LG Expands 'Second Screen' TV Ecosystem With Open-Source SDK - Printer Friendly version without Comments

Appeared on: Friday, April 18, 2014
LG Expands 'Second Screen' TV Ecosystem With Open-Source SDK

LG Electronics has released the 'Connect SDK,' an open source software development kit available to Google Android and iOS developers and allows them to extend their mobile apps across big TV screens.

By unifying device discovery and connectivity across multiple television platforms, Connect SDK addresses the complexity associated with implementing second screen capabilities while reaching a large installed base of smart TVs and connected devices. For consumers, this means that LG's new Smart TVs, powered by the webOS platform, as well as other TV devices, will be able to connect and interact with more mobile apps.

Using Connect SDK, application developers can connect their mobile applications with 2014 LG webOS Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs from 2012 and 2013, Roku, Google Chromecast, and Amazon Fire TV devices.

Mobile applications with photos, videos, and audio can beam media to four TV platforms. Applications with YouTube videos can beam them to all LG Smart TVs dating back to 2012, Roku 3, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, and most DIAL-enabled devices.

Using the SDK, developers will be able to build TV-optimized web applications and media viewers and use them across LG webOS Smart TVs and Google Chromecast.

Samuel Chang, LG Electronics USA vice president and head of the LG Silicon Valley Lab, sees seamless multi-device connectivity as a big opportunity for app developers and consumers alike. "Connect SDK is breaking down barriers to enable apps and devices to work together harmoniously. The screen size, capabilities and social nature of Smart TVs enable experiences that consumers will absolutely love."

"We've already invested in making the best personal media viewing experience on the big screen across multiple platforms," said Scott Olechowski, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Plex. "With Connect SDK, we were able to quickly extend that Plex experience to LG Smart TVs and we are now exploring ways we can integrate unique webOS capabilities."

Connect SDK for iOS, Android and Cordova/PhoneGap plugins are available immediately at http://ConnectSDK.com under Apache License 2.0.