Hisense has been given a reason to gloat over its rivals in the TV industry after its Vidaa OS software was named the fastest TV operating system in the business, beating out rivals including Google TV, Roku, Fire TV, LG Electronics’ webOS and Samsung’s Tizen.
In a press release, Hisense said the award comes from WEKA Media Publishing, the Germany-based technology testing and certification organisation, which put Vidaa through its paces in a number of benchmark tests.
Those tests measured the operating systems’ speed and response times at tasks such as launching applications, navigating streaming channels, searching for content with voice and switching between different media sources. All told, the operating systems were tested for their speed in 11 different categories, and Vidaa came out in first place in an impressive seven of them. Its total performance rating of 89% was the best of all.
Vidaa is Hisense’s homegrown operating system and while it’s perhaps not so well known as Tizen, webOS and Google TV/Android TV, it’s every bit as capable, featuring apps for all of the major streaming platform providers and many local services, including the U.K.’s Freely. It also has dedicated apps for live sports services including NBA League Pass and DAZN, which provides access to live football and NFL games.
Vidaa is also a great platform for cloud gaming, with the official Xbox app pairing perfectly with many of Hisense’s premium TVs, such as the Hisense UR9s RGB-miniLED TV, which boasts refresh rates of 180Hz, the company said. The speed of Vidaa is essential for smooth graphics and responsive game controls, which can sometimes be slightly problematic when streaming video games from the cloud.
There are many other reasons to love Vidaa OS. For instance, Vidaa was one of the first TV platforms to add support for the new Dolby Vision 2 HDR format, and it has its very own art store for gallery TVs like the Canvas. Vidaa is also extremely flexible for managing smart home installations, and it’s also one of the best supported TV operating systems around, with Hisense promising updates for eight years after purchase.
Hisense’s head of strategy and go-to-market operations Robert Andrews said Vidaa is a key reason for the company’s success in the TV business. “It’s an endorsement of the work the Vidaa team has done to ensure Hisense TVs deliver a seamless entertainment experience, putting the content and features consumers love right at their fingertips,” he said. “We’ll continue to build on this momentum.”
