RVU Alliance Launches Certification Program for RVU Client Devices

The RVU Alliance--an industry group that seeks to encourage adoption of a client/server-based technology (RVU) that is designed to allow TV viewers to experience a consistent, pixel-accurate, server-generated user interface across various CE client devices--has launched a certification program for RVU client devices.

The organization says that the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) will be the first independent vendor to handle the certification program, and that the first RVU client devices are now entering the certification process. "We are very pleased to see the RVU client certification program go live," Robin Mathews, chair of the RVU Alliance Certification Work Group, said in a prepared statement. "With the first devices now entering the certification process, we expect they will be available for deployment in the next couple of months. With the strong experience and background of the University's InterOperability Laboratory, we are confident that a robust certification process will ensure device interoperability that will ultimately deliver superior consumer experiences."

RVU devices are developed using the publicly available RVU specification, which uses DLNA technologies to enable a gateway device, such as an advanced set-top box, to share its UI with such client devices as connected TV's, Blu-ray players and tablets. The Alliance bills the spec as providing consumers with a consistent TV user experience throughout the home on all their CE devices. According to the organization, the first certified devices will be based on the ratified RVU 1.4 spec. Version 2.0 of the spec is slated to include support for advanced graphics, and additional profiles to support mobile client displays.