By Vignesh Ramachandran2013-05-09 18:21:01 -0700Whether it's during the latest episode of Game of Thrones or a football game on TV, chances are you might be engaging with a second screen and tweeting, Facebook posting and otherwise communicating with friends about what you're watching.
Now a social TV startup wants to bring that shared experience back to a single screen.
SimulTV combines streaming video content, Facebook and Twitter integration and video chat all into one web browser-based interface that you can access anywhere.
It's sort of like a virtual living room, where you can watch video content "sitting" alongside your grandma in Chicago, your sister in Los Angeles and your cousin in Hong Kong.
That's because SimulTV allows you to watch an available streaming show or video on demand, and then invite other people on their devices to join your "viewing circle" (currently only four people total can be watching together).
Each person joins via webcam in a picture-in-picture or Google-Hangout-type environment where you can all video, audio and text chat live, while watching the same content.
You can also rate content, set favorites, view channel listings and send out social media thoughts via Twitter and Facebook.
Steve Turner, founder and president of SimulTV, told Mashable that the idea for this service came to him from a real-life experience. Turner said that during a football game, he observed that his brother and father (who were living in different places) were constantly calling each other on the phone to talk about what they just saw.
"I'm sitting there watching all this and going: 'you know, this is aggravating to me, but there's got to be a better way than having this phone attached to your ear the entire time'," Turner said. "As I started to develop the idea, it just made sense."
Right now, SimulTV is free and open for beta testers worldwide to give their feedback about what they like, don't like and features they'd want to see. You can sign-up for the beta version of the service online.
SimulTV's full service will officially launch sometime in June with much more content, including some channels the company will create themselves. After the free period is over later this summer, SimulTV will charge users a subscription fee of $5 to $20 depending on the package.
Turner said there will be 30 to 40 channels in June and more than 100 by July (including American, Spanish, Asian and religious channels). There will also be about 5,000 video-on-demand titles (for 99 cents and up).
But for right now in beta, it's a pretty limited selection of standard-definition channels (subject to change with additional channels):
American Music Channel (exclusive to SimulTV) - Music videos and interaction with thousands of mainstream and independent unsigned artists.
Home Shopping Network (HSN) - An American 24-hour/7 days per week home shopping television network.
Louisiana Connection Network - Louisiana's single largest independent television station featuring news, sports, documentaries and cooking shows.
One World Sports - English-language sports network delivering exclusive, live, world-class league, championship and qualification competitions in soccer, basketball, baseball, golf, table tennis, badminton and more from around the globe.
SafeTV - Independent TV station with family-friendly programming on subjects such as health, education, money management, nature, music and family dynamics.
Because SimulTV follows the "TV everywhere" concept, you can watch it on any Internet-enabled device that can stream video, according to Turner.
"We've created the digital living room for you to share it (video content) with the people that you care about that you want to share it with, and you can still reach them wherever they are and you don't have to be tied to the couch.
"You don't have to have everybody scheduled to meet at eight o'clock to share that experience," he added. "They could be on the road, they could be on the bus or on the train."
Despite a trend toward companion TV apps and platforms for the second screen (i.e., GetGlue or Viggle), SimulTV focuses on a one-screen experience. Turner contrasts that while the second screen "is a wonderful idea in concept," he believes "it's burdensome."
"[With a second screen] you have to have multiple devices and it still ties you to the first screen, which ties you to your couch. If you're going to use the second screen, you've got to sit in front of your TV to use it.
"Why does it need to be multiple devices to have the same interaction that you can have on any one device and have it anywhere you want?" Turner said.
Moving forward, the nearly 2-year-old startup says it will continue to grow its content and its service could be embedded on set top TV boxes, as well.
In what situations would you like to watch TV with friends or family that might be miles away? Let us know in the comments.
Thumbnail and lead image via iStockphoto, monkeybusinessimages. Screenshot courtesy of SimulTV.
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