WASHINGTON D.C.—Pearl TV and MediaTek have launched the FastTrack to NextGen TV program designed to accelerate and streamline consumer electronics makers’ adoption of NextGen TV technology for smart TV and related devices at volume.

“The trajectory of NextGen TV hasn’t slowed down and now our expanded collaboration with MediaTek only bolsters the path toward ubiquitous inclusion and adoption,” said Anne Schelle, managing director of Pearl TV. “We’re excited that together with MediaTek, we can usher in high-volume, low-cost televisions that consumers desire and are buying today, particularly among millennials.”

The program offers CE manufactures an easier, faster and more cost-effective process to introduce NextGen TV-compatible products via MediaTek’s Reference Platform. The reference platform will be pre-certified for compliance with the Consumer Technology Association’s (CTA’s) NextGen TV logo requirements, A3SA Security and the RUN3TV application platform to ensure manufacturers meet the standards set for authenticity and security, it said.

“We are very glad to work with Pearl TV as a total NextGen TV solution provider with a complete Reference Platform for high-volume TV manufacturers, including TV System on Chip (SoC), ATSC3 demodulators and software stack. MediaTek has been providing TV SoC solutions to 90% of all TV brands, and this pre-certified fast track program will help to expedite our support to customers with scale,” said Alfred Chan, vice president, TV Business Unit in the Smart Home Group at MediaTek.

Currently, there are about 70 NextGen TV set models available at retail. Prices start between $500 and $600. Makers include LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony. In January, Hisense announced it will introduce models later this year.

“The FastTrack program comes to the market at an opportune time for consumer electronics manufacturers looking to invest in cutting edge broadcast technology and better serve their customers with unrivalled visual and audio features,” said Chan.

“Consumers want TVs to come with NextGen TV capabilities and they want to be part of the future of television. NextGen TV represents a new realm of possibilities for television and device manufacturers, and we’re thrilled that this collaboration helps open the door for brands that want to have a seat at the table.”

More information is available on the Pearl TV and MediaTek websites.

OSLO, Norway—The OTT software tech provider Vewd has selected MediaTek’s Autus I20 (MT2712) chipset as the first reference platform to power Vewd for Automotive, a white-labeled, cloud-managed content aggregation and monetization solution for in-vehicle infotainment equipment providers and car manufacturers.

Vewd for Automotive is part of the company’s efforts to capitalize on the growing interest in providing entertainment to automobiles. Strategy Analytics has estimated that 70 million connected cars on the road by 2025.

“The Autus I20 is equipped with a flexible interface and multi-display support to provide a better in-vehicle experience for consumers,” said PC Tseng, general manager of the Intelligent Multimedia Business Unit at MediaTek. “Having deployed hundreds of millions of TVs together, turning our combined attention to the automotive space will shorten manufacturer time-to-market and simplify the complexity of adding premium subscription services, broadcast, video-on-demand, and audio to cars. This is the future of car infotainment, delivered today.”

Vewd said that Automotive is designed to solve key rear-seat content challenges facing manufacturers by providing a turnkey solution ready for deployment. It also said that Vewd for Automotive broadens the available entertainment options – including radio, podcasts, broadcast television, OTT Apps, video-on-demand (VOD), and games to help manufacturers enhance the back seat experience.

“MediaTek is at the frontier of the automotive industry, enabling consumers to be more connected to their car, the road, and the in-vehicle experience,” said Aneesh Rajaram, CEO, Vewd. “We’re pleased to be collaborating with MediaTek as we work to meet and exceed customer demand and solve the challenges facing the industry today.”

Key features of Vewd for Automotive include:

• Content licensing and rights management enable manufacturers to rapidly deploy and monetize linear TV, video-on-demand (VOD), and premium OTT services, globally.
• Flexible core HTML5 engine packaged with a modern media player offers a secure sandboxed environment for streaming or automotive apps.
• Content APIs to facilitate deep linking and app integration into any manufacturer’s user experience.
• Content certification ensures a flawless user experience.
• A modern and flexible UI framework for car manufacturers creates consumer experiences for content consumption within the car.
• Cloud-managed UX customizable by car make, model and location.

More information is available at Vewd.com.

LAS VEGAS—A team effort between Keysight Technologies and MediaTek offered CES attendees a chance to see just how 5G can help power 8K video streaming content during a special presentation.

In a joint demonstration, Keysight and MediaTek uses 5G wireless connectivity to showcase 8K video streaming to a smart TV. Using Keysight’s 5G emulation solutions with MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000 5G mobile system-on-chip, the demonstration delivers data rates of up to 1 gigabit per second, which helps ensure continuous 8K video streaming to an 8K smart TV without a wired connection.

MediaTek uses Keysight’s 5G platform to establish a new 5G new radio connection using the non-standalone mode. The connection will also use dual connectivity to generate an aggregated data stream created from both LTE and 5G signals.

“This demonstration highlights the application diversity our 5G solutions support, which enables a connected ecosystem to deliver products that depend on a reliable 5G connection,” said Jeffrey Chen, general manager of greater China wireless application engineering at Keysight Technologies.

This demonstration is a result of collaborations between Keysight and MediaTek for more than three years.

The demonstration will take place throughout CES 2020, and will be shown at MediaTek’s booth, 3601 in the Tech West Pavilion.

SAN DIEGO & HSINCHU, TAIWAN—MediaTek, a fabless IC design company providing product for smart TV manufacturers, is the first SoC (system on chip) firm to have completed evaluation tests of Verance Aspect audio watermarking, part of the newly adopted ATSC 3.0 standard, Verance said today.

Next month at the 2018 International CES in Las Vegas, the companies will conduct joint demos of MediaTek’s digital TV platforms integrated with the Verance watermark technology.

MediaTek’s “embrace of Aspect will serve as a driving market force for smart television manufacturers to achieve next-gen TV functionality in both ATSC 1.0 and ATSC 3.0 environments,” said Verance CEO Nil Shah in a press release. The Aspect audio watermark will play a key role in the personalized, interactive aspects of ATSC 3.0 as well as equip broadcasters with more options for ascertaining audience metrics.

Verance is working on go-to-market partnerships with CE companies and chip makers. As part of its strategy, the company hired Eric Anderson in September as SVP and Chief Partnership Officer, Verance said. Before joining Verance, Anderson worked for Gracenote where he led product development for smart TVs as well as broadcasters, networks, brands and cable services.

More information is available on the Verance website.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

SAN FRANCISCO and HSINCHU, TAIWAN—MediaTek has announced that it will go with Dolby Laboratories’ Dolby Vision 4K UHD system-on-a-chip technology for its high-dynamic range TVs, Ultra HD Blu-ray players, and digital media adapters.

Dolby Vision offers increased UHD and HD video signals for OTT online streaming, video on demand, broadcast, UHD Blu-Ray, and gaming applications. Dolby Vision’s VS10 universal HDR playback technology supports dual-layer and single-layer Dolby Vision streams and other HDR formats based on the SMPTE ST 2084 standard. This allows for peak brightness, local contrast and wider color gamut.

MediaTek is a developer of systems-on-chip technology for mobile devices, wireless networking, HDTV, DVD and Blu-ray. The company is headquartered in Taiwan.

Dolby Laboratories is a provider of audio, video and voice technology based out of San Francisco.