Social television startup Miso is going beyond the entertainment checkin to offer DirecTV customers a synchronized television-viewing experience that changes with each switch of the channel.
Miso’s updated iPhone application [iTunes link] now pairs with DirecTV receivers over Wi-Fi to automatically show users what’s playing and provide them with a more frictionless show-sharing experience.
“We want to deliver an experience on the second screen that is customized and personalized for you as you watch TV,” Miso co-founder Somray Niyogi explains. “We see this as a new era around ‘connected social TV,’ where devices are truly communicating with each other to deliver a more seamless and integrated sharing experience.”
DirecTV, says Niyogi, is just the first of many set-top box partnerships. Earlier this year, the startup began beta testing Miso Sync, an Android application that can sync with programming on Boxee.
For now, the only immediate benefit to users is a faster way to find and share what they’re watching with friends. Miso sees important potential in gaining access to the actual viewing behaviors of its users and has a more futuristic vision that involves engaging viewers as they watch.
“Now that we know what you’re watching, we can explore what synchronization could really mean,” Niyogi says. “To us, it’s about value — this may come in the form of simplicity of sharing, delivering you complementary content, getting answers to questions you might have while watching TV or a combination of all of the above.”
Miso closed a $1.5 million Series A led by Google Ventures at the start of the year. The startup has more than 225,000 users and competes with GetGlue and Yahoo-owned IntoNow.
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Posted on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:00:09 +0000 at http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/miso-syncs-to-directv/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/miso-syncs-to-directv/#comments
Miso’s updated iPhone application [iTunes link] now pairs with DirecTV receivers over Wi-Fi to automatically show users what’s playing and provide them with a more frictionless show-sharing experience.
“We want to deliver an experience on the second screen that is customized and personalized for you as you watch TV,” Miso co-founder Somray Niyogi explains. “We see this as a new era around ‘connected social TV,’ where devices are truly communicating with each other to deliver a more seamless and integrated sharing experience.”
DirecTV, says Niyogi, is just the first of many set-top box partnerships. Earlier this year, the startup began beta testing Miso Sync, an Android application that can sync with programming on Boxee.
For now, the only immediate benefit to users is a faster way to find and share what they’re watching with friends. Miso sees important potential in gaining access to the actual viewing behaviors of its users and has a more futuristic vision that involves engaging viewers as they watch.
“Now that we know what you’re watching, we can explore what synchronization could really mean,” Niyogi says. “To us, it’s about value — this may come in the form of simplicity of sharing, delivering you complementary content, getting answers to questions you might have while watching TV or a combination of all of the above.”
Miso closed a $1.5 million Series A led by Google Ventures at the start of the year. The startup has more than 225,000 users and competes with GetGlue and Yahoo-owned IntoNow.
More About: directv, entertainment checkins, miso, second screenFor more Media coverage:Follow Mashable Media on TwitterBecome a Fan on FacebookSubscribe to the Media channelDownload our free apps for Android, Mac, iPhone and iPad
Posted on Thu, 01 Sep 2011 13:00:09 +0000 at http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/miso-syncs-to-directv/
Comments: http://mashable.com/2011/09/01/miso-syncs-to-directv/#comments
