Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem’s UltraViolet launched in October 2011 and at the 2013 International CES, attendees can expect to hear news and updates from consortium members about the rollout, support and its Common File Format. A booth located in the Grand Lobby of the Las Vegas Convention Center will offer live demonstrations and an opportunity for CES attendees to register for UltraViolet accounts.

Roughly nine million households in the U.S., UK and Canada now have UltraViolet accounts, according to DECE. It expects to launch UltraViolet in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland in the coming months, with France and Germany anticipated later in the year.

The consortium — with roughly 85 member companies — estimates that there are approximately 8,500 UltraViolet titles currently available from nine content providers. They are BBC, DreamWorks Animation, Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Starz Anchor Bay, Universal and Warner Bros.

It also has retail support from Barnes & Noble (NOOK Video), Best Buy (CinemaNow), Flixster, M-GO, ParamountMovies.com, SonyPicturesStore.com, UniversalHiDef.com and Walmart (VUDU).

On the agenda, the Common File Format (CFF) is currently in B-to-B trials; plans call for end users to start testing in the coming months.

High frame rates, 4K and 3D are all on the UltraViolet development agenda with an eye toward continuing to improve the viewer experience, according to DECE GM Mark Teitell. Pointing out that making it practical to download or stream 4K files is a challenge, DECE president and SPE’s chief digital strategy officer Mitch Singer believes that optical media will have an important role in 4K’s introduction.