HbbTV Association welcomes NorDig’s adoption of HbbTV 2

HbbTV Association welcomes NorDig’s adoption of HbbTV 2 specification

GENEVA — The HbbTV Association, a global initiative dedicated to providing an open standard for the delivery of broadcast and broadband services through connected TVs and set-top boxes, today applauds NorDig for releasing specifications to support the adoption of HbbTV 2. The update represents the first steps by the region to move from HbbTV1.5 to HbbTV 2.

The new specification by NorDig, which specifies the technical specifications for digital television in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Ireland, will see the region become the third region to take up HbbTV 2, after the UK and Italy. The new NorDig specifications will further increase the current 46 million TVs and STBs that have HbbTV installed. With the release of the specification, new HbbTV devices that fall under NorDig’s remit will have until 1 July 2018 to support HbbTV 2 version 2.0.1.

HbbTV 2 builds on previous versions of the HbbTV specification to provide new functionality in HbbTV terminals, including enhanced dynamic ad insertion support, improved accessibility, seamless cross-device viewing and standardised Ultra HD delivery with HEVC. By issuing this specification NorDig is enabling broadcasters, Pay-TV operators and OTT providers to introduce advanced TV services that enhance the consumers’ experience.

Klaus Illgner, chairman of the HbbTV Association said: “It is exciting to see a third region begin integration of HbbTV 2 into its products. With many broadcasters and content providers already using the ecosystem, it’s important that the industry takes up HbbTV to enable faster growth and delivery of content to consumers.”