Freeview Play is first profile for Opera TV's new EPG

Opera TV Introduces a New EPG Designed for the Future of Content

OSLO, Norway — Opera TV, the global market leader in enabling OTT, today revealed a new, modern electronic program guide (EPG) which manufacturers of Smart TVs and set-top boxes can use to transform their end-consumer experiences to address current market trends and requirements.

The first fully scalable and extensible EPG available for manufacturers, Opera TV’s new program guide seamlessly mixes broadcast, and catalog content, while supporting market-specific profiles. Furthermore, underscoring the shift in consumer viewing patterns, the EPG supports catch-up TV in EPG” as well as upcoming content in a standard format. Opera TV also announced that the first out-of-the-box market profile to be supported is Freeview Play, the UK’s hybrid platform which brings together live and catch-up content to UK viewers.

The Freeview Play profile of the EPG was developed in close technical collaboration with Digital UK, the company supporting Freeview Play. The EPG fully supports Freeview Play rules and requirements, allowing device manufacturers to deploy a Freeview Play compliant product without requiring their own custom software development. The Opera TV EPG is also fully integrated with the Freeview Play meta-data service and the Freeview Play players.

James Jackson, Technology Director, Digital UK said, “Freeview Play is meeting modern consumers’ desire to move seamlessly between watching live and on-demand with fully integrated guides and menus. Opera TV’s out-of-the-box solution will make it easier than ever for manufacturers to develop Freeview Play products and launch them into the UK market.”

“When we analyzed the market for EPGs, we saw a market that was heavily fragmented, failed to put the modern viewer first, and lacked scalability in a fast-changing industry,” said Aneesh Rajaram, CEO, Opera TV. “We’re proud to introduce a new breed of EPG, one that engages consumers keeping in mind their content consumption habits, while at the same time embracing industry initiatives that will continue to evolve. Manufacturers selecting our EPG can lower the cost of launching such a feature, while gaining time-to-market advantages, especially when launching Freeview Play-certified devices.”

The EPG offers extreme flexibility due to its modular design, building upon the Opera TV SDK and Opera TV’s HbbTV (Hybrid broadcast broadband TV) module. The user interface is fully implemented in HTML5 for rapid customer adaptation and supports and automatic updates when it comes online.

Visit our booth to see the new EPG in action. Opera TV will showcase it jointly with Digital UK during IBC in Amsterdam from September 15 to 19, 2017. You can find the Opera TV team in Hall 14, Stand A20 at the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Congress Centre.