News Details

Rovi Enters DivX Plus Streaming Licensing Agreement With Video-On-Demand Platform Provider Hubee

March 21, 2013

Companies Expand Relationship to Enable New Multi-Screen Entertainment Offerings for European Service Providers

Company Release - 3/21/2013 3:30 AM ET

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 21, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Rovi Corporation (Nasdaq:ROVI), driving digital entertainment innovation, today announced that Hubee, a major supplier of multi-screen entertainment solutions for service providers, has selected DivX Plus Streaming. Hubee will use Rovi's advanced adaptive streaming format to power digital entertainment delivery for new customer entertainment storefronts that are expected to launch in Europe later this year.

DivX Plus Streaming brings a cutting-edge feature set to streaming media that is typically characteristic of the Blu-ray Disc consumer experience. The solution supports adaptive streaming up to 1080p high definition along with advanced features such as multi-language subtitles and audio tracks, trick-play track for smooth fast forward and rewind, chapter points for quick scene navigation, and resume playback across devices. DivX Plus Streaming expands the value of the already popular DivX Plus® HD Certification program, which brings these same advanced multimedia features to 'download to own' video content.

"At Hubee, we pride ourselves on designing and developing solutions that enable our clients to better distribute their content across the multiple screens that now comprise the consumer entertainment experience," said Virgile Ollivier, Chief Business Development at Hubee. "Rovi's advanced adaptive streaming format is a fantastic addition to our arsenal. Hollywood tested and UltraViolet approved, the solution delivers an advanced entertainment experience that supports the range of consumption models that consumers demand today and, with planned integration of HEVC, is ready to power the next-generation of multi-screen services."

In addition to the DivX Plus Streaming license agreement, Rovi and Hubee previously collaborated to launch an innovative entertainment service from French telecommunications company, Free. The service enables Freebox TV subscribers to purchase and stream Disney movies and ABC TV shows to their set-top boxes as many times as they like. Using DivX® technology, subscribers may also download a digital copy of the content to watch on PCs (Windows and Mac) or any of the 750 million DivX Certified® devices available today, including digital TVs, Blu-ray Disc players, video game consoles and mobile phones.

"We are delighted to continue our relationship with an industry innovator that shares a similar goal of supplying service providers with technologies needed to satisfy and delight consumers looking to access their favorite entertainment in high quality and from the broadest possible range of devices," said Simon Adams, SVP, Sales and Marketing, Consumer Electronics, Rovi Corporation. "We look forward to a continuing collaboration with Hubee to power more service provider offerings and further fuel the market for TV Everywhere in Europe."

DivX Plus Streaming has been approved by studios and adopted by companies helping to drive over-the-top entertainment distribution. The advanced adaptive streaming format has gained the support of IC vendors including Broadcom, MediaTek, MStar, and Qualcomm and has been selected to power video delivery for a range of online entertainment services. The DivX DRM (digital rights management) solution, as used in DivX Plus Streaming, was also recently approved by the DECE (Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem consortium). With the approval, DivX Plus Streaming may be easily used by UltraViolet retailers to deliver a consistently high quality over-the-top video streaming experience. Designed for a new generation of entertainment experiences, Rovi is currently integrating support for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC/H.265) into DivX Plus Streaming. The latest compression standard is expected to help reduce storage and bandwidth costs and deliver an optimized viewing experience.

About Hubee

Hubee is a service provider specializing in developing and publishing technology solutions for publishers of video content and interactive services that want to extend their offerings to new screens. Our mission is to design solutions and develop interactive platforms and applications that enable clients to accelerate the distribution of their programs and services to the new media (VOD, catch-up TV, web TV, apps, and more).

About Rovi Corporation

Rovi powers the discovery, delivery, display and monetization of digital entertainment. With innovative technology solutions for consumer electronics manufacturers, service providers, content producers, advertisers, retailers and websites, Rovi connects people and the entertainment they love. The company holds over 5,000 issued or pending patents worldwide and is headquartered in Santa Clara, California. More information about Rovi can be found at rovicorp.com.

Forward Looking Statements

All statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact, including statements that use the words "will" or "is expected to," or similar words that describe the Company's or its management's future plans, objectives, or goals, are "forward-looking statements" and are made pursuant to the Safe-Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from the historical results and/or from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors are further addressed in the Company's most recent report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2012 and such other documents as are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time (available at www.sec.gov). The Company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date of this release, except as required by law.

CONTACT: Chris Taylor
         Rovi Corporation
         408-562-3077
         [email protected]

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Source: Rovi Corporation