DVB-I UI Competition
The winners of the DVB-I user interface competition were announced during an online event on 15 January 2026. The competition, launched in May 2025, challenged developers to design innovative clients and applications that leverage the DVB-I specification for content discovery and programme information. Background information about the competition remains available here.
The top prize of €10,000 was awarded to StreamHub, an Android app developed by Hyunmin Jeon. Second prize went to Zappin Media for its Android app Zappin, while third prize was awarded to the Catalonian public broadcaster 3Cat for an AI agent designed for DVB-I services.
The competition was judged by an international panel of experts. More information here.
Winning projects
StreamHub
Organization: Hyunmin Jeon (Individual)
Application type: Android mobile application
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP8xFTzcacI
GitHub Project: https://github.com/hyundoll/streamhub
The StreamHub DVB-I app delivers a modern, DVB-I compliant Android interface designed for a smooth, intuitive, and metadata-driven viewing experience.
Its main goal is to demonstrate how DVB-I services can be dynamically discovered, organized, and enjoyed through a user-centric design optimized for both performance and accessibility.
The interface enables automatic Service List Discovery through the DVB-I Service List Registry (SLR), recommending the most relevant “Best Match” service list based on the user’s IP-detected country and region. Users can easily browse channels, view rich EPG metadata (genre, age rating, accessibility flags), and enjoy real-time live and catch-up streaming with minimal latency.
Beyond core playback, StreamHub DVB-I provides several advanced user features:
- A visually enhanced channel list with real-time thumbnails showing the currently airing program
- Quick scroll up/down feature allows fast access to channels located further down the list
- Picture-in-Picture (PiP) mode allows multitasking while continuing to watch the video in a floating mini window.
- Google Cast integration enables seamless casting to LG TVs, Samsung TVs, and any Chromecast-compatible device, with subtitle support enabled on the big screen.
- Watchlist management lets users save ongoing or on-demand (More Episodes) programs for later viewing.
- Restart playback allows viewers to start a currently airing program from the beginning, where supported by the broadcaster.
- A unified search engine instantly finds content by both program name and channel name, helping users quickly access what they want.
- Favorite Channels can be created and reordered using simple drag-and-drop gestures.
- Playlist channels are supported
- Offers fast and intuitive access by distinguishing between TV and radio services through DVB-I metadata-based filtering
- Visually, the app combines a minimalist dark theme with fluid transitions, responsive layouts, and accessibility-friendly typography.
Overall, it showcases how DVB-I metadata can be used to deliver a personalized, connected, and future-ready TV experience.
StreamHub won by a strong margin coming top in 3 of the 5 judging categories. The judges comments included:
- Delivers a premium, streaming-grade user experience, with a polished and responsive interface that would feel familiar to users of leading OTT services
- Easy and intuitive to use
- Taking much of the best of the current streamers and backing it into he TV channel experience
- Strong application of DVB-I metadata to improve live TV discovery
- The UI looked clean and simple but also modern and visual appealing
Zappin Media
Organization: Zappin Media (Independent Developer)
Application type: Android mobile application
Video: https://youtu.be/h8rLYC97Oq0?si=JMMRJgN_kPOxcBpk
Zappin is a cross-platform DVB-I mobile application that reimagines how viewers interact with live television. It demonstrates how the DVB-I standard can bridge traditional broadcast and modern digital media by combining intuitive service discovery, EPG browsing and playback with innovative extensions such as AI-assisted content search, live channel chat and an interactive Live Feed. In addition, Zappin supports companion-screen content sharing, allowing users to send a broadcast stream to a connected TV while using the mobile device for social and interactive features, creating a more engaging and personalized viewing experience.
The judges comments on Zappin Media included:
- The use of AI-driven content discovery and channel-based social interaction demonstrates a forward-looking application of DVB-I metadata
- app looks easy and intuitive to use
- lots of flexibility and integration that feels very ‘current’
- Strong companion-screen vision blending DVB-I live TV with social and AI
- I liked the clean simplicity of the UI
- The entry delivers a strong and contemporary user experience
AI Agent for DVB-I by 3Cat
Organization: CCMA S.A. – 3Cat (Public Broadcaster)
Application Type: Multiplatform
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBGltj2jfb4
An AI agent integrated into a DVB-I environment turns the television into a conversational device. Through a companion mobile app for voice or text interaction, viewers can search on-demand titles, switch between live services, restart a current programme, or explore the full catalogue of a broadcaster, simply by speaking.
The agent orchestrates state-of-the-art large language models and agent protocols such as MCP and AG-UI, while leveraging DVB-I’s standardized, structured endpoints containing enriched programme information metadata. By consuming and reasoning over DVB-I’s Service List, Schedule, Programme, More Episodes, and Group Information endpoints, the models gain a rich and reliable understanding of the complete content offering of each provider.
This project demonstrates how DVB-I’s metadata ecosystem can empower a new generation of AI-driven interfaces‚ where structured, machine-readable data meets generative intelligence to deliver intuitive, personalized, and interoperable television experiences.
3Cat’s entry came top in the innovation category.
The judges commented that:
- Highly innovative use of DVB-I metadata as a semantic backbone for conversational TV.
- can see how this could be used to change the user experience.
- A standout innovation that reframes TV interaction itself
- stands out for innovation and design quality
Other entrants
There were 7 other entrants to the DVB-I competition, including:
- EasyBroadcast : EZB DVB-I demo
- Hi-Global Technology : Integration Fransat UI
- InViis: DVB-I client
- Mikronisi Digital: DVB-I Demo
- Service List Registry: DVB-I Demonstration Application
- Sofia Digital: DVB-I Client
- Strategy & Technology Ltd: Synapse TV DVB-I Player
