TV platform Freesat is seeking proposals from manufacturers to develop a set-top box for its next generation consumer product . The new product will give manufacturers a significant opportunity to develop a new range of innovative set-topboxes at scale for subscription-free satellite TV customers across the UK .

The product requirements will be based on an open technical specification set by the Free TV Alliance , which is a collaboration between four major European digital satellite television broadcasters : Fransat ( France ), HD Plus ( Germany ), TivùSat ( Italy ) and Freesat ( UK ). The RFP signals the ongoing commitment of the Free TV Alliance to create common standards for free-to-view satellite TV services and technologies across Europe for the benefit of viewers , manufacturers and broadcasters .

Freesat have defined a number of customerfocused

features , which will be key to delivering a market leading smart TV device , and include :

• An ultra-high-definition ready device for encrypted broadcast and IP to meet the consumer demand for UHD

• In-home multiscreen streaming allowing users to watch TV across multiple set-topboxes in the home

• Additional tuners to help customers plan

their recordings and avoid programme clashes

• Fast channel change for better usability

• Supports HBBTV 2.0.1 applications “ We ’ re thrilled to announce plans for

Freesat ’ s next generation product ,” declared Alistair Thom , managing director of Freesat . “ The requirements for our set-top box have been developed with the customer in mind and our aim is to continue to bring UK audiences the best subscription free TV service , and a fantastic alternative to Pay TV .”

“ Furthermore , developing an open technical specification signals our ongoing commitment to expand beyond the UK through our collaboration with the Free TV Alliance and partnerships with international TV companies through our Metaphor business .”

Freesat will announce manufacturing partners in the autumn with a view to bringing a next generation set-top box to market as soon as possible .

V-Nova boost for THEOplayer

Next-generation compression solutions specialist V-Nova and media player expert THEO Technologies have confirmed the availability of V-Nova PERSEUS 2 decoding capabilities with cross-platform video player THEOplayer . The joint solution allows Operators and Service Providers to deploy the most efficient streaming services at the best picture quality within the largest standard crossplatform

environment : HTML5 .

The joint solution combines the next-generation compression performance of V-Nova PERSEUS 2 with THEOplayer Universal Video Player ’ s ability to deliver consistently the highest viewer experience across web and mobile web and its compatibility with all HTML5 online environments . For Operators and Service Providers this equates to the best possible user experience and picture quality , increased reach and retention , while at the same time minimising the

costs of delivery and platform support .

“ Ubiquity of high-quality service delivery is fundamental to the business of Content Owners and TV Operators and this means support across the widest ecosystem of devices on all delivery networks ,” said Guido Meardi , CEO and co-founder of V-Nova . “ Unique to PERSEUS and contrary to typical codec generational cycles , we designed PERSEUS 2 to be even lighter and to make it compatible with a wide range of environments , including HTML5-based browsers .

Integration with THEOplayer demonstrates how quickly best in class technologies can come together to provide a pre-integrated , turnkey solution that combines top performance for all media types with a truly universal player for all connected devices , both online and on mobile web .”

“ We believe video should be readily available to everyone , on whatever device or platform , and HTML5 has granted operators and service providers with a unique opportunity to deliver on this pledge . We developed

the Universal Video Player to

deliver the highest quality

of experience across all of

these platforms ” said Steven

Tielemans , CEO and cofounder

of THEOplayer . “ We

are excited to announce our

partnership with V-Nova , who

shares and is already putting

into practice our belief in the

importance of video encoding .

Our partnership enables us to

take this potential one step

further and to offer a joint

solution that works across all

media types and on all devices

– a fundamental requirement

in today ’ s video environment .”