Digitalsmiths and Tribune Media Services announced that Sharp Electronics will integrate the companies’ content discovery technologies in its 2014 line-up of AQUOS LED smart televisions.
For more information visit: www.digitalsmiths.com
Unedited press release follows:
Sharp Selects Digitalsmiths and Tribune Media Services to Boost User Experience for SmartCentral 3.0 on Sharp AQUOS LED TVs
Integration of Digitalsmiths’ Seamless Discovery® Platform and TMS’ On Entertainment Data Enables Viewers to Search Less and Discover More in Sharp’s SmartCentral 3.0
DURHAM, NC and CHICAGO, IL–(May 7, 2014) – Video search and personal recommendation leader Digitalsmiths®, a subsidiary of TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), and Tribune Media Services (TMS), the international leader in entertainment navigation, today announced that Sharp Electronics Corporation has selected Digitalsmiths and TMS to enhance the video discovery experience of Sharp’s 2014 line-up of AQUOS® LED Smart televisions.
By leveraging Digitalsmiths’ Seamless Discovery Platform pre-integrated with TMS’ On® Entertainment data, Sharp’s new SmartCentral™ 3.0 Smart TV platform enables viewers to search less and discover more. A cross-platform smart guide integrates program information for content available from cable or satellite sources and streaming services. Using Sharp’s SmartCentral 3.0, viewers can receive content recommendations along with rich program descriptions and images for content available on a range of services, without having to switch TV inputs or apps.
“Sharp continually strives to improve the viewer experience, and the SmartCentral 3.0 platform offers integrated search, the best apps and mobile connectivity,” said Vishnu Rao, director, product technology at Sharp. “Working with Digitalsmiths and TMS allows Sharp to bring the best content discovery experience to Sharp AQUOS viewers.”
“Building on our market leadership in the pay-TV market, Digitalsmiths is proud to grow our partners within the consumer electronics industry,” said Ben Weinberger, co-founder of Digitalsmiths. “Content recommendations are becoming a must-have across multiple channels and platforms, and being able to work with Sharp to offer enhanced video discovery experiences in the United States, Canada and Mexico helps us expand to new markets and continue positive growth.”
“For decades, TMS data has enabled the evolution of entertainment guides with increasingly sophisticated datasets that now fuel advanced search and discovery of compelling content worldwide,” said Rich Cusick, general manager of TMS. “Sharp’s multiscreen experience leverages On Entertainment in a truly elegant way; we’re confident that SmartCentral 3.0 users will love the functionality our data brings to life.”
With Digitalsmiths’ Seamless Discovery technology Sharp’s SmartCentral 3.0 revolutionizes how content is delivered to consumers. Seamless Discovery conducts cross-catalog searches across providers to deliver consumers all the channels that a specific show is appearing on, giving them the choice of times and channels to view that specific show. For consumers this delivers a seamless viewer experience.
On Entertainment data from TMS is pre-integrated into the Digitalsmiths Seamless Discovery platform allowing the entertainment guides on Sharp SmartCentral 3.0 to present the most targeted cross-catalog content recommendations along with the best available program and episode descriptions, images and related content to consumers. TMS Unique IDs, the industry-standard for synchronizing entertainment assets across various datasets, helps enable the advanced program discovery features of Sharp SmartCentral 3.0.
Sharp SmartCentral 3.0 is currently available on more than a dozen models of Sharp’s 2014 AQUOS Large Screen LED TVs. For a full list of product availability visit www.sharpusa.com.
About Digitalsmiths
Digitalsmiths, a wholly-owned subsidiary of TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO), provides an industry leading video discovery platform, offering personalized search, recommendations, social discovery, mood discovery, sports discovery and a business console for all connected devices. Built for service providers, content providers and consumer electronics manufacturers, Digitalsmiths Seamless Discovery® enables personalized discovery experiences that instantly connect consumers to the most relevant movies, TV shows and live events available, at any time, on any screen. The company is guided by the belief that consumers should not have to work to find relevant content — the content should find them. More information at: www.digitalsmiths.com.
About TiVo Inc.
Founded in 1997, TiVo Inc. (NASDAQ: TIVO) developed the first commercially available digital video recorder (DVR). TiVo offers the TiVo service and TiVo DVRs directly to consumers online at www.TiVo.com and through third-party retailers. TiVo also distributes its technology and services through solutions tailored for cable, satellite and broadcasting companies. Since its founding, TiVo has evolved into the ultimate single solution media center by combining its patented DVR technologies and universal cable box capabilities with the ability to aggregate, search, and deliver millions of pieces of broadband, cable, and broadcast content directly to the television. An economical, one-stop-shop for in-home entertainment, TiVo’s intuitive functionality and ease of use puts viewers in control by enabling them to effortlessly navigate the best digital entertainment content available through one box, with one remote, and one user interface, delivering the most dynamic user experience on the market today. TiVo also continues to weave itself into the fabric of the media industry by providing interactive advertising solutions and audience research and measurement ratings services to the television industry. More information at: www.TiVo.com. Find us Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/TiVo. Follow us on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/TiVo.
About Tribune Media Services
TMS is an international leader in entertainment information. As part of its On® Entertainment product line the company provides industry leading TV, movie and celebrity metadata that fuels the most exciting entertainment guides and applications on the planet. TMS data reaches millions of consumers in 40 countries through clients including Microsoft, Yahoo!, TiVo, Time Warner Cable, Verizon FiOS TV, IMDb, Virgin Media UK, Com Hem, DIRECTV Latin America and Cablevision Mexico. In addition, this comprehensive metadata is used extensively for media measurement and analysis. For more information about TMS visit TribuneMediaServices.com.
About Sharp Electronics Corporation
Sharp Electronics Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Japan’s Sharp Corporation, a worldwide developer of one-of-a-kind home entertainment products, appliances, networked multifunctional office solutions, and mobile communication and information tools. Leading brands include AQUOS® LED HD and 4K televisions, Insight® Microwave Drawer® ovens and Plasmacluster® air purifiers. Sharp has been named one of the Most Admired Brands in America and one of the 20 Most Loved Companies globally*. For more information visit Sharp Electronics Corporation at www.sharpusa.com. Follow us on Facebook, or Twitter and watch us on YouTube.
*Sources: Buyology Inc., 2012; APCO Worldwide, 2013