Bring Delight to Your Viewership Experience With Play To

Just a few days back I reported that Microsoft Surface tablet has several drawbacks in comparison with Apple iPad and Google Nexus. One of them being, although you cannot call it Surface-specific here, is comparatively lesser number of apps that one can download via the Windows Store. However the Redmond-magnate is taking rapid strides to reduce the gap, so to speak, with the likes of Android Market and Apple Store. The recently outlined Play To feature for instance, which I would highlight here, is one such effort to encourage app developers worldwide.

So what exactly is this so called Play To feature. Well, as the name suggests, with Play To you can play music and videos by streaming them on Xbox and other supported devices on your home network. That’s fine; but what is so special about Play To here; it’s just sharing of media after all! The answer to this query is the enhanced experience that Play To brings to the realm of home-bound connectivity. With this feature at your disposal sharing will be as simple as a flip. All you have to do is to install the app with Play To feature integrated in your Windows 8-based PC and let it do the talking with your networked devices.

So how this entire thing works? Once you deploy this Play To centric app, it detects and automatically installs all Play To certified devices in precisely 30 seconds (devices can be added manually as well). And once it’s done, all you have to do is to swipe your favorite video or photo to play it on the big screen TV or, for that matter, play your favorite music on your living room speakers. It’s that simple. Play To forms place in all media focused apps from Microsoft; even Internet Explorer 10 has Play To. So you can stream videos and music directly from web pages as well.

There are various aspects of Play To that are meant for enhanced viewership experience. From selecting photos to e-mail while a slideshow is being played on your TV, to pre-buffering the next item in the playlist, and accessing the devices from anywhere in the app, Play To comes with various features that would literally make you say – Wow!

And when it comes to Play To certified devices, a number of world renowned consumer electronics companies are working on Play To certification spanning multiple device categories including televisions, set top boxes, speakers, and audio receivers. In my view, within next few months all new multimedia devices will come with Play To certification. Keep visiting our Windows 8 Blog for more updates. 

Image by:  Scott Ableman