Advanced Television

Digital TV innovators rewarded

July 24, 2014

By Colin Mann

Four digital TV innovations are set to be showcased at the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam following their success in a Dragon’s Den-style event hosted by the Digital TV Group – the members’ association for digital television in the UK.

The second annual DTG Television Innovation Awards, in partnership with UK Trade & Investment, saw a shortlist of eight finalists invited to the final, before four were selected to be taken to IBC, where they can showcase their innovation to an audience of over 50,000 from 170 countries.

The eight finalists had five minutes to pitch before a crowd of 70 and a panel of Dragons with representatives from YouTube, BBC Worldwide Labs, Digital TV Group, UK Trade & Investment, Televisual magazine and Sony Europe.

Richard Lindsay-Davies, CEO, DTG and chair of the event, said the quality and diversity of this year’s entries showed how much television technology innovation is coming out of, or scaling up, in the UK. “We’re pleased to be partnering for our second year with UK Trade and Investment who complement our industry knowledge and contacts with their global reach. I have high hopes for all of our award finalists.”

After lengthy deliberation the Dragons’ awarded the four places at IBC to:

  • Chirp – an application which can send messages through an audible trigger from a television broadcast to a mobile app device to send the user interactive content such as links, video or images.

  • CrowdEmotion – Innovative facial recognition software which can read television viewers expressions as they watch a television broadcast in real time.

  • StreamHub – Analytics software for big data which combines viewing figures with social media, app and youtube data.

  • Grabyo – This application allows users to quickly edit and share branded video clips from a live broadcast online which is fully integrated into Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.

Winners receive a space on the Digital TV Group’s IBC exhibition stand from 12th-16th September (Hall 5.A09) and a year’s paid affiliate membership to the DTG.

The other finalists who took part in the final were:

  • Ad Venture TV – Broadcast advertising replacement software which personalises ads to individual users

  • AutoGraph.me – A tailored TV guide from audiences viewing preferences

  • Freesat Freetime – A satellite TV service for Smart TVs

  • Live Box – A portable broadcast point to point communications link with camera, microphone, speaker and cue lights for remote interviews

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