Samsung Electronics has struck a deal with the French audiovisual institute INA to bring its entire online video library to its Internet@TV connected TV sets. It has also renewed its connected TV application.
The Internet@TV application is now available in Samsung Blu-ray sets, offering the same connected capabilities as its TV sets. This makes it possible to access the same services with a connected TV set. Content providers who are part of the Samsung Wide Web, the walled garden connected TV platform, include AccuWeather.com, Picasa, USA Today, the inevitable YouTube and also the History Channel.
In France, Samsung has also concluded a major agreement with INA. Since 2006, INA has about 100,000 videos available on their online video portal ina.fr, both onine and on mobile phones, which will now also become available for direct viewing on Samsung TV sets. In order to ease navigation the viewer will have a number of tools available, including a search engine, playlists of various genres, a list of most popular videos and a list of recently viewed videos. INA will also choose a daily recommendation on their “front page” (A La Une), much like they do on their website. Content will also be accessible using various thematic ‘channels’.
In Germany, Samsung will bring movies from the Annixe HD VOD library also on their TV set. The offer in Germany also includes access to a number of web sites including the web version of tabloid newspaper Bild, Bild.de-News, the music channels Putpat.tv and Nuna.tv, sports from Klub and spobox.tv as well as TV listings information from Axel Springer’s TV Digital.