FilmOn launches disruptive Teleport technology
February 11, 2014
By Colin Mann
Although it has suffered recent setbacks with injunctions being granted against the use of its OTT antenna-based TV service, FilmOn.com is upping the stakes with a major technological innovation that it claims radically changes the landscape of television.
FilmOn founder and CEO Alki David has brought the fight for the public’s television rights to a new level with FilmOn’s new Teleport Technology. He suggests this technological innovation frees consumers to watch what they want, where they want, when they want it and helps independent broadcasters across the country flourish despite what FilmOn describes as the the efforts of the establishment to squeeze their profits out of existence.
The new technology allows users to access remote desktops connected to FilmOn’s remote antenna and DVR system without any additional hardware or software. The experience is described as similar to watching a screen on a distant computer — but with TV quality definition. An individual can make a single non-public connection to a free public broadcast selected from hundreds of local free to air channels in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Miami, Boston, Tampa, Denver, Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Washington DC.
According to FilmOn.com, this opens up new audiences and radically improves the economics for these independent broadcasters. By sticking up for consumers and independent broadcasters alike, FilmOn says it has has blown a hole in the major networks’ attempts to stifle technological progress with high-level nuisance suits and empty threats to pull programming. FilmOn.com says that “the people have spoken,” noting that they watched more than 1.2 billion video streams via the site.
“I’m tired of the majors screwing you, screwing me, and screwing the entire industry, by trying to shut down progress,” said David. “TV is facing the same crossroads that the music industry did in the Napster era – making the wrong decisions right now could be fatal. We won’t let the fat cats of broadcasting stifle technology and drive the independent stations out of business,” he averred.
Hundreds of thousands of mini desktop computers are already available in thirteen cities across the USA. Users can simply access the FilmOn website on their computer or mobile devices and connect to the temporarily-assigned desktops, which are connected to antenna farms, enabling users to access local TV channels for free. FilmOn.com suggests the user is essentially renting the use of the computer for a private viewing of the programming and that the remote Desktop Technology suddenly levels the playing field of distribution for Independent Broadcasters. According to David, “While the major networks NBC, CBS, Fox and ABC bully consumers by threatening to pull their channels from the public spectrum, the local broadcasters are empowered by this dynamic distribution,” he advised, adding that although not bound to do so, FilmOn would fully report to any broadcaster who seeks equitable revenue sharing.