From http://advanced-television.com/2016/06/10/trio-arrested-for-digital-tv-piracy/
Three men have been arrested for digital TV piracy after raids were carried out in in the UK West Midlands city of Coventry.
Officers from Coventry Police assisted colleagues from Trading Standards and the Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) at a commercial premises in Stoke and three residential addresses. A number of items were seized in relation to the sale and distribution of fraudulent digital TV packages.
“Acting on information from the community we are determined to crack down on those who we suspect are committing criminal offences around the distribution of fraudulent digital TV packages,” said PC James Rees, from Coventry’s Local Priorities Team. “This sort of crime affects everyone and costs the broadcasters and members of the public thousands of pounds each year.”
“Pub landlords and the general public need to be aware that set-top boxes allowing access to pirated TV, sports and films are very much illegal,” asserted Kieron Sharp, Director General of FACT. “You may think this type of crime is victimless but the reality is that piracy affects the lives and jobs of hundreds of thousands of people in the TV and film industry.”
In thanking West Midlands Police and Trading Standards for their support in the investigation, Sharp hoped the joint action was a strong warning to anyone involved in this criminality that piracy is taken very seriously.
The men, aged 48, 51 and 38, have been released on police bail while enquiries continue.
Italy adopts HbbTV 2.0.1 interactive TV standard
From http://advanced-television.com/2016/06/10/italy-adopts-hbbt-2-0-1-interactive-tv-standard/
Italy has adopted the HbbTV version 2.0.1 technology, based on HTML5, as a single standard for interactive TV services provided by broadcasters on Smart TVs and set-top-boxes.
The confirmation comes from the publication of the HD Book 4.0, a series of documents compiled by HD Forum Italia (HDFI) that contain the technical specifications aimed at manufacturers of TV reception equipment for the Italian market.
The first terminals featuring the new technology, which is not only an open standard, but also shared at European level and integrated with the Web language, will arrive on the market during 2017.
Thus, HbbTV will replace the MHP standard, which was introduced in Italy since 2004 for the creation of apps commonly used by users for interactive TV viewing in non-linear mode.
The changes will primarily affect broadcasters offering interactive TV services on Connected TVs and decoders. These include Catch Up TV services offered by Italy’s leading broadcasters, such as Rai Replay, La 7 On Demand, Mediaset OnDemand, as well as PPV services from Mediaset (Infinity and Premium Play)