Advanced Television

Connected TV

UK consults on ‘Kodi box’ legislation

The UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is calling for views on whether there is any need for legislative change to deal with the issue of illicit IPTV streaming devices. According to the IPO, the use of IPTV boxes to access illegal content appears to have increased in recent months. Such boxes were originally designed to allow […]

February 27, 2017By Colin Mann

Smart TV, streaming media device collaboration

Growing preference for OTT content is catalysing demand for streaming media devices and Smart TVs, according to Global Smart TV and Streaming Media Devices Markets, Forecast to 2021, a part of Frost & Sullivan’s Digital Media Growth Partnership Service programme. The market, which slowed down during 2014-15 fiscal, is now ready to match consumer expectations […]

February 23, 2017

DVB updates against ‘Man in the Middle’ attacks

At its 85th meeting, the DVB Steering Board approved updates to TS 102 809 “Signaling and carriage of interactive applications and services in Hybrid broadcast/broadband environments” introducing an authentication mechanism to help prevent ‘Man in the Middle’ attacks in Smart TVs supporting interactivity. This update was triggered by a security researcher demonstration showing that it […]

February 23, 2017

Toon Goggles 4K on Foxxum Smart TVs

Toon Goggles, a provider of 4K on-demand video content for kids, is now available on all connected devices running the Foxxum Smart TV solution. The application offers a wide range of animated series for children of all ages, covering educational, adventure, fantasy, action and comedy cartoons like Badanamu, Bernard, Super Geek Heroes, Boing, Om Nom, […]

February 23, 2017

Amazon Fire TV Stick with voice control

Amazon has revealed that its all-new Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote will launch in the UK on April 6th. Amazon says the device is 30 per cent faster than the previous version, and is the first UK version to ship with an Alexa Voice Remote included. “Fire TV Stick is our fastest-selling UK […]

February 21, 2017By Nik Roseveare

iPlayer: Enhanced connected TV features, record month

BBC iPlayer is about to become more personal for connected TV viewers. People who sign-in to their BBC account on connected TVs will start to benefit from a growing number of personalised features such as the ability to resume watching an episode or series started on another device. Initially available to viewers with YouView devices, […]

February 17, 2017

Next-gen Freeview Play devices unveiled

UK free-to-air digital terrestrial TV platform Freeview and CE vendor Panasonic have unveiled the next generation of Freeview Play devices. The new range of Panasonic TVs will feature the first implementation of Freeview Play’s 2017 specification. The new Search and Recommendations features will make it even easier for viewers to find content to enjoy subscription-free. […]

February 16, 2017

Caavo unifies home entertainment

Breaking cover at the Code Media event in California, new media company Caavo aims to unify home entertainment. By connecting pay-TV, streaming, and gaming, Caavo brings together all a user’s devices, services and control. They work together seamlessly, making it easy to find and play all a user’s favourite TV, says the company. Writing in […]

February 15, 2017By Colin Mann

France: 6.5m TV sets sold in 2016

2016 was a good year for TV sets sales in France, with 6.5 million units sold. Boosted by the Euro 2016 football tournament, sales jumped by 1.4 million compared to 2015, according to figures released by GfK. Sales will decrease in 2017 with 5.3 million sold units, predicts GfK – with two thirds of sales […]

February 3, 2017From Pascale Paoli-Lebailly in Paris