WATCH VIDEO. Liberty Global and UPC Nederland are officially launching the Horizon gateway this Friday, September 7, commencing rollout in the Netherlands.
In two separate press events, the operator will unveil details of the long-awaited set-top and multiscreen environment that it is looking to revolutionise cable TV in the home.
Robert Dunn, managing director UPC Nederland, and Mark Giesbers, director marketing and content, will present Horizon at the Dutch film institute Eye for Dutch journalists. A full deployment is not expected until later this autumn.
At the same time, Balan Nair, Liberty Global EVP and CTO, will introduce and explain Horizon at the IBC in the Amsterdam RAI for an international audience.
Following the launch in the Netherlands, Switzerland’s UPC Cablecom will follow later this year, and the German introduction on Unitymedia Kabel BW is planned for the first quarter of 2013.
The Horizon box will act as a gateway to digital television, combining linear and on-demand content with personal content, such as music, photos and videos. It will also offer second screen functionality.
The box itself is developed by Samsung and will use the NDS Snowflake graphical interface, according to earlier announcements. Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries first announced Horizon in January 2010, at the CES in Las Vegas.
This multimedia gateway will create a wireless network that connects the TV to personal devices, such as computers, tablets and smartphones. Supported by search and recommendation features, it will integrate access to personal media content such as photos, music and movies stored in the home or in the cloud.
Horizon will also allow customers to take their entertainment experience beyond their home TVs. Applications have been developed for smartphones and tablet devices (second screens) as well as web browsers that will enable a similar and complementary experience on different devices both in and out of the home.
The Horizon ecosystem is an open and scalable platform for the future on which developers can continue to improve and enhance the functionality for consumers.
Liberty Global is working with international and national content providers, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, to develop applications for its standards-based ‘App Store’. In this store, subscribers using Horizon will be offered a full catalogue of web-based apps and widgets
Watch the Horizon video, which Liberty Global presented at last year’s IBC.
