Matter Casting: The Universal Audio and Video Streaming Standard

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The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) recently announced the launch of Matter, a new protocol aimed at unifying connected devices across ecosystems.

One of the key aspects of Matter is the Matter Casting standard, which will allow users to stream audio and video content to any compatible device, regardless of the brand.

What is Matter Casting?

Matter Casting is an open standard for multimedia streaming on home networks. Before its arrival, consumers were often locked into proprietary ecosystems such as Apple’s AirPlay, Amazon’s Alexa MRM, and Google’s Chromecast. These systems forced users to commit to a single brand or face compatibility issues when attempting to integrate devices from different manufacturers.

With Matter Casting, for example, you will be able to stream a video from your Samsung smartphone to your LG TV or from your Amazon Fire tablet to your Sonos soundbar. Regardless of the brands, all Matter-compatible devices will be able to communicate with each other.

Illustration of a smart home featuring various intelligent devices, network icons, and technological symbols

Who Supports Matter Casting?

Matter Casting is supported by the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), a consortium bringing together the biggest names in tech such as Amazon, Apple, Google, Samsung, LG, Comcast, and Signify (Philips Hue).

The CSA’s goal is to develop Matter as the new universal standard for the smart home. Amazon was the first to announce its full support for Matter Casting. Its voice assistant Alexa will be fully compatible with Matter, allowing control of any Matter device directly by voice. On their side, Apple and Google have also confirmed that Matter Casting will be integrated into their future software updates.

Result: hundreds of millions of devices will be natively compatible with this new streaming standard.

Black television on a wooden wooden stand, screen displaying logos of streaming services and tech brands

What are the Benefits for Consumers?

Matter Casting brings 6 major advantages:

Universal compatibility: Matter Casting will work with any Matter-compatible device, regardless of the brand or ecosystem.
Simple and consistent setup: The setup of Matter Casting between devices will use the same simple setup process as other Matter devices, without the need for exclusive applications.
Standardized control protocols: Devices use standardized protocols for play, pause, seek, and all other media control functions.
Voice assistant support: Matter Casting will work with Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and other voice services for hands-free control.
Encrypted streams: Multimedia streams are encrypted for security, using modern protocols like TLS and DTLS.
Low latency: Matter Casting is optimized to provide low-latency streams, minimizing delays between devices.

What are the Compatible Devices and Services?

For now, only a few devices natively support Matter and Matter Casting. But the list is set to quickly expand in 2023 and 2024. On the hardware side, we can mention:

The Amazon Echo Show 15
The Amazon Fire HD 8 tablet
Certain Panasonic TVs with integrated Fire TV
Prototypes of Eve Systems and Nanoleaf home automation boxes

On the side of services and applications:

Amazon Prime Video
Plex
Pluto TV
Sling TV
STARZ
ZDF (German channel)

And that’s just the beginning! Numerous manufacturers such as Samsung, LG, Sony, Philips, and Arlo have already confirmed that their future products will be Matter-certified and compatible with Matter Casting.

What is the Future of Matter Casting?

With the massive support of the tech industry and giants like Amazon, Google, and Apple, there’s no doubt that Matter Casting will become the universal standard for media streaming in our homes. Its widespread adoption will begin in 2024 and 2025 once the main software platforms (Alexa, Google Home, HomeKit…) are updated with Matter compatibility.

Later, we can hope that Matter Casting will equip the majority of televisions, speakers, and home automation boxes sold in stores. And it will be easier than ever to share your content on all your devices, paving the way for a truly unified and interoperable smart home. It’s a small revolution that’s brewing in the field of consumer home automation.

Amazon’s Role and Promotion of Matter Casting

Amazon is contributing to the development of the Matter Casting specification and promoting its adoption. Some of their efforts include:

Pre-launch testing: Amazon devices such as the Echo Show 15, the Fire TV Omni series, and Fire tablets are being used for the first Matter Casting tests.
Ecosystem integration: Amazon is updating the Fire TV and Alexa ecosystems to seamlessly support Matter Casting at launch.
Streaming partnerships: Amazon has partnered with major streaming providers like Netflix, Disney+, YouTube, and Twitch to add Matter Casting support to their Fire TV apps.
Developer support: Amazon is providing documentation and tools to make it easy for device manufacturers to add Matter Casting features to their products.