WASHINGTON, D.C.- Eager to prove to the cable industry it means business, LG Electronics made a splashy debut at the Cable Show here Monday with a wide array of new set-top boxes and smart TV applications.
LG’s portfolio of new products includes IP set-tops, an MPEG-4 QAM set-top, small TV dongles, and an Ultra HD gateway server. In addition, the company is running several demonstrations featuring the integration of its smart TVs with cable-specific applications. The Korean CE manufacturer’s massive presence at the show – including its designation as the show's "official smart TV partner" – indicates just how much potential LG sees in cable. As traditional pay TV offerings and OTT video services increasingly converge, LG is pursuing new ways to establish itself in the center of the consumer’s connected home.
Two IP set-tops head the list of new products. The first set-top, while designed for Google TV, gives MSOs the option to offer access to linear and VOD content alongside Google’s Android applications. The idea is to let cable operators not only combine their own video services with OTT applications, but also provide subscribers with the ability to share content between their smartphones and flat-screen TVs.
LG’s other new IP set-top works with the vendor’s own NetCast television operating system. The box is DLNA-compliant and can support OTT video, along with operator-delivered linear and VOD content. The NetCast and Google TV set-tops also both support whole-home DVR, gaming, and "other cloud services."
Kurt Hoppe, director of smart TV innovation and business development for LG, stressed that LG's approach to the cable market – specifically when it comes to the user interface – is quite different from its retail strategy. Unlike LG’s retail boxes, both new IP set-tops allow MSOs to overlay their own UIs for a branded operator experience.
Besides the new IP set-tops, LG also unveiled a new Ultra HD box, two set-top dongles, and a "low-cost" MPEG-4 cable set-top with downloadable conditional access. The Ultra HD gateway server promises sharp, shiny pictures in 4K-resolution, although there’s hardly any 4K TV programming available yet.
LG’s small new dongles provide a practical way to smarten up dumb TVs. The first dongle, also referred to as an Android Mini Box, is the more notable one. It runs Android version 4.2.2. (aka jelly bean) and supports 802.11ac Wi-Fi for streaming OTT video to the TV screen.
The second dongle is strictly designed for Miracast phone users. LG is staging a demo here that streams HBO Go from a Miracast handset to a dongle-connected TV set.
Lastly on the set-top front, LG' is promoting its new MPEG-4 QAM box. This box seems like an outlier, given the limited MPEG-4 deployments of U.S. MSOs. But perhaps it's meant for the more advanced Canadian market.
LG is also touting new software and services integrated into its gear. Among other things, the CE maker is highlighting the catch-up TV service from Rogers Cable, without a set-top box, that it first announced two months ago.
In addition, LG is striving to show how it can play ball with middleware vendors. Nagra is demonstrating how its OpenTV 5 platform can be embedded on an LG set-top, while Cisco Systems is showing off a reference design of its Unity platform running on an LG smart TV.
Hoppe, who grew up near Hamilton, Ont., said LG will also demonstrate how its smart TVs can run full cable services – including DVR and VOD features – without a set-top box attached. LG aims to perform the feat using two different brands of gateways, including at least one from a major provider.
– Staff
