YouView has announced the addition of four so-called device partners, at the same time publishing its final core technical specification. Huawei, Manhattan, Pace and Vestel came forward following the call for expressions of interest in August 2010. Although ‘Philips by Pace’ boxes are already in the marketplace, the involvement in YouView marks a return to the UK retail sector. “Delivering simplicity, choice and flexibility in how UK viewers interact with their digital TV services is the driving force behind YouView,” said Pace CEO Neil Gaydon. “As the global set-top box market leader, Pace has this expertise, making us a natural partner to help bring YouView into UK homes.”
The document, available for download from the YouView website, details the core interoperability standard. It references the latest edition of the Digital TV Group’s D-Book and provides a set of technologies to enable the delivery of broadcast and IP enabled content onto a television set via a broadband connected device.
It is designed to allow any manufacturer to use the specification to bring products to market sharing the same underlying technologies as a YouView device.
“Through promoting common technical standards for connected TV, consumers will get the widest possible range of devices supporting high quality content,” said Richard Halton, CEO, YouView.
Cisco, Humax and Technicolor have already committed to developing YouView set top boxes.
