Freecast unveils hybrid-DTT Android box for the US

Thursday, August 10th, 2017
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FreeCast Reveals OneBox Cable TV Competitor with September Launch Date

  • The long-awaited set-top box will be the one media device that consumers need to access everything on their TVs, pairing online video with over-the-air broadcasts

FreeCast has unveiled its much-anticipated set-top box, which the company envisions as a low-cost, no-compromise replacement not just for the cable box, but expensive cable and satellite TV service. Dubbed OneBox, the Android-based device will boast hardware specs comparable to those of a modern quad-core PC, bringing online media, broadcast television, apps, and games together like never before.

“OneBox is the one box that consumers need. Our aim is to eliminate the stack of boxes and the jungle of cables below that living room TV, and that $200 monthly cable bill as well. You just don’t need all that anymore. Just about everything you could watch is online these days, so what we’ve done is put it all into a single device, a single interface, that delivers a complete TV experience for a couple of dollars a month, not a couple hundred.” FreeCast CEO William Mobley explained.

In contrast to media devices from Apple, Roku, and others, which merely bring smartphone-style apps to otherwise ‘dumb’ television sets, FreeCast’s OneBox utilizes the company’s SmartGuide to deliver a more complete, unified, and hassle-free TV experience. Setting OneBox apart is the device’s support for consumer HDTV antennas, putting live local broadcast stations alongside a customizable lineup of free and premium web-based problem.
With pre-orders set to ship in the second week of September, new customers will have multiple options for service with the OneBox. They may choose to buy the device at its MSRP of $99.00 and pay $2.99 a month for service, or opt for a smartphone-style contract, where they pay zero down for the box, and an activation fee for the service, with the cost folded into a higher monthly fee over the course of a twelve-month contract. OneBox will first be sold online, with retail partners and other distributors following.