Smart TV (Connected TV, Integrated Digital Television, IDTV) News

DVB approves new subtitling specification
Aug 7, 2017 – The DVB Steering Board has approved a specification for DVB TTML subtitling systems. The specification enables the delivery of next generation subtitles in transport streams for broadcast TV services, based on W3C Timed Text Markup Language (TTML).
News categories: DVB Project, Kevin Murray, Digital TV, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, UX, Worldwide

LG webOS platform adds Sling TV and more Channel Plus content
Aug 7, 2017 – The webOS smart TV platform from LG Electronics has announced additions to its content offering. Leading the expansion are the addition of Sling TV to 2017 LG OLED and LG SUPER UHD smart TV models and the continued growth of the Channel Plus app which has now surpassed 100 channels of content.
News categories: LG Electronics, XUMO, Sling TV, Matt Durgin, Stefan Van Engen, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

VIZIO SmartCast TV adds Amazon Video
Aug 7, 2017 – VIZIO has announced the addition of Amazon Video to its VIZIO SmartCast TV platform. SmartCast TV users can now conveniently access content from Amazon Video, along with other favorite apps, right on the big screen with just a tap of the remote.
News categories: VIZIO, Matt McRae, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

GTPL Hathway to expand reach to Samsung TVs with TVkey
Aug 4, 2017 – GTPL Hathway has announced that it is going to associate with Nagra and Samsung to use TVkey. The company will be able to use TVkey to enable it to expand its reach to purchasers of Samsung TV sets.
News categories: GTPL Hathway, Nagra, Samsung, Cable TV, Digital TV, India, Smart TV

VIZIO SmartCast TV brings apps to the big screen
Aug 2, 2017 – VIZIO has announced the rollout of VIZIO SmartCast TV to select models. SmartCast TV is a way for viewers to access content from apps with just a tap of the remote. An intuitive home screen greets viewers with content recommendations.
News categories: VIZIO, Matt McRae, Apps, Digital TV, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

HbbTV Association releases v9.2 test suite
Jul 31, 2017 – The HbbTV Association has announced that version 9.2 of its test suite has now been released. The aim of this release of the Test Suite is to support the certification of devices coming to market in 2018 for all versions of the HbbTV standard.
News categories: HbbTV Association, Klaus Illgner, Digital TV, Europe, HbbTV, QoE, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Worldwide

More than half of Smart HD TVs sold in the UK have Freeview Play
Jul 31, 2017 – Freeview has announced that Freeview Play TVs account for more than half of all Smart HD TV sales in the UK. In June, 55% of Smart HD TVs sold were Freeview Play enabled, a rise of 20 percentage points since January 2017.
News categories: Freeview, Guy North, Dan Hastings, Digital TV, Market Research, Middleware, Smart TV, UK

ACCESS NetFront Browser BE v2.4 powers HTML5-based entertainment up to 8K
Jul 27, 2017 – ACCESS CO has announced the release of its NetFront Browser BE SDK v2.4 for Linux and Android. The HTML5 compliant browser provides a standards-based solution for operators looking to deploy a single service across multiple platforms.
News categories: ACCESS CO, Dr Neale Foster, Digital TV, HTML5, Mobile, Semiconductor, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, Worldwide

Smart TV penetration at 57% in Western Europe this year
Jul 25, 2017 – Parks Associates has announced research showing that smart TV penetration will reach 57% in Western Europe this year. This growth comes as the connectivity rates for smart TV are also increasing.
News categories: Parks Associates, Brad Russell, Digital TV, Europe, Market Research, Smart TV, Streaming