Opera TV works with IRT and BBC on content insertion and media sync for HbbTV

Opera TV partners with leading European broadcasters to pioneer next-gen technologies

OSLO, Norway — Opera TV, the global market leader in enabling OTT, today announced that it is the first vendor to showcase pan-European support for dynamic content insertion and media synchronization using the latest HbbTV standards. Furthermore, Opera TV will bring these technologies to market in 2018, accelerating its ability to deliver these features at massive scale across its customer base.

Opera TV’s support for these technologies has been developed in partnership with the Institut für Rundfunktechnik (IRT), a research organization of the major broadcasters in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC) Research & Development department. Opera TV will demonstrate these features and uses cases together with the both the IRT and the BBC at the upcoming International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) conference in Amsterdam, September 15th to September 19th.

“Consumers are ready to take their TV experience into their own hands, and broadcasters have technologies that can help make that a reality,” said Aneesh Rajaram, CEO of Opera TV. “Our work with IRT and the BBC shows that these new features are ready for adoption as OEMs and operators launch compliant devices. We worked hard to ensure that the Opera TV SDK and its connected HbbTV 2.0.1 module will be the most reliable way for broadcasters across Europe to leverage these new technologies.”

These new technologies will create new opportunities for broadcasters by utilizing companion screen interactivity and media synchronization features to realize advanced use cases. Media synchronization allows for, among other things, delivering regional or even local variations of programs simultaneously to households, as well as providing real-time personalization, targeting and dynamic insertion of broadcast ads. Companion screen synchronization extends the ability to sync audio and video between a companion screen and the actual television broadcast in real-time, allowing viewers to select their preferred language for the audio track or view a synchronized alternative stream, such as a view from another angle.

“Opera TV has always been active in ensuring the most advanced features defined in HbbTV 2.0.1 are realized through their core technology,” said Klaus Merkel, HbbTV project coordinator at IRT. “Their ability to rapidly bring this technology across millions of devices will surely accelerate viewer engagement opportunities for all broadcasters.” Visit the Opera TV booth to see the new features in action. Opera TV will showcase them jointly with the BBC and IRT (Hall 10, Stand F51) during IBC in Amsterdam from September 14 to 18, 2017. You can find the Opera TV team in Hall 14, Stand A20 at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Congress Centre.