PAX East 2015: Skreens

Skreens 3 Inputs (PAX East 2015)

There are so many media devices in our homes, and we are always forced to choose one at a time to fill our TVs. Marc Todd, the creator of Skreens, didn’t want to choose between playing games or watching TV, so Marc took it upon himself to create what is now known as Skreens.

Skreens in its current prototype state features 6 HDMI inputs and 1 HDMI output. There is also 10/100/1000 Ethernet, and an optical port. Skreens ships with a default configuration scheme that’ll allow moving and resizing of inputs, plus adding in web content. Skreens’ management interface is web based and platform agnostic since it is built around HTML5. HTML5 will make it easy for anyone to bring ideas to fruition, or use Skreens as a platform for advanced web applications.

Skreens Web Configuration (PAX East 2015)

So what’s all of that mean? It means you can control your content anyway you want. You want that ‘sports bar experience’ with a bunch of games on one screen? Skreens can do that. Are you a streamer and want to combine multiple sources from PC, console and chat? Skreens can do that too. Maybe you’re a competitive gamer and the mini-map isn’t good enough, you want stats and specific info about your teammates’ positions? With some clever HTML5 coding, Skreens can do that too. These aren’t features that Skreens advertises, it is more of me dreaming about the possibilities, and that is what is great about Skreens, it inspires dreams.

While there are a lot of details available about Skreens, final development and release is still reliant upon a successful Kickstarter campaign. Despite a long road ahead, Marc did mention that Skreens will probably be available in 2:1, 4:1, and 6:1 configurations, which might range in price from $200 – $700. If you are interested in Skreens, make sure to join their community to stay in the loop about Skreens’ upcoming Kickstarter and further product developments.

I like playing games, but there's not enough time to play all of them

4 comments
  • Wow! I’ve been looking for something like this! Expensive though. Nice interview Jack.

    • Thanks Chow!

      I think Skreens has potential that even I haven’t realized yet. I’d love to get my hands on one to see what can really be done 🙂

  • I could barely pay attention to this interview thanks to that guy in back who obviously has no tactful awareness of his line-of-sight location during an interview going on right in front of him. Seriously dude, really? I hope you’re not trusted with any media responsibilities.

    @Chow Chan – I’ve read that this device will be around $199. Given all the devices that you probably do not use attached to your large television, it’s well worth it.

    • To be fair, they had a relatively small booth and also wanted to get their own footage. This was pretty early on in the day as well as we booked them early on so they were setting up as well, but yeah I see what you mean, lol.

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