- Lightning 3.0 supports SmartTVs, Linux Set-top boxes, and browser-based devices, providing high performance apps on par with Android TV
- It delivers ultra-responsive user interfaces for remote actions, smooth animations, and seamless page transitions
- The MwareTV App Builder now automatically generates stunning user interfaces based on Lightning 3.0
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MwareTV, a leading cloud-based multi-tenant platform provider, has integrated Lightning 3.0 into its unique no-code App Builder. This ensures users of the MwareTV platform can quickly create and distribute high performance user interfaces across all the devices they need to support, without the need for specialist staff or coding experience. The Lightning integration will be demonstrated for the first time at Mobile World Congress (stand 5.G27, Barcelona Fira, 3 – 6 March 2025).
Lightning is an open-source app development framework, originally developed by Metrological, a Comcast company, specifically for the television industry. MwareTV has closely worked with the core Lightning development team to gain the latest insights, recommendations and strategies.
With Lightning 3.0, high-performance apps can be created for SmartTVs such as Samsung Tizen, LG WebOS, Vidaa, Titan OS, and WhaleTV, as well as games consoles including PlayStation and Xbox, and Linux Set-top boxes.
Lightning is based on Javascript and uses WebGL to create high performance video streaming apps, while eliminating a lot of the HTML, DOM and CSS which is typically needed in web app development. This makes it much easier to port the same experience across multiple operating systems and apply settings per device so that performance is optimized even when the processor power is limited.
“What Lightning 3.0 gives us is excellent performance across all SmartTVs, games consoles, Linux Set-top boxes and other browser-based devices,” said Sander Kerstens, CEO of MwareTV. “Integrated into our own App Builder software, it means that users can create rich user experiences – including animations and page turns, and control of remote actions – purely through drag and drop without the need to write a single line of code, and confident that the Lightning framework will port the high performance look and feel to all devices.”
The MwareTV platform is a fully cloud-hosted SaaS offering, allowing users to set up new services quickly and without capital investment. Thanks to Lightning and App Builder, users can deliver a premium user experience on Android and AndroidTV, iOS, TVOS, FireTV, Roku, WebOS, Tizen, Vidaa, Titan OS, Whale TV, WebTV, KaiOS, PlayStation, Xbox and more.
The MwareTV modular software provides users with everything required for content management, scheduling, advertising planning, subscriptions and billing, marketing and other revenue streams. MwareTV can also provide fully curated, multi-channel content resources on a single contract, again eliminating the fear of the unknown for telcos and others with no experience in negotiating media deals.
“Streaming is a potentially valuable revenue stream for telcos and other service operators, but it is also a competitive market,” Kerstens said. “Operators need to get to market quickly, with an offering that is appealing to today’s consumers and very clearly branded, and which operates with the minimum of technical backup. App Builder plays a key role in creating brand identity and user engagement, and by including Lightning we eliminate unexpected issues across devices at roll-out.
“The inherent simplicity and flexibility of App Builder and Lightning means that services can be added and enhanced easily without risk,” he added. “Together with core functionality in the backend, operators can grow their services, boost retention and actively engage with subscribers, simply and accurately.”
Visitors to MWC 2025 in Barcelona can see a complete demonstration of the platform on stand 5.G27 and can leave with a fully worked demonstration system and business case.