RVU Alliance Announces Major Update to RVU Specification

Expansion Builds on Industry’s First Deployed Remote User Interface Technology to Address Future Needs; RVU 2.0 Spec to be Released Early This Year

BEAVERTON, Ore. — Quickly moving to address the technology needs of the future, the RVU Alliance announced today a major upgrade to the RVU protocol standard. The RVU 2.0 specification is under development and will be released in early 2012. RVU is the first Remote User Interface (RUI) client/server solution deployed by a major commercial broadcaster. DIRECTV released its HR34 RVU server in December 2011, which followed certification of RVU clients from Pace and Samsung.

The new specification builds on RVU 1.0 by including full backwards compatibility, and includes requirements for:

• Building on the High Definition capabilities of RVU 1.0 to add support for next generation User Interfaces supporting 3D and enhanced graphics capabilities
• Performance and system enhancements
• Expanding mobile-based UI delivery options

“The RVU 1.0 standard has proven to be remarkably resilient in addressing all the needs of a client/server RUI system,” said Henry Derovanessian, president of the RVU Alliance Board of Directors and senior vice president of Engineering at DIRECTV. “The next generation of User Interfaces promises to deliver even more advanced features to the consumer. RVU 2.0 will build on the successful implementation of RVU 1.0 and will ensure support for these advanced features to create a class-leading, future-proof solution.”

The RVU Alliance has already moved to expand the existing RVU 1.0 specification by creating a taskforce to establish WiFi interoperability guidelines for RVU video distribution in the home, expanding the capability of RVU to utilize the wireless capability in Consumer Electronics devices.

The publically available RVU standard allows a single server in the home to interface to multiple clients simultaneously, providing every TV in a household the same consistent User Interface and experience. RVU servers provide a single, easily upgradable central point in the home that enables service providers to present their UI on compatible CE devices with no additional hardware required, providing DVR features directly on that CE device.