Time for Smart TV: Why Do Operators Need Good Apps?

November 25, 2019

Applications have a solid footprint in our daily lives. We use them for thousands of things: to communicate, to monitor our physical activity, to make purchases, and so on. Content consumption is no exception: we use apps to read books, listen to music, watch video content. Most of the apps we use are installed on mobile devices. However, in recent years, the capabilities of Smart TVs have improved significantly and we are now seeing apps expand onto the “big screen”.

More than just a TV

What is the main advantage of a Smart TV compared to the good old TV? The answer is obvious: Internet connectivity! Connecting a TV to the Internet brings immediate and fundamental changes to a user’s viewing experience. In addition to traditional TV capabilities, users may now watch online video, access social media and archived TV shows, play video games, read the news, etc, etc, etc.

This also opens the opportunity to an operator to deliver their own branded, well designed and easy to use applications directly to their customer’s SmartTVs without the addition of a traditional STB. Our experience shows that the launch of these apps increases user engagement and boosts content consumption, both free and paid, within a user’s home.

Easy of use, stability and reliability are key features of a successful SmartTV app and SmartLabs, and our customers, are continuously working hard to deliver apps that exceed expectations in these three areas. The quality of your SmartTV app is critical both for your user’s viewing experience and for your bottom line.

SmartTV App Highlights

There are multiple key areas where SmartLabs SmartTV apps help make TV more engaging and appealing for the user and more profitable for the operator.

Branding. An operator’s app will be fully branded with logos and colours, helping to improve brand awareness among app users.

Personalised content. Built-in recommendation services guide users to watch content that is likely to engage them. This personalisation may also extend to higher value, in-app, targeted advertising.

Built-in analytics. Combining the app with the SmartCARE product an operator may collect and analyse user behaviour data enabling them to become more aware of their user’s needs. Such data helps you make more informed decisions at every level of your business.

Multiscreen. Finally, one of the key features of the SmartLabs Smart TV app is multiscreen support. This allows users to seamlessly resume content playback on different devices, switching from the big screen to their smartphones or tablets, and vice versa.

Smart TV Apps by SmartLabs

SmartLabs has accumulated extensive expertise in the development of end-user applications and interfaces for a wide variety of devices: set-top boxes, PCs, tablets, smartphones, Samsung Smart TV and LG Smart TV.

Developing a Smart TV application requires unique experience and knowledge of how to provide playback quality and hardware compatibility, especially using encrypted streams. The development team also needs to have access to a wide variety of Smart TVs from a wide variety of vendors to ensure that apps will work flawlessly once deployed.

The SmartLabs team creates well-designed and easy to use application interfaces natively supporting a single logic and design on all types of screens. Multiscreen is natively supported in SmartLabs apps, so the users can seamlessly switch between devices.

Besides bringing comfort in viewing of TV channels and on-demand content, SmartLabs apps support recommendation services, social media integration, custom branding of interfaces, and help you easily implement unique on-demand features.

SmartLabs not only develops high-quality Smart TV applications but also integrates them with any required backend systems for billing, customer care, etc.

SmartLabs is delighted to have SmartTV apps for Samsung, LG and Android-based SmartTVs deployed with several of our operator customers as an integral part of our SmartTUBE Multiscreen Solution.

 

About SmartLabs

SmartLabs is the leading provider of multi-screen, multi-network solutions for the video streaming sector. SmartLabs’ solutions deliver content services to over 7 million subscribers around the globe on multiple devices from set-top boxes to mobile phones. Smartlabs’ client base includes telcos (fixed and mobile), ISP’s, cable operators, content and app service providers. SmartLabs partners with 25 IPTV market leaders including Widevine, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Samsung and LG.  Headquartered in Berlin, Germany, Smartlabs has offices in USA, Canada, UK, Cyprus and has been established for over 15 years, creating innovative solutions for the interactive TV market.

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