The former chair of the DVB Project, Peter MacAvock, is joining the Service List Registry advisory board to support its mission simplify television and video viewing. SLR provides a global online platform that aims to make it easy for anyone to discover audiovisual media and access any service over any network, on any screen. The SLR Unified Service Platform implements the DVB-I specification developed by the DVB Project to support online service discovery.
Peter MacAvock was previously head of distribution for platforms and services at the European Broadcasting Union, based in Geneva. He was executive director of the DVB Project from 1994 and was chairman of the steering board for eight years until 2024.
During his time at the DVB, Peter oversaw the development of open standards that are widely used for the delivery of digital television services in Europe and around the world. More recently, he supported the industry-led development of the DVB-I specification for service discovery that is central to the Service List Registry.
“Media providers around the world face the challenge of ensuring that their programmes are available and accessible on any screen,” Peter explained. “Broadcast standards have determined how scheduled channels are transmitted and received, but until now there has been no standard way to announce and discover such services online. DVB-I and platforms like the Service List Registry offer a solution to this based on open standards.”
The SLR Unified Service Platform empowers media providers to manage their own sets of services and programmes, combining traditional channels with media on demand, and enables different devices, displays, and applications to discover them.
“Peter has been involved in the development of open standards in this field for many years and has extensive industry knowledge,” said Dr William Cooper, the founder and chief executive of the Service List Registry. “In joining our advisory board, Peter brings enormous credibility to our bold ambition to enable simple service selection on any screen.”
Peter MacAvock joins other advisors to SLR, including Matthew Huntington, who is secretary to the steering board of the DVB Project.
SLR is working with partners on pilot projects internationally and is engaged with consumer electronics manufacturers, media service providers, and regulatory authorities around the world.
Service Discovery and Programme Metadata for DVB-I is an open specification developed by the DVB Project as DVB BlueBook A177 and published as ETSI standard TS 103 770.