A new box for a new era of picture quality: ultra-high definition (UHD)
More and more TV viewers now have UHD-ready TV sets. UHD offers up to four times higher resolution than standard HD. With Swisscom’s new TV-Box, Swisscom TV 2.0 customers will be able to enjoy UHD content on their own devices. The new TV box will also support High Dynamic Range (HDR), offering stunning image display. Despite higher performance, it will smaller and more energy efficient than its predecessor. Initially, Swisscom will be offering on-demand feature films, documentaries and series in ultra-high resolution, with the first football matches of the Swiss Super League in UHD following during the 2016/2017 season. Swisscom also plans to broadcast selected matches from major sporting events such as Euro 2016 in this format, where possible.
Video games via your TV box
Swisscom is also expanding its offering to include gaming – a major step towards the TV box becoming an all-round entertainment platform. With streaming technology developing in great leaps, gamers can now benefit from games in excellent quality. Customers will require an extra controller, but can play available games immediately via their TV box – without the need to download them. In Gamefly, the largest provider of game-on-demand services in the US, Swisscom has brought a partner on board that stands for top-quality content and a wide variety of available games. The offer will be launched in early 2016, with more detailed information published at a later stage.
Easier ways of finding the content you want
On September 16th Swisscom TV will be adding brand-new content to its offering: “Hot from the US” – a service bringing the latest US series to Swiss living rooms soon after they’re first broadcast. Also new: Swisscom TV 2.0 is offering a French-language flat-rate video service called Play, which brings together Teleclub Play and Canalplay. Play will initially offer a selection of around 7,500 videos, including series, films, children’s programmes, documentaries and, as an exclusive feature, a comprehensive sports archive.
With more than 250 channels, seven days of Replay and a huge selection of videos on demand, finding the content you want is becoming increasingly difficult. Although Swisscom TV already offers personal recommendations and editorial tips, the new Homescreen 2.0, a comprehensive update to the current user interface, will make it easier, quicker and more intuitive for customers to choose the right content. A particularly helpful feature is the all-new Replay guide. It helps customers find the best content among some 30,000 available Replay programmes (with seven-day Replay). Customers can easily browse films, series, documentaries, entertainment programmes and much more, according to genre.