RVU Alliance Technology Powers DIRECTV 4K VOD CES Innovation Award

Momentum Builds for 4K UHD as LG, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba Launch RVU Solutions; Panasonic, Sharp Join RVU Alliance

2015 International CES

LAS VEGAS--()--The RVU Alliance, which develops and promotes the RVU® Remote User Interface (RUI) standard, has been recognized by the Consumer Electronics Association with a coveted CES® 2015 Innovation Award, which honors the innovative design and engineering behind the most cutting-edge technology products and services coming to market.

The award recognizes the DIRECTV 4K Ultra HD Video On Demand service, provided via the DIRECTV Genie HD DVR and compliant DIRECTV 4K Ready TVs. DIRECTV is the world’s first multichannel video programming distributor to support 4K services, with the solution enabled by its use of the RVU technology to allow direct decoding of the 4K video and User Interface on RVU compliant TVs, removing the need for a separate 4K set-top box.

The RVU guidelines and certification program were enhanced this year to support 4K content delivery, with Samsung being the first TV manufacturer to introduce complaint RVU TV client solutions as a software update to their 2014 4K Ultra High Definition TV range. And LG Electronics’ webOS smart TV platform was the first to receive RVU 2.0 certification, which updates the specification to include capabilities for more enhanced user interfaces.

“The rapid development and launch of 4K UHD services can be attributed to the continued efforts of this increasingly energized RVU Alliance member community,” said Henry Derovanessian, president of the RVU Alliance Board of Directors and senior vice president of Engineering at DIRECTV. “We look forward to the acceleration of 4K RVU compliant television deployments from RVU Alliance members in 2015. The evolution of RVU with 4K UHD support and the advanced UI capabilities from RVU 2.0 puts us in the forefront of this technology.”

The RVU technology is the leading solution for Pay TV content and User Interface distribution throughout the home. The RVU 2.0 specification enables immersive and engaging User Interfaces by leveraging the advanced capabilities of HTML-5 Canvas while its rapid expansion to include 4K UHD support reflects its ease of implementation. New RVU member companies Panasonic and Sharp are actively developing platforms for launch in 2015. They join LG Electronics, Sony and Toshiba, which have already launched HD compliant RVU solutions, in addition to the 4K RVU compliant TV update from Samsung.

For a list of all compliant devices please visit www.rvualliance.org/products

About RVU Alliance

The RVU Alliance is an Oregon-based non-profit mutual benefit corporation formed to develop a specification for the RVU technology including a full-featured “pixel accurate” Remote User Interface (RUI).

RVU is a client/server-based technology that allows the television viewer to experience a consistent, pixel accurate server-generated user interface on various consumer electronics devices. The RVU specification uses widely implemented UPnP and DLNA technologies to enable a gateway device such as an advanced set-top box to work with non-proprietary client devices such as connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes. The specification is maintained by the RVU Alliance, initially founded by Broadcom, Cisco, DIRECTV, Samsung and Verizon, which facilitates the adoption of an open standard technology that allows service providers to expand their unique UI and user experience onto standard consumer devices without the need for proprietary equipment. The RVU Alliance maintains the specification, test tools and test specifications for the use of its members.

For more information on the RVU Alliance please visit www.rvualliance.org.

Contacts

RVU Alliance
Robert Mercer, 310-964-4683
PR@rvualliance.org

Contacts

RVU Alliance
Robert Mercer, 310-964-4683
PR@rvualliance.org