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

SMPTE to Establish 3-D Home Entertainment Task Force
Jul 21, 2008 – The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is establishing a task force (3-D Home Display Formats Task Force) to define the parameters of a stereoscopic 3-D mastering standard for content viewed in the home.
News categories: Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, ETC @ USC, Digital TV, Smart TV

Freeview to Drive Digital Take-up in Australia
Jul 17, 2008 – Australia's free-to-air commercial television networks together with the nation's public broadcasters have formally announced the establishment of Freeview to help drive take-up of the free-to-air digital television platform in Australia.
News categories: Australian Broadcasting Corp, SBS, Australia, Digital TV, DVR, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial

218,000 DTT receivers in Hong Kong homes
Jul 17, 2008 – According to a survey conducted jointly by the Government with ATV and TVB (Hong Kong: 0511), at end-May about 9.7% of Hong Kong households (approximately 218,000 families) were watching DTT via DTT receivers.
News categories: Office of the Telecommunications Authority, Digital TV, DTMB, Hong Kong, Market Research, Peripherals / Accessories, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial

UpdateLogic® Obtains Licensing Agreement with SANYO Manufacturing Corporation for UpdateTV® Firmware Update Solution
Jul 15, 2008 – UpdateLogic has announced that Sanyo (Tokyo: 6764) Manufacturing has licensed its UpdateTV solution for its digital TVs. The UpdateTV technology enables Sanyo digital TVs to transparently and automatically download firmware upgrades nationwide.
News categories: UpdateLogic, Sanyo, ATSC 3, Digital TV, Smart TV, Software, Terrestrial, USA

New Zealand - Freeview Take-Up Tracking Strongly
Jul 11, 2008 – Freeview continues to prove attractive to New Zealanders. At the end of June 2008 123,903 receivers had been sold. That equates to 7.8% of New Zealand homes having access to the service, or 300,000 Kiwis.
News categories: Freeview NZ, Digital TV, Market Research, New Zealand, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Terrestrial

Two-thirds of all UK television sets now linked to digital
Jul 11, 2008 – Over two-thirds (68%) of the 60 million television sets in the UK are now digitally-linked via cable, satellite or digital terrestrial - according to the latest figures from Ofcom.
News categories: Ofcom, Cable TV, Digital TV, DVR, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Subscribers, Terrestrial, UK

Eastern Europe Follows European Trend of Turning to Mobile TV for New Revenue
Jul 10, 2008 – According to Frost and Sullivan, 2.6 million Europeans, headed by Italy, are already using mobile TV. Now the future of the mobile market in Eastern Europe rests in a growing interest in mobile TV.
News categories: Frost & Sullivan, 5G, Czech Republic, Digital TV, Hungary, Italy, Market Research, Mobile, Poland, Romania, Russia, Smart TV

Germany - GfK Consumer Electronics market report 2007
Jul 10, 2008 – According to GfK, the development of the German CE Market in 2007 was - once again - positive. Total CE turnover (including IT and Telecom) grew by 3.7% to a total volume of 23 billion Euros.
News categories: GfK, Blu-ray, Camcorder, Digital TV, DVD, DVR, Germany, HD-DVD, Market Research, Optical Disc Recorder, Peripherals / Accessories, Portable, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Tablet

Spain - July DTT monthly update released
Jul 8, 2008 – According to Impulsa-TDT, in May, DTT receiver sales were up 35% at close to 630,000 units, giving a cumulative total of over 10.8 million, a quarter of which were bought during 2008.
News categories: Impulsa-TDT, Digital TV, DVD, Market Research, Peripherals / Accessories, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Spain, Terrestrial