Windows Smart Surface
The desktop app selects the second landscape display by default and leaves the primary Windows display in place.
OmniTechs Smart Display
In developmentTurn your Windows PC and second screen into one calm smart TV environment.
Smart Display is being developed under the project name CouchBridge. The Windows app opens on a second TV or monitor, brings official streaming services together and lets a paired phone act as a bounded remote—without turning your everyday work desktop into the controller.
In development. The desktop foundation and Android debug app exist; physical phone testing, secure daily-driver pairing, delivery and price are not complete.
Real CouchBridge development interface
- Product stage
- In development
- Form
- Windows Smart Surface with a phone remote
- Intended for
- A Windows PC with a second landscape TV or monitor
Interface demo · Windows
This runs on the second display.
No concept illustrations: below is the actual CouchBridge Smart Surface from the current Windows development build. These screens show what is implemented now, not what might be built later.
A TV-first starting point with fixed routes to the five supported official websites.
Pairing starts deliberately from this panel. The captured state is off and contains no QR code, token or local address.
The receiver has a dedicated idle state and visibly waits for a paired phone.
In the current launcher
- Spotify
- YouTube
- NPO Start
- Prime Video
- Netflix
The mobile app that comes with it
Your Android phone becomes the remote.
The Android debug app is part of Smart Display. It provides a Mousepad and a separate Controls view for navigation, services, volume and optional screen sharing. These screenshots come from the real 0.5.0 debug build in an Android emulator; they prove the interface, not completed physical-phone acceptance.
What is OmniTechs Smart Display?
OmniTechs Smart Display is the product direction behind CouchBridge: a Windows Smart Surface that runs fullscreen on a second landscape TV or monitor while the primary display remains available for normal PC work.
It is not an Android TV operating system or a universal TV stick. The PC opens supported services on their official Chrome pages; a browser remote or the Android debug app uses a closed command set with one bounded text field.
A privacy-safe crop of the real Controls view with Smart Surface navigation and Windows volume.
A dedicated touch area for bounded cursor control on the surface opened by CouchBridge.
Project film · YouTube
CouchBridge on the TV, the remote in your hand.
The future project video has a reserved place here. It must show the real Windows build, second screen, QR pairing, phone remote and current limitations—not a generic mock-up.
YouTube
CouchBridge build video in preparation — no YouTube connection is made yet.
What the future video must prove
The first publishable video must show the PC and TV in extended-desktop mode, the Smart Surface, an official streaming page and phone control from end to end. It must explicitly identify the Android and network steps that remain experimental.
Working development foundation
A TV interface that belongs to your PC.
The current CouchBridge development build contains these four parts. They are not a delivery, compatibility or support promise.
Official streaming pages
Spotify, YouTube, NPO Start, Prime Video and Netflix open fullscreen in dedicated Chrome profiles; account sign-in remains a local PC action.
Phone as remote
A temporary browser remote and a built Android debug app provide a mousepad, navigation, fixed shortcuts, services and Windows volume through a closed command set.
Optional screen sharing
WebRTC receiving has been tested with a synthetic sender. Real Android MediaProjection on physical phones still requires end-to-end validation.
PC + TV + phone
One setup, with clear roles.
CouchBridge deliberately separates the TV surface, the everyday Windows workspace and phone control.
- 01
Connect a second display
Windows stays in extended-desktop mode. The current build targets a non-primary landscape display and does not change the primary-display setting.
- 02
Start the Smart Surface
CouchBridge opens fullscreen on the TV or monitor and exposes Home, Apps, Screen Share and Settings as fixed surfaces.
- 03
Enable the phone remote
The user deliberately enables pairing and scans a short-lived QR code. The current LAN beta is intended only for a trusted private network.
- 04
Open and control a service
The remote can open only allowlisted services and fixed actions. Sign in locally on the PC; never use the plaintext LAN beta's bounded text field for passwords or other secrets.
Current product stage
A working desktop foundation exists. This is not a daily-driver release yet.
CouchBridge now has a Windows desktop app, a packaged development build and an Android debug app. A recent source audit completed TypeScript, desktop build and tests, streaming smoke, and Android unit, lint and build checks. For these screenshots, the real Android 0.5.0 debug app in an emulator also paired with a disposable desktop receiver; this proves a development slice, not a supported consumer product.
A physical Android phone has not yet been validated end to end against the packaged receiver. The temporary LAN bootstrap uses plaintext HTTP/WebSocket on a selected private network; certificate-pinned pairing, a signed installer and signed updates remain later milestones.
- Confirmed now
- Windows Smart Surface, streaming launchers and built Android remote
- Still open
- Physical phone test, secure daily-driver pairing and release packaging
- Next evidence
- A filmed PC–TV–phone test on real hardware
May fit when
- you have a Windows 11 PC and second landscape TV or monitor in extended-desktop mode
- you want to open official streaming websites from one calm TV interface
- you can test the development build first on a trusted private network and real hardware
Does not fit when
- you need a standalone Android TV app or TV stick without a Windows PC
- you expect universal support for every display or streaming service
- you already need a signed installer, secure unattended pairing or fixed support
Clear product boundaries
What the product is—and is not yet.
Android controls the product. Android TV is not the product.
CouchBridge runs on the Windows PC and uses the second TV or monitor as its Smart Surface. The Android app is the remote and optional screen sender; it does not install an Android TV operating system on the television.
That choice reuses existing PC capability and official web services, while keeping the PC, a supported Chrome installation and Windows extended desktop as visible requirements.
The remote is bounded, but the LAN beta is still temporary.
Pairing is deliberately enabled, uses a short-lived one-use code and accepts a closed command set with one bounded text field. The protocol has no dedicated password field and the app does not request cookies or DOM content, but that free-text field can technically transmit text chosen by the user.
The current bootstrap is still plaintext on the selected private network. Never use the text field for passwords or other secrets; sign in locally on the PC. WebRTC encrypts media after negotiation, but it does not make the plaintext signaling path safe from an active attacker on the same network.
Website control also uses Windows' single global cursor and can briefly interrupt the work window before focus and pointer position are restored. This is why the setup is not yet an unattended daily driver.
Questions about Smart Display
Is CouchBridge an Android TV app?
No. CouchBridge runs on a Windows PC and shows its interface on a second TV or monitor. The Android app acts as the remote and optional screen sender; it does not replace the TV operating system.
What works now?
The Windows Smart Surface, fixed screens, official streaming launchers, browser remote, bounded website control and local WebRTC receiving are built and covered by automated tests. The Android debug app is built and contract-tested, but the complete physical-phone path is not finished.
Which streaming services are in the development build?
Spotify, YouTube, NPO Start, Prime Video and Netflix open their official websites in Chrome. Availability, subscriptions and playback remain subject to each provider; account sign-in happens locally on the PC.
Does the phone take over my whole PC?
No. The remote accepts only the closed CouchBridge command set, including one bounded text field, for the product and exact Chrome window it opened. Windows still has one global pointer, so a click or scroll can briefly interrupt active work.
Can I order Smart Display now?
Not as a standard product yet. Smart Display is in development; configuration, availability, delivery, support and price are not publicly promised.
Will there be a video of the build?
Yes, this page is prepared for it. The video will be added only when it shows the real Windows build, TV setup and phone remote, with captions and the remaining limitations.
Which PC, TV and phone do you want to bring together?
Share your Windows version, display setup, Android device, network and the services you want to open. We will separate what the current development build already supports from what still needs hardware or security validation.