Earlier this month, MGM-owned EPIX announced the launch of its own built-in “casting” feature that allows users to stream movies from the EPIX app on their mobile devices to the big screen with a push of a button – even if the receiving device doesn’t have the EPIX app installed. Today, the company says EPIX Cast, as the feature is called, is on its way to Amazon Fire TV. In advance of that launch, it has also rolled out a Fire TV app.
Similar to Apple’s AirPlay or Chromecast’s casting feature, EPIX Cast lets you send content from your phone to your TV just by hitting a button in the app. EPIX mobile users will use the “Tap to TV” option that brings up a list of all the supported connected TVs and media-streaming devices on the network.
The technology powering EPIX Cast was built by the startup Vizbee, which believes that mobile devices often work better for content discovery, but viewers will then want to watch the content on the big screen when available.
At launch, EPIX Cast supported smart TVs (LG, Sony, Vizio and others), Sony’s internet-connected Blu-ray players, and Chromecast. However, the company said that support for more platforms would arrive in the future.
The company today didn’t give an exact launch date for EPIX Cast support on Fire TV, but the news of the EPIX app hitting the platform hints that it will arrive soon.
As for the EPIX Fire TV app itself, the experience is similar to EPIX on other devices. Users can browse through hundreds of titles by genre or the app’s organized collections; search by title, actor, keyword or even crew members; manage their queue and viewing history; stream live television from EPIX’s four linear stations; and watch trailers.
In addition, EPIX Cast can also help prompt users to install the EPIX app on their Fire TV, if the user hadn’t yet done so.
EPIX will also be making its service free to Amazon Fire TV users through a free trial, before forcing them to commit to paying for a subscription.
The network offers a number of original series, including “Berlin Station, Golden Globe nominated “Graves,” and, soon “Get Shorty.” It also has thousands of movies on-demand, like those from larger franchises “The Hunger Games,” “James Bond” and “Star Trek,” plus documentaries, stand-up specials, and music events, featuring Katy Perry, Louis CK, Wanda Sykes and others.