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Facebook is preparing to launch a streaming TV device in time for the end-of-year celebrations, Variety was able to confirm with multiple sources close to the projects of the company. The new streaming material will be part of the company's family of portal products, which includes a camera and combines video conversation with television and augmented reality.
A spokesman for Facebook declined to comment.
Facebook's plans for such a device have already been reported by Cheddar and Information. Here's all we know about the device so far, as well as informed speculation about the key features and design decisions made during the manufacturing of this product.
The device will include a camera and remote microphones. For its entry into the TV broadcast space, Facebook is not only trying to confront Roku and Fire TV. Instead, the company uses its existing Portal platform to bring video chat to the forefront. To this end, the new Portal TV hardware will include an integrated camera and remote microphones. Earlier reports have indicated that it would be placed on the top of a TV, which should allow it to easily capture the room for video chats.
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It will almost certainly be Android. Facebook's hardware efforts are largely based on custom versions of Google's Android operating system. The company's Oculus Go VR and Oculus Quest VR headsets use Android, as do the two Portal devices from last year, and the next TV device will almost certainly be based on the operating system as well. It will also make it easier to work with content providers, who have already developed Android-based TV apps for Amazon and Google devices.
The focus will be more on the content. Speaking of content providers: Information reported in July that Facebook had contacted Netflix, Disney and other media companies to add their streaming services to its new TV hardware. The state of these talks is not known, but sources familiar with Facebook's plans said Variety that the new television device will actually be more focused on content consumption than existing portal devices.
To get an idea of how the company could integrate some of this third-party content, we need to look at Facebook's RV material efforts. The company's Oculus Quest and Go headsets offer an application called Oculus TV, which serves as a hub for third-party content consolidation, including linear-type TV channels from vendors such as Pluto, Newsy and Red Bull TV. There is no confirmation that the company's television will use the same approach, but the industry as a whole is moving towards this type of cumulative experience, from the Roku channel to the Apple TV app.
It will probably include a built-in speaker. Earlier reports described Facebook's TV device as incorporating a camera and microphones into a box, which consumers can place on their television. Industry experts now speculate that the company could choose to directly integrate a speaker component into the device. An audio equipment expert experienced in video communications who had not been informed of Facebook's plans has Variety that it would be risky for the company to rely on built-in TV speakers for the product. "I'm not a fan of the reuse of TV speakers," he said.
Most TVs come with inexpensive integrated speakers that can distort the audio, which complicates the type of echo cancellation needed for full duplex audio type. (bidirectional) for video chat, he explained. In addition, if Facebook's TV device relied on its speakers, it would also handle a multitude of settings designed to optimize sound for movie viewing, video games and other scenarios, none of which are ideally suited to video discussions.
The flip side is that adding a speaker could make Facebook's TV device more cumbersome, while increasing hardware costs for the company. Once again, Facebook has shown that it is happy to give up its profits in order to boost its hardware efforts. For example, last year's Portal device currently sells for $ 129. "I hope that they will add a speaker," concluded our expert, who requested anonymity as he had not been allowed by his employer to comment on Facebook's products.
The camera will bring AR on the TV screen. One of the often overlooked aspects of Facebook's portal feature is its use of augmented reality (AR), which includes front-end filters, interactive stories, and so on. The Facebook streamer would be the first device of its kind to display this kind of RA effects on the TV screen. The company should in the future put more emphasis on these features across its Portal product line.
This may not be the only new Portal device. In addition to the new TV streaming feature, Facebook may also choose to update the 2 portal templates that it released last year. The vice president of Facebook's AR / VR alluded to that quite this summer when he told the public of the Recode's Code conference that the company would unveil "a lot more" this fall.
And that's another reason why a refresh would make sense for existing portal hardware: when Facebook first introduced the devices last year, it was no doubt surprised by the negative reactions to privacy which he faced following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. That's why the company added an extra plastic clip that consumers could use to physically cover the camera from a portal, a bandage added after the fact, if you will. It would be a good idea for the company to replace this device with an integrated hardware switch to physically disconnect the camera from the device.
Facebook has done its best to keep the news from the portal secret. There is a reason why a lot of the above is just an enlightened speculation: Facebook is really trying to prevent any leakage around its portal hardware. The company has so far avoided the fate of competitors like Apple and Google, whose flagship hardware products are regularly leaked in detail before their official announcements. Here is something Facebook had used last year before introducing the original Portal material to the world: it founded a dedicated screen company, called MCBP Technologies, LLC, to submit all necessary regulatory documents to the FCC without the technical bloggers do not notice it.
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