HbbTV is used throughout Europe and is being evaluated for use in the US. It allows you to stream content over the internet by pressing the red button on any TV channel. A new HbbTV 2.0 standard will be ready in 2016 with support for Ultra HD and second screen devices.

HbbTV 2.0 is coming in 2016
HbbTV - or Hybrid Broadcast broadband TV – is designed to expand the possibilities of the traditional TV channel broadcast system. The system is already in use in many European countries where you can watch “catch-up content” by pressing the red button on the TV remote.

HbbTV 2.0 will ready by 2016 and you can expect support for stunning Ultra HD content streamed via HEVC. It will also add “second screen” capabilities, allowing you to push TV content to the tablet or smartphone. The system is based on the same technology as the Chromecast, according to the HbbTV group.


In addition, the 2.0 standard will offer better user interfaces based on HTML5, better subtitle support and “support for new advertising models”. Lastly, the consortium mentions “support for consumers privacy”, likely caused by the revelations from a German Magazine that discovered how HbbTV shares tons of user data with broadcasters, manufacturers and third parties, with no explicit permission from the user.

HbbTV 2.0 is backwards-compatible, which means that all existing services should work. It will also be possible to update some HbbTV 1.1 and 1.5 devices, but not all of the new features will work.

The group says that over 25 million Smart TVs or set-top boxes with HbbTV are in use today. LG, Samsung, Sony and TP Vision (Philips) are all involved in the development of the standard.

You can read more about the HbbTV 2.0 here.