UltraViolet, the digital distribution technology backed by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) consortium is planning to extend to the UK market by the middle of 2011.
The consortium can already call upon UK players including BSkyB, BT, FilmFlex, Lovefilm, Red Bee Media and Tesco as members, in addition to Alcatel Lucent, Cisco, Comcast, Fox, Irdeto, Liberty Global, Nagravision NBC Universal, NDS, Paramount, Rovi, Techicolor and Toshiba, amongst others.
In addition to announcing its expansion outside the United States into the UK and Canada, the consortium also released technical specifications for evaluation by potential licensees.
“Today’s announcement that UltraViolet is ready shows that the entertainment and technology communities have made good on their promise to give the world a new, user-friendly digital standard for collecting movies and TV shows in the digital age,” said Mark Teitell, general manager of DECE. “In the coming months, consumers will hear exciting news from DECE member companies and other UltraViolet licensees about a host of interoperable products and services, ushering in a new era of choice, confidence and freedom in digital entertainment.”
The premise of UltraViolet is to allow consumers to watch film and television content across multiple branded platforms, such as computers, connected TVs, game consoles, smartphones and tablets. DECE expects the UltraViolet logo to be seen on a wide variety of devices from consumer electronics manufacturers through to cable companies and ISPs.
Each household will be able to create an account for up to six members that can access the household’s UltraViolet-enabled content. Consumers will also be able to register up to 12 devices so UltraViolet content can be easily downloaded to those devices, or shared among them. The account system, developed by Neustar, is expected to go live in mid-2011. At this point it is expected that UltraViolet titles will start to appear, both electronically, and through Blue-ray disc or DVD purchases. Streaming services will also allow consumers access to their UltraViolet collections through websites or linked devices such like set-top boxes, Internet-connected Blu-ray Disc players, smartphones and tablets.
The technical evaluation suite includes a DECE Common File Format and technical design specifications for each major category of product.
