Turkish manufacturer Vestel is integrating direct reception of German DTH satellite platform HD+ into Ultra HD TV sets of its brands Toshiba, Telefunken, JVC, Hitachi, Techwood, ok., Kendo, Hanseatic and Dual via the HbbTV OpApp.
The TV sets will be available in retail stores across Germany from September 2020.
After Panasonic and Samsung, Vestel is the third major manufacturer to ship Ultra TV sets with HD+ as a factory default, enabled by the HbbTV OpApp specification. No further hardware such as satellite receiver, CI+ module or smartcard is required for reception.
Following to the partnerships with Vestel, Samsung and Panasonic, more than half of all Ultra HD TV sets sold in Germany will have HD+ on board.
“With the integration of HD+ we started a small revolution last year. For viewers, HD+ is now much easier and more convenient to use. The cooperation with Vestel underlines that ‘HD+ integrated in TV sets’ is an attractive additional marketing argument for manufacturers,” said Georges Agnes, managing director operations and product development at HD+. “We are now working closely with three major players in the industry and HD+ will be directly on board of millions of TV sets in future.”
Vestel Germany managing director Özcan Karadogan added: “Top equipment at a very good price-performance ratio has always been one of our best sales arguments. By cooperating with HD+, we can now offer our retail partners even more added value, from which the end customers benefit directly. The aim is to further differentiate ourselves from the competition and to further expand our market position.”
German households with DTH satellite reception via Astra (19.2° East) can install HD+ when they first set up their TV set. The HD+ channel package and additional interactive functions such as instant restart, direct access to TV catch-up services and a personalised TV guide are available free of charge and without obligation for six months following installation. This just requires the TV set to be connected to the internet.