[September 19, 2018] |
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Liberty Global Launches 'Horizon 4' Next-Generation Entertainment Platform
Liberty Global, the world's largest international TV and broadband
company, has unveiled its cutting-edge next-generation TV entertainment
platform, 'Horizon 4', at the company's annual Tech Summit in Amsterdam.
The new Horizon 4 suite of products includes a superfast set-top box
with 4K Ultra HD picture quality, a remote-control with voice
capabilities and an upgraded version of Liberty's 'GO' mobile app, which
works together with the set-top box to deliver a seamless viewing
experience. The platform will be introduced over the coming months to
selected customers in The Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium, with a
wider rollout in these and other Liberty Global markets to follow.
The new, modern-design Horizon 4 set-top box has already been introduced
as the 'V6 box' in the UK, where nearly 2 million customers1 are
now using it in combination with TiVo (News - Alert) software. The new platform to be
rolled out in the coming months combines this set-top box with the new
Horizon 4 user interface instead, which includes enhanced features such
as:
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Access to linear TV, Replay and Video on Demand;
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Apps such as Netflix and YouTube (News - Alert) - all in up to 4K Ultra HD
picture quality;
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Cloud storage of recordings - eliminating the need for a
built-in hard drive;
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At a later stage a wide, constantly-updated selection of web videos
and online TV channels will be available;
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All content is accessible via the single easy-to-use, newly-designed user
interface;
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A new remote with voice capabilities to control the box or
search for things to watch just by speaking into the remote, offering
an easier and more intuitive way of getting access to features and
content.
Also part of the new platform is a further enhanced version of the 'GO'
mobile app which allows customers:
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To watch content on-the-go - be it linear TV, replay or
on-demand, whenever and wherever they want;
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'Download to go' functionality for a significant amount of
content when going abroad or for viewing in an area without wifi or
mobile coverage;
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Viewers can continue watching the same program where they left
off on a different device - whether that be a mobile, tablet, laptop
or TV;
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The mobile app can also be used to contrl the set-top box or
use 'push to TV' functionality to watch content on the big screen
after searching for it with the app.
Enrique Rodriguez, Liberty Global's EVP and Chief Technology Officer,
commented: "Horizon 4 brings our customers the best user experience
from Liberty Global's 'one platform' strategy. Our teams develop a
common set of products and services which are then rolled out across our
local operating companies. This allows us to achieve significant scale
and operating synergies. The launch of this latest instalment of our
next-gen digital TV platform marks an important step in our journey of
bringing great innovation in connected entertainment."
Mark Giesbers, Liberty Global's VP Entertainment Products added: "Today
is an exciting day for our customers. They increasingly lead 'fluid
lives' meaning they view content from many different providers on many
different screens, especially on mobile devices, and at very different
times during the day. We want to add value to customers' lives and
deliver on their expectation of 'any content, any device, anywhere,
anytime'. That means aggregating all those TV channels, movies, series
and apps into one easy-to-use, seamless viewing experience - and across
multiple devices. The new Horizon 4 platform with its 4K set-top box,
the remote with voice-control and the improved mobile app allows us to
do exactly that."
Horizon 4 is the latest chapter in Liberty Global's Horizon story, which
began in 2012 when the Horizon TV platform was launched in The
Netherlands. Since then, the Horizon next-gen TV products have been
introduced in a total of seven European markets2.
The hardware and user interfaces of the Horizon 4 product suite were
developed in-house by teams based at Liberty Global's tech campus in
Schiphol-Rijk in The Netherlands, together with various teams in other
countries and with external partners across Europe. Before launching
Horizon 4, the company tested the platform in over 10,000 customer homes
in various different countries.
The Horizon 4 software powering the new 4K set-top box was developed
using RDK (Reference Design Kit), which is supported by a software
consortium with more than 350 members, managed by a joint-venture
between Liberty Global, Comcast Cable and Charter Communications (News - Alert). One
major improvement compared with previous set-top box platforms is that
Horizon 4 will see updates being made every few weeks. This makes it
easier to give customers continuous access to the latest features and
functionalities, including further personalized functions such as
tailored recommendations and individual watchlists. In addition, the
release cycle will allow a faster rollout of software fixes and
improvements.
1: V6 customer numbers quoted as per end of Q2,
2018. 2: Total count of Horizon markets
includes Austria, which was sold to a third party on July 31, 2018
ABOUT LIBERTY GLOBAL
Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA, LBTYB and LBTYK) is the world's largest
international TV and broadband company, with operations in 10 European
countries under the consumer brands Virgin Media (News - Alert), Unitymedia, Telenet
and UPC. We invest in the infrastructure and digital platforms that
empower our customers to make the most of the video, internet and
communications revolution. Our substantial scale and commitment to
innovation enable us to develop market-leading products delivered
through next-generation networks that connect 21 million customers
subscribing to 45 million TV, broadband internet and telephony services.
We also serve 6 million mobile subscribers and offer WiFi (News - Alert) service
through 12 million access points across our footprint.
In addition, Liberty Global owns 50% of VodafoneZiggo, a joint venture
in The Netherlands with 4 million customers subscribing to 10 million
fixed-line and 5 million mobile services, as well as significant
investments in ITV, All3Media, ITI Neovision, Casa Systems, LionsGate,
the Formula E racing series and several regional sports networks.
For more information, please visit www.libertyglobal.com
or contact:
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180919005414/en/
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