One of the stories that we missed in the flood at IBC was the development of a Smart TV design by EKT which also claims to supply “Tier 1” network operators. The TVs have, effectively, a set top box integrated into the TV that can support EKT’s proprietary solidTV HbbTV and HTML5-compliant middleware platform, supporting Operator specific UI and applications, with TR-069, DRM, DIAL, Multicast and Unicast support. A second range of Operator TVs will offer RDK 2.x support with multiple CAS and DRM options on the latest HEVC and UHD hardware.
The third range offers the latest HbbTV 2.0 middleware, supporting all UK, Australia and New Zealand catch up apps, dual multi-format tuners and selectable Freeview and Freesat support.
Analyst Comment
The deal being offered by Telefonica in Spain of a “free” TV to long term subscribers (supplied by Vestel) is an indicator that other companies might be looking for this kind of solution. (BR)
