Freeview New Zealand and HD Forum Italia become DVB Members
The DVB Steering Board has approved the membership of Freeview New Zealand and HD Forum Italia. Representatives of both will now participate in DVB’s various working groups, contributing to the development of timely open specifications to enable interoperability across the global media distribution ecosystem.
Freeview New Zealand
Freeview NZ offers free-to-view television services through terrestrial transmitters that reach over 85% of homes in the New Zealand, supplemented with a nationwide satellite service and the Freeview Streaming TV app. HbbTV is used to offer access to associated on-demand services.
Freeview is a joint venture backed by New Zealand’s leading broadcasters – TVNZ, Sky Free, Whakaata Māori and RNZ.
“DVB standards have been foundational in the delivery of free-to-air TV in New Zealand since 2008,” said Leon Mead, General Manager. “Freeview NZ is incredibly grateful for the work of the DVB organization, which allows cost-effective delivery of services, especially for small markets like NZ. We look forward to participating in DVB work for the future of TV.”
HD Forum Italia
HD Forum Italia is an industry association founded in 2006 to promote and support advanced audiovisual technologies, with a focus on High Definition, Ultra High Definition and next-generation distribution platforms. Its members include major Italian and international players across broadcasting, content, networks, manufacturing and research.
The Forum publishes the (U)HD Book Collection of open technical specifications, which underpin the certified Bollino receivers widely used in Italy. It also organizes annual UHD meetings and workshops, and works closely with regulators, academia and international bodies to ensure interoperability and openness across the audiovisual ecosystem.
“HD Forum Italia has always considered DVB standards to be a relevant benchmark and a reference source for recommending technical specifications applicable to TV receivers in national markets,” said Tonio Di Stefano, the association’s President. “HDFI has worked with great commitment to promote these DVB specifications and ETSI standards, harmonizing them with the Italian market profile.”
Join DVB
If your company would like to join the DVB Project and contribute to designing the future of media delivery, you can find out more about membership here.
Note that the membership fee is lower in the first year and a further reduction is available for those joining mid-year. There are also special rates for universities (and other academic institutions) and companies with annual revenues of less than EUR 3 million.
