Macrovision, the company which last year acquired the US's dominant EPG developer, Gemstar-TV Guide, said Monday that it has signed a multi-year technology and patent-licensing agreement for its EPG solutions with consumer electronics company, Vizio. According to the company, the deal will enable Vizio to incorporate Macrovision EPG technologies into future products, allowing end-users to navigate, sort, select and schedule TV programming. "We recognize that consumers today have an unprecedented amount of content to choose from across a growing number of digital channels and sources," Matthew McRae, Vizio's VP of products, said in a prepared statement. "Simplifying that user experience is a critical part of our design philosophy, as we continue to develop innovative new ways of bringing value to the Vizio customer. We're pleased to be working with Macrovision to enhance our customers' digital home entertainment experience." Added Macrovision's EVP of sales and services, Tom Carson: "Vizio is committed to offering its customers the best technologies on the market for their HDTV's and other consumer electronics devices, which includes making it seamless for them to discover digital content right from their TV screen. Vizio's licensing agreement for our IPG technologies underscores the importance that manufacturers place on helping their customers find, manage and enjoy the plethora of digital content that is available to them. We're excited to be working with Vizio on bringing value-add solutions that simplify and personalize the consumer experience for its high-volume home entertainment products."
In January, Vizio unveiled a "Connected HDTV," scheduled to launch in the fall, which it said will offer support for the Yahoo! Widget Engine, Adobe Flash Lite, Accedo Broadband's games, Amazon's, Blockbuster's and Netflix's Internet-based VOD services, Flickr, Rhapsody, Pandora and more.
