Top 10 Questions and Answers about Ubuntu TV

1. Ubuntu TV: What is it All About?

Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, revealed Ubuntu TV, an operating system for smart TVs. Ubuntu TV integrates broadcast, time shift, online box office, personal cloud, apps and disk media experiences under the Unity user interface that was adopted in the latest versions of Ubuntu.

2. How does it work?

Canonical promoted Ubuntu TV as having "no wires, no boxes, no remote". Controls will be touch and gesture based, with the possibility to use a smartphone as a remote as well.

3. What are the main features of Ubuntu TV?

• Movie, TV and music store.
• YouTube app (for now) with several other services or apps that can be integrated from third parties.
• Second screen experience; for example you can display directors information from a movie while watching it or see reaction on Twitter during live shows.
• Improved search; Ubuntu TV will recommend shows based on your preferences and prioritize shows that you like to watch in search results.
• Personalized playlists for each viewer, in additional to individual suggestions for shows that are aired that day or shows to be recorded days ahead.
• Integration with other devices, for example, a viewer can watch part of a movie on their phone, then watch the rest on the TV.
• Sharing on multiple devices via cloud. Using Ubuntu One, media files can be shared between PC, TV and portable devices.
• Integrated electronic programme guides.

4. From where can I get Ubuntu TV?

For now it is just a working prototype, nothing you can get currently out of the box, but Canonical confirmed Ubuntu powered TVs will be available in the market by the end of the year.

5. What are the manufacturers that will ship Ubuntu TV?

Canonical did not provide a list of manufacturers that will ship Ubuntu TV on their devices, however it is negotiating with several manufacturers and no completed deals have been revealed. Canonical is initially targeting the US and China.

6. How much does Ubuntu TV cost?

As Linux, Ubuntu TV’s operating system can be downloaded free of charge. Canonical will provide commercial support for Ubuntu TV and Companies willing to distribute an Ubuntu-branded commercial device pay a per unit service fee covering the engineering, maintenance, quality assurance, third-party licensing fees and Canonical consulting costs.

7. What are the competitors of Ubuntu TV?

Google TV, Microsoft’s new Xbox Live TV and Apple TV are big competitors to Ubuntu TV. Lenovo announced its Android based TV on the same day Ubuntu TV was revealed.

8. Is Ubuntu TV open source?

Yes, built on Linux and other open source programs, Ubuntu TV components are licensed under the GPLv3 or LGPLv3.

9. I am a developer, how can I contribute to Ubuntu TV?

You can get involved with the ongoing development of Ubuntu TV, code contributions follow the guidelines of Unity project.

To get started, download the code from the project's launchpad and follow the installation step found here. Know more about contributing to the project here http://www.ubuntu.com/tv/contributors.

10. What about other open source alternatives?

There are other popular open-source TV projects, including Myth TV and XBMC. Canonical explained it will collaborate with both communities to enhance the quality of back-end code that is shared between projects. Although Canonical will adopt exclusively Unity for the Ubuntu TV, any improvements or changes that might be useful for other projects will be shared.