken two key steps to ensure our engineering success. 1) We have formed an amazing team of engineers and designers, and 2) we have tested our prototypes extensively and made improvement where needed. In the last year, we have built 2 generations of prototypes and a limited production run of those prototypes. We are ready for the final manufacturing ramp up.
2. Supply Chain & logistics:
Many Kickstarter campaigns can encounter problems when taking their prototypes to production. This includes issues finding suppliers and engineering products for mass-production. Smooth execution is absolutely essential to overcoming such risks. We take this task seriously and have been working for months negotiating with suppliers, testing component quality, and building a team that can execute on our promises. Our plans are nearly in place, and we now mainly require the resources to execute our plans.
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Funding period
- (40 days)