Bristol - August 20, 2009

The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and Ocean Blue Software's "talking TV" technology has been shortlisted as one of the Top 10 most innovative in design by the IABM judging panel.

The RNIB and Ocean Blue Software are delighted to announce the nomination for their ground-breaking digital TV Text-to-Speech technology developed with partners STMicroelectronics and TW Electronics.

The IABM received over 70 submissions for the Design Award this year and selected the "talking" TV technology as one of the Top 10 most innovative in design.

"We are absolutely thrilled to have been shortlisted for the prestigious award," commented Ocean Blue Software CEO Ken Helps. "Ocean Blue constantly strives to develop innovative solutions for the digital TV industry, so we are very pleased with the nomination and look forward to the awards ceremony at IBC."

Being short-listed for such an award is a brilliant step forward for a more inclusive society as Steve Tyler, the RNIB's Head of Innovation and Disability Access Services comments: "This innovative talking chip set development could mean that millions of people with print impairments could still be able to enjoy watching TV, surfing channels and getting programme information on demand. Talking technology breaks down barriers for millions of people who have problems reading text because of sight loss, colour deficiency, learning impairments or language issues."

The IABM Design Awards judging panel will announce the five award-winning finalists on August 31st. The overall winner will be announced on Saturday 12th September at an IABM Awards Reception during IBC in Amsterdam.

About Ocean Blue Software

Ocean Blue Software is based in Bristol and Hong Kong and specialises in the development, distribution and support of world-class software solutions, which are incorporated into Digital TV consumer electronics products, present in the Digital Home.

Ocean Blue's software products stand out in terms of maturity, usability, operability and adherence to international digital broadcast standards, notably DVB and DTG. Ocean Blue is active in both DTG and DVB groups, assisting in the development of industry software standards. Ocean Blue's new software developments include support for High Definition TV broadcasts, Advanced Text-To-Speech Technology, CI Plus and Connected-TV solutions.