Digital UK partners BBC, ITV and Channel 4 and network operator Arqiva have signed a new five year agreement to accelerate the transition of the Freeview Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) service to a fully hybrid platform. The group hopes to provide the best in free-to-view live and on-demand TV in the UK.
Eutelsat Communications said it has successfully completed the first phase of development of a 'smart LNB (Low Noise Block)' for a Direct-to-Home antenna that opens the door for broadcasters to operate their own ecosystem of linear television and connected TV services directly by satellite. The 'smart LNB' is now entering into the industrialisation phase in advance of commercial availability in 2014.
Through a major collaborative effort the Open TV Forum has updated and published a new HTML profile for developers of Connected TVs. The forum hopes that by providing clean and open standards for the smart TV platform it will accelerate the creation of a mass market for IPTV. Supported by most of the major consumer electronics manufacturers, the standard defines the base specification for end-to-end IPTV devices and services of the future.
By 2015 there will be an estimated 119 million connected devices, including the TV, delivering broadband Internet to TVs in U.S. homes, a 51 percent increase from the 78.5 million currently Internet connected today, this is according to a new report from global information company, The NPD Group.
A new report by NPD DisplaySearch is predicting a 15 per cent growth in smart connected TV worldwide in 2012. The research found that Japan has the highest penetration of Smart and Connected TV, Western Europe and China are at the same growth rate and that North America is the slowest compared to other develop countries.
IKEA has partnered with Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL to create a new range of furniture called UPPLEVA. The all in one self-assembly range will feature built in internet enabled DVD, CD, Blu-ray player and LED TV. IKEA said they came up with this because they found that people want to get rid of the cables and they don't want those mountains of remote controls either.
In the coming year OEMs are to receive a new range of Trident’s Internet Connected 3DTV. The Televisions are based on Trident’s 3D Cinemascope technology which includes support to the latest online services such as Yahoo!, Rovi, VUDU, RoxioNow, Pandora, Flingo. The hardware includes Trident’s TV550 system-on-a-chip (SoC) and PNX5120/30 frame rate converter (FRC) to offer true cinematic experience by providing crystal clear 3D images.
US based Video-on-Demand provider Netflix has launched its VOD subscription service in the UK and Ireland. For has little has GB£ 5.99 (US$ 9.25) in the UK and €6.99 in Ireland, subscribers get instant and unlimited access to a broad range of films and TV programmes. Partners for the service include Sony, Viacom, BBC, Disney UK and Ireland, Channel4’s 4oD, Lionsgate UK and many more.
If you are a Cox Communications customer you can now enjoy your favorite videos and television from your iPad tablet. The new ‘Cox TV Connect’ application is available from the Apple App Store at no extra cost. TV Connect offers a flexible interface where users can view and browse the user guide at the same time and select a full-screen viewing option once a program has been selected.
Screen Dreams has launched its first paid TV application for the Yahoo! Connected TV platform. Screen Dreams specialises in developing Wallpapers, Galleries and Screensavers for flat-panel, HDTVs and DVD players. The new application is to allow users of the Yahoo! Connected TVs to access and stream to their devices well known art works, photography and their own Fireplace and Aquarium videos.