A group of consumer electronics makers, led by system-on-a-chip transcoding company Pixelworks, have teamed up for a branding initiative to help consumers better cut the cord.
The initiative is also being backed by Nuvyyo, the maker of the popular Tablo TV OTA DVR, as well as TV tuner and DVR maker Hauppauge and OTA antenna company Antennas Direct. Shenzhen Geniatech, maker of Android TV set-tops, and OTT app maker Plex GmbH are also involved.
FlexVU says its mission is to “clearly delineate best-in-class cord cutting products and solutions.” The initiative will include a consumer-facing website with educational videos on cord cutting. And participating products will include branding intended to act as a kind of certification to let consumers know “they’re not leaving things like picture resolution on the table,” a spokesperson for the campaign said.
The website includes features like “Channel Finder,” which lets users know how to obtain streaming access to each of their local broadcast stations without a pay TV subscription by punching in their zip code.
An initiative spokesperson said more companies will be announced as the branding initiative continues to evolve.
“Consumers have been cutting the cord from their cable and satellite providers with increasing frequency over the past several years and that phenomenon is likely to accelerate,” said Mark Vena, senior analyst for Moor Insights & Strategy, speaking for the branding initiative in its press release. “Initiatives like FlexVU will play a significant role in educating consumers on how to optimize their video entertainment experience by helping them to identify the most important technology ingredients and the best performing cord cutting solutions on the market.”
