Amazon said at CES 2024 that it has built an alternative wireless content streaming format called Matter Casting, to rival Google’s Chromecast and Apple’s AirPlay technology.
The Matter Casting tech will become a part of Amazon’s Matter smart home standard, but it will be optional. By that, it means that companies such as Apple and Google, which have already agreed to support Matter, will not necessarily have to enable Matter Casting as well.
This lack of an obligation will mean Matter Casting is unlikely to displace Chromecast or AirPlay any time soon, at least on most devices.
However, where it should make its mark is with Amazon’s own TV devices. The company said it will roll out Matter Casting on the Amazon Echo Show smart speaker first of all, before following up with Fire TV devices including branded TVs, Fire TV boxes and streaming sticks, later this year.
The technology will do the same as what Chromecas and AirPlay do, allowing users to open up a movie or TV show through an app on their mobile device before casting it to their TV display.
Amazon said it expects Matter Casting to be supported on both Android and iOS devices in the Amazon Prime Video app, and the technology will also come to the Plex, Pluto TV, Sling TV, Starz and ZDF apps later this year too. But it remains to be seen if the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+ and other major streaming services will support the new standard.
Panasonic caused a bit of a stir at CES last week when it announced its flagship OLED TVs will run the Fire TV operating system, replacing its homegrown MyHomeScreen platform. It marks the first time a major TV brand has adopted Amazon’s alternative to Android TV, Roku TV, webOS and Tizen.
Amazon confirmed that Panasonic will also support the Matter Casting standard on its new TVs, including the upcoming Panasonic Z95A (pictured) and Z93A OLED TVs that will launch later in the year. Panasonic’s new OLED TVs will also support Apple’s AirPlay casting standard, which is a big improvement on its 2023 TV lineup, which didn’t support any kind of casting protocol at all.
Check out this video to learn more about Panasonic's upcoming 2024 OLED TVs: