Software (Media Players, Middleware, Browsers, Stacks, …) News

Freeview and Vestel sign new 5-year partnership
Nov 10, 2020 – Freeview UK has renewed its contract with Vestel for a further five years. The deal means that the Freeview Play service will be not just present, but have prominence on all new Vestel manufactured TV sets.
News categories: Freeview, Vestel, Simon Hunt, Barış Altınkaya, Digital TV, HbbTV, Licensing, Smart TV, Terrestrial, UK

Virgin Media launches Horizon-powered TV platform in the UK
Nov 10, 2020 – Virgin Media has announced its new TV platform, Virgin TV 360. The advanced TV line-up includes a Mini box, new TV remote with voice control and smart features which offer an integrated, voice activated and personalised service.
News categories: Virgin Media, David Bouchier, Annie Brooks, Cable TV, Digital TV, RDK, Set Top Box, UK

SRG SSR launches Swiss multilingual streaming app with You.i TV
Nov 10, 2020 – You.i TV has announced that their engine is being utilized by the SRG SSR as the underlying technology behind recently launched Play Suisse. Leveraging You.i Engine One, a small team of developers was ready for launch within just 9 months.
News categories: You.i TV, SRG SSR, Jason Flick, Michaël De Lucia, Apps, Digital TV, Streaming, Switzerland

Tubi available on Playstation 5 at launch
Nov 9, 2020 – Tubi has been named a launch partner for the PlayStation 5. Viewers will have access to Tubi’s library of movies and TV series via direct integration in the PS5 search interface, and a Tubi featured row that will be available on the video home screen.
News categories: Tubi, Playstation, Andrea Clarke-Hall, Apps, Digital TV, Gaming, Streaming, USA

Fire TV has high penetration in Germany but falls behind on usage
Nov 9, 2020 – HbbTV, Amazon Fire TV, and Samsung Tizen are today most often found in Germans' living rooms. However, when looking at actual usage, the importance of the TV platforms of Telekom, Vodafone and Sky is already becoming apparent.
News categories: TeraVolt, Android TV, Apps, Digital TV, Germany, HbbTV, Market Research, RDK, Set Top Box, Smart TV

Elisa to deploy Deep Discovery from TiVo
Nov 4, 2020 – TiVo (Nasdaq: XPER) has announced Deep Discovery, an API-based metadata solution. Elisa will use Deep Discovery in Finland to help customers of its video service, Elisa Viihde, find programming and movies.
News categories: Xperi, Elisa, Chris Ambrozic, Matt Milne, Magnus Pettersson, Big Data, Digital TV, Finland, UX

NexPlayer SDK released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X
Nov 3, 2020 – NexStreaming has announced the release of its NexPlayer SDK for the Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X gaming consoles. The NexPlayer SDK for PlayStation supports features not available in the default PS5 video player.
News categories: NexStreaming, Carlos Lucas, Advertising, Digital TV, Gaming, Media Player, Streaming, Worldwide

Eutelsat launches Sat.tv EPG for free-to-air channels
Nov 2, 2020 – Eutelsat (Paris: ETL) has successfully launched Sat.tv, its enhanced EPG for FTA channels. The service is already operating at 7/8°W, serving homes in the MENA region as well as being rolled-out to other Eutelsat video neighborhoods.
News categories: Eutelsat, Philippe Oliva, Michael Cairns, Serge Schick, Digital TV, Middle-East, Satellite, Set Top Box, UX

V-Nova announces the completion of MPEG-5 LCEVC
Nov 2, 2020 – V-Nova has announced that MPEG-5 Part 2 LCEVC has been promoted to an MPEG/ISO final draft international standard. LCEVC enhances the compression performance of any base video codec and offers improved picture quality at up to 40% lower bitrates.
News categories: V-Nova, LCEVC, Guido Meardi, Luis Vicente, Karam Malhotra, Dr Nadine Hachach-Haram, Fathi Albatie, Thomas Kramer, Content Distribution, Digital TV, Media Player, Worldwide