Smart TV Alliance intros developer support program

BERLIN, GERMANY: Smart TV Alliance announced today the next step in its evolution with the launch of a Developer Support Program, enabling application developers to submit Smart TV applications to a single integrated QA process to port applications across Alliance compliant Smart TVs.

The Alliance is also releasing a new software development kit (SDK 2.5) that will enable multi-screen application development and announcing nine new industry-leading manufacturers and solution providers who have joined the Alliance to further support cross-platform Smart TV applications and services.

Following its mandate to reduce the barriers to Smart TV application development and distribution, the Alliance has developed a pioneering Developer Support Program allowing application developers to submit an application for a single QA process for qualification across multiple Alliance compliant member devices, greatly simplifying and reducing the QA cycles that traditionally are needed for each individual manufacturer's QA process.

Developers can focus more on creating quality content and less on the complexity associated with distributing applications to disparate Smart TV operating systems.

Seijiro Yasuki, president of Smart TV Alliance and CTE of Digital Products & Services Company, Toshiba said, "Smart TV Alliance is thrilled to announce the availability of a Developer Support Program. The Alliance is focused on the need for a non-proprietary ecosystem for application developers to create compelling, platform-agnostic services across a large number of devices, and we believe a Developer Support Program is a critical step in this direction."

The upcoming SDK 2.5 enables multi-screen interactivity between mobile applications and version 2.5 compliant Smart TVs from LG, TP Vision, Toshiba and Panasonic. The new SDK provides application developers with a brand-new method to offer highly engaging experiences from Smart TVs.

The SDK 2.5 is being developed in a cooperation between Smart TV Alliance and Collabora, using best-in-class open source projects and engineering expertise to deliver the most advanced tooling and great community benefits. Smart TV Alliance will also be releasing Specification 3.0 that includes HTML5 updates, Ultra HD and support for Smart Home features.