Today, Oregan Networks have announced the first connected TV which will support the BBC iPlayer service and also other catch-up TV services here in the UK.
This looks very interesting and is certainly another step closer to a truly connected home.
More on this soon, including pricing and availability.
The full press release is as follows:
Onyx from Oregan Networks enables first Connected TV supporting BBC iPlayer and other Catch-Up TV services
London, UK, December 16th, 2009 – Oregan Networks, a leading innovator of Internet media technologies, has announced retail availability of Onyx-powered TVs manufactured by the UK’s fastest growing value TV brand Cello. The product, branded Cello iViewer, is the first connected TV featuring the UK’s pioneering BBC iPlayer catch-up service, as well as an array of other free-to-view web video services. The TV is also equipped with digital rights management technology, allowing delivery of premium Hollywood content services.
Brian Palmer, CEO of Cello, said: “We’ve worked closely with Oregan to bring the Cello iViewer to market and are delighted with the final result. The iViewer will revolutionize TV viewing, allowing internet based media that was once only available through a computer to be accessed directly on TV and making catch up TV easier than ever to access.”
Entertainment, news and social networking services such as Twitter, are accessed on-screen through an animated carousel, and dynamically updated as soon as new information, content or messages become available via the Internet connection. New applications will be deployed to iViewer via remote download, based on consumer feedback gathered through dedicated end-user forums.
Onyx is now available on select 26″ and 32″ flat panel HDTVs, branded as Cello iViewer at the UK’s up-market consumer goods retailer, Marks & Spencer.
Steve Hughes, Technology Buyer, M&S commented: “Being the first retailer delivering on the promise of Digital Home and mainstream consumer connectivity with the BBC iPlayer and Oregan’s Onyx, is an incredible achievement for Marks & Spencer. M&S are committed to continued delivery of innovative products that simplify connected entertainment and provide outstanding value to our customers.”
The Onyx solution powering iViewer is developed by Oregan, as a consumer brand of its Oregan Media Browser – a web delivery platform for connected TVs and Hybrid IP-STBs. Based on deep consumer insights gathered through end-user focus groups, Onyx features an easy-to-use and rich Graphical Interface for family-style living room entertainment. The mix of services available on Onyx caters for a variety of audiences and is a blend of mainstream catch-up TV programming such as BBC iPlayer, with user generated content and social networking applications, such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. iViewer is using the UK version of Onyx, with US and other international versions also in development.
The built-in CE-HTML Internet browser, W3C Widgets engine and standards based media APIs of Onyx, simplify the design and delivery of new media services and applications. Oregan’s Open W3C Widgets Platform – The Widgetry – is used by its CE customers as an extensible framework for scheduled and user-initiated downloads of new widget based applications. The company provides a Software Development Kit for to developers who wish to create innovative apps for televisions powered by Onyx.
In addition to Web TV services, Onyx enables easy access to personal media stored on devices in the consumer’s home network, such as PCs, mobile phones and digital cameras that are compliant to DLNA 1.5 standards.
Mark Perry, CEO of Oregan Networks commented, “The proliferation of digital content from multiple sources and advances in media streaming technologies have made it possible for the TV world to quietly transition into a new plane of openness and variety enabled by the Internet – previously the privilege of the PC world. The launch of Onyx inside an affordable, mainstream TV, marks a significant milestone in the evolution of the TV experience which can no longer be considered separately from the Internet.”
The Cello iViewer TV will be showcased at the upcoming CES 2010 in Las Vegas.
About Oregan Networks Ltd.
Oregan Networks provides deployment ready media browser solutions for retail consumer electronics and carrier grade IPTV appliances, enabling delivery and sharing of Internet video, music and photos. Since incorporation in 1997, over 3.5 million units of Oregan’s software have been licensed to leading global brands, including Sony Computer Entertainment, Philips Consumer Electronics and NTT. The company’s headquarters and primary R&D center are located in London UK, with branch offices in USA, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.
I have noticed a issue people (Timothy?) are reporting when using Media Center to trans code recorded HDTV on the fly to Windows Home Server. Since I have no hardware to use this feature with I never played with it. It appears that when trans coding HDTV content there is no sound in the file that is made. Seems kind of dumb that Microsoft wouldn’t have worked out some sort of license agreement to include an AC3 decoder with the networks so that this feature would function. What is ever dumber is that Microsoft even included such a feature when they knew it wouldn’t work. As long as you don’t trans code the HDTV recorded with Media Center the sound works fine during play back. 
