Europe Catches Up On OTT

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Jul 25, 2011 1:14 PM, By Philip Hunter

Europe traditionally lags at the back the U.S., and frequently the Far East, in embracing new technology, but there are signs this direction is being bucked in the box of chic TVs, only as it was for 3G mobile telephony. It is loyal the U.S. led the way in to the disruptive world of OTT with Netflix in particular, but until not long ago at least pay TV operators were able to boot this as a teenager exasperation rsther than than a leading threat.

But right away Europe is leading a new call of Internet-connected video formed this time on chic TVs rsther than than PCs. This is a ample bigger hazard to the position quo, since it involves smoothness of full announce high quality HD content, and moreover with the promising for enriching the service with apps that pay TV operators might not have. In short, this is an attack on the normal pay TV model not from start-up OTT service providers but leading determined CE vendors such as Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and LG. They do not wish to be sidelined as small guard providers in the related TV world but wish to make the TV set an entire segment of the service, rsther than as mobile handsets such as the iPhone have turn for mobile services.

Europe has valid the many receptive marketplace for this plan so far, with Samsung stating that 3 European countries, France followed by Germany then Spain, have accounted between them for 40 percent of all downloads from its chic TV App store.

However, operators are fighting back, with Europe maybe apropos a assessment belligerent is to rising strife with chic TVs. Indeed, the many discernible indication of Europe's OTT allege however has been supposing by French IPTV and broadband user Iliad with its Free TV service, that has put all the smarts in to an STB and router multiple called the Freebox Revolution. The STB is formed on the Intel Atom processor, the initial versions of that were written with netbooks and other unstable gadgets in mind, mixing pretty high opening with miniaturization and low power, but many crucially opening up the box to the entire apps developer residents by ancillary the Linux working network amid other things. It brings STB and chic TV entirely in to the world of IT to one side PCs and mobile handsets, and it is no astonishment that many chic TVs from Sony and others are powered by the Atom.

At any rate, the Freebox Revolution revitalised Iliad's formerly flagging IPTV service, that captivated 154,000 new customers in the initial entertain of 2011, its most appropriate ever three-month period. France is good well known as the world personality in IPTV with around 10 million subscribers, and so its open represents a good aim for chic TV services. But elsewhere in Europe there is also a receptiveness to chic TV, partly since many people have turn aware with accessing reward calm online by assorted Internet-based catch-up services such as BBC iPlayer in the UK. Now the rest of Europe, led by Germany and France, are pulling forward with online TV platforms delivering both on urge and catch-up calm formed on the HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) standard. HbbTV is a leading new pan-European first move directed at harmonising the announce and broadband smoothness of entertainment to the consumer by related TVs and STBs. But the preferred unity is not violation out everywhere, with the YouView consortium in the UK taking advantage of a not similar typical for its online stage involving the BBC, obligatory telco BT and others.