Panasonic has become the first technology vendor to launch its smart TVs with the HbbTV Operator App included.
The app enables viewers to access both live and on-demand content from German TV platform HD+ on any 2019 Panasonic OLED UHD smart TV sold in Germany, without the need for any additional hardware or smartcard. In this case, consumers can navigate through the HD+ TV channels and interactive services through an HD+ branded user interface.
The HbbTV OpApp acts like a virtual set-top box inside the smart TV set, enabling platform operators to provide a branded, uniform user interface across different manufacturers.
“We are very happy about this launch which is the perfect illustration of what the OpApp was supposed to do: enable an operator-specific user experience on a TV set without the need for additional hardware,” said Vincent Grivet, chair of the HbbTV Association. “The HbbTV OpApp offers platform operators a game-changing new way of reaching their customers. We are confident that many more broadcast platforms will realise how powerful this is and will soon also adopt this approach, leading more TV manufacturers to ship OpApp compliant TV sets.”
