Hardware (DVD, TV, PMP, Set-top Box, …) News

Roku rolls-out Premium Subscriptions
Jan 28, 2019 – Roku (NASDAQ: ROKU) has announced that has begun rolling out Premium Subscriptions on The Roku Channel. All supported devices are expected to receive the update in the coming weeks, beginning with Roku players and concluding with Roku TV models.
News categories: Roku, Rob Holmes, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Streaming, USA

Ailə TV launches Full HD cable STB in Azerbaijan
Jan 25, 2019 – Azerbaijani cable TV operator Ailə TV has announced an updated HD TV receiver. Unlike previous models, the new DVB-C receiver supports 1080p full HD broadcasting and Dolby Digital audio.
News categories: Ailə TV, Azerbaijan, Cable TV, Digital TV, Set Top Box

ALi to showcase F8 STB SoC family at Convergence India 2019
Jan 25, 2019 – ALi Corporation has initiated further efforts to penetrate the Indian market with its next-generation F8 series set-top box chipset (M3711C). The SoC is due for wide deployment in 2019.
News categories: ALi Corp, Daniel Huang, Digital TV, ICs, India, Set Top Box

Channel 4 launches 'Dynamic TV' - a European first in VoD ad targeting
Jan 23, 2019 – Channel 4 has announced the launch of Dynamic TV - an ad innovation which enables potentially thousands of variations of data-driven creative to be served across big screen devices like smart TVs for the first time, as well as on mobile and desktop VOD platforms.
News categories: Channel 4, Innovid, David Amodio, Tal Chalozin, Advertising, Big Data, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, UK

OLED and super-large screens drive TV market recovery
Jan 23, 2019 – After a global decline in TV shipments the previous year, the market recovered in 2018, with a new report from Futuresource Consulting showing a year-end estimated 3% year-on-year increase in shipments, and a rise of 7% in trade value.
News categories: Futuresource Consulting, Matthew Rubin, Digital TV, Market Research, Smart TV, Worldwide

Vodafone Germany selects Metrological Application Platform
Jan 23, 2019 – Vodafone Germany has chosen Metrological to bring apps and OTT content to the GigaTV platform. Users will have access to OTT services, content and apps integrated into the GigaTV UI via the Metrological Application Platform.
News categories: Metrological, Vodafone, Thijs Bijleveld, Apps, Digital TV, Germany, IPTV, Set Top Box

Large TFT LCD panel shipments grew in 2018 despite market concerns
Jan 23, 2019 – Shipments of large TFT LCD panels rose again in 2018 despite concerns about oversupply. Area shipments increased by 10.6% to 197.9 million m² compared to the previous year, driven by TV and monitor panels, according to IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO).
News categories: IHS Markit, IHS Markit, Digital TV, Market Research, Smart TV, Tablet, Worldwide

Entertainment device voice control a key feature for 43% of U.S. households
Jan 22, 2019 – Research from Parks Associates finds that 43% of U.S. broadband households that own or plan to purchase a smart TV or streaming media player consider voice control to be an important feature for their next purchase.
News categories: Parks Associates, Craig Leslie, Digital TV, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, USA

Euskaltel decoders now integrate Amazon Prime Video
Jan 17, 2019 – The Euskaltel Group has become the first operator in Spain to add Amazon Prime Video to its 4K Android TV decoders. The company is adding this feature to its service offering as a result of an agreement with Amazon.
News categories: Euskaltel, Prime Video, Francisco Arteche, Apps, Cable TV, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Spain, Streaming