The RVU Alliance, which develops and promotes the RVU^® Remote User Interface (RUI) standard, announced today that the next generation of the RVU specification is now approved and available to existing and new RVU Alliance members. The RVU 2.0 specification provides a major update to the Remote User Interface (RUI) standard, adding vector graphics commands, which further improve the performance and enhance the capabilities of RVU clients.

Products based on the existing RVU 1.0 specification are available now, including the DIRECTV “Genie” HD DVR RVU server, and Samsung 2012 Smart TVs that now support RVU client functionality. The RVU 2.0 specification builds on and is backwards compatible with RVU 1.0 and is specifically targeted to increase system performance and make it easier for third parties to develop RVU client devices. RVU is based on the foundations of DLNA, and is part of the DLNA guidelines, and allows streaming of HD video via secured connections to compatible CE devices and provides a consistent User Interface (UI) across all connected platforms. The RVU 2.0 specification and associated conformance test tools are available now to RVU Alliance members. Based on the foundations of UPnP and DLNA, RVU is also available via the DLNA premium content guidelines.

“The RVU 1.0 standard was successfully deployed on millions of devices in 2012,” said Henry Derovanessian, president of the RVU Alliance Board of Directors and senior vice president of Engineering at DIRECTV. “By building on these foundations, RVU 2.0 will enable the next generation of RVU devices to fully exploit the capabilities of CE platforms and deliver the advanced features of the next generation of UIs without a set top box. With many CE partners and broadcasters adopting the technology, RVU has become the only viable, deployed RUI solution.”

The publicly available RVU industry standard allows a single server to interface to multiple CE clients simultaneously, enabling service providers to present a consistent User Interface and experience throughout a household with no additional hardware required. RVU clients can consist of compatible internet connectable or “smart” TVs, Blu Ray disc players and OTT platforms.

New products targeted to support RVU client functionality in 2013 include Sony’s PlayStation^® 3, select models from Sony’s line-up of 2013 Bravia Internet TVs, and all Samsung 2013 Smart TVs. Demonstrations of products at CES will be held by RVU Alliance members Broadcom, CISCO, DIRECTV, Entropic, JetHead Development, Pace, Samsung and Sony. First products supporting the new RVU 2.0 specification are expected to be available in mid-2013.

Full details of the RVU solution are available at www.rvualliance.org.

About RVU Alliance

RVU is a client/server-based technology that allows the television viewer to experience a consistent, pixel accurate server-generated user interface on various consumer electronics devices. The RVU specification uses widely implemented UPnP and DLNA technologies to enable a gateway device such as an advanced set-top box to work with non-proprietary client devices such as connected TVs, Blu-ray players, and set-top boxes. The specification is maintained by the RVU Alliance, founded by Broadcom, Cisco, DIRECTV, Samsung and Verizon, which facilitates the adoption of an open standard technology that allows service providers to expand their unique UI and user experience onto standard consumer devices without the need for proprietary equipment. For more information on the RVU Alliance please visit www.rvualliance.org.

The RVU Alliance is an Oregon-based non-profit mutual benefit corporation formed to develop a specification for the RVU technology including a full-featured “pixel accurate” Remote User Interface (RUI). For more information about the RVU Alliance, please visit www.rvualliance.org.