Author: angelo@hbbtv

Geneva, July 28, 2023 – The HbbTV Association has updated its Developer Portal with two new sections: The blog and FAQ provide additional insights to developers of HbbTV applications.

The first blog post focuses on practical experiences when using the MPEG-DASH streaming protocol and the ISO base media file format (ISOBMFF) with HbbTV terminals. The second post contains a practical guide on handling the broadcast a/v object.

The first FAQ items provide details on avoiding typical pitfalls when developing HbbTV applications, national certification schemes, PlayReady client security levels and dash.js as well as the Fast Media Switch API and the switchMediaPresentation method.

Both sections will be regularly updated with new entries.

Developers are welcome to contribute items or subjects to the Developer Portal, share their experiences and discuss technical matters, both on GitHub and in the forum. The links and contact details can be found here.

The Developer Portal, which the HbbTV Association launched in March 2022, targets software developers looking for an introductory guide on how to programme and run HbbTV applications. The free service complements the comprehensive resources and specification details on the HbbTV website, making it easier for broadcasters, platform operators and app development partners to create compelling HbbTV applications, ensuring a great TV viewing experience.

Besides basic guidelines, the portal also contains technical information for advanced users. Tutorials explain functions such as setting up an on-screen message, handling the audio/video broadcast signal, interacting with the remote control or running an HbbTV application on a hybrid terminal.

The Developer Portal also includes documentation of the API reference, a resource section with details on the HbbTV DASH/DRM reference application, the HbbTV Test Suite, the hbbtv-dvbstream project and other tools, and a section with the latest news on the HbbTV specifications.

The HbbTV Developer Portal was initiated by the HbbTV Association’s Marketing and Education Working Group (MEWG) and developed by App Stream, a software development company based in Zagreb, Croatia, in collaboration with experts from the HbbTV Association.

Geneva, April 24, 2023 – The HbbTV Association is pleased to announce the release of updated versions of the HbbTV Test Suite and the DASH DRM Reference Application.

The 2023-1 HbbTV Test Suite, developed by the HbbTV Testing Group, is the first major release for this year and includes 61 newly approved tests as well as bug fixes and improvements to another 113 previously approved test cases.

The HbbTV Test Suite now provides a total 2,987 tests of which 2,385 are approved. HbbTV aims to continuously improve the quality and coverage of the Test Suite and is actively developing test cases for new features for inclusion in future releases.

In another testing-related move, the stable (production) version of the DASH-DRM Reference Application has been updated with new tests. DRM updates include streams using PlayReady Security Level 3000 and streams using the AES-CBCS encryption scheme. DASH updates include a selection of tests for multi-Period DASH that simulate the contents of a stream after server-side ad-insertion has taken place.

The staging (development) version now features tests for persistent DRM licences and streams that can be decrypted using a choice of several DRM systems. 

“This new update reflects the continuous work of the HbbTV Association and its partners to facilitate the conformance of devices and applications with the HbbTV specifications. This enables a compelling TV experience for viewers while broadcasters and platform operators benefit from new features and improved monetisation opportunities, for example in targeted advertising,” said Vincent Grivet, Chair of the HbbTV Association.

The HbbTV Test Suite is an important tool for device manufacturers to verify compliance of their products with the most current HbbTV specifications and their features. The Test Suite is available through one of the registered HbbTV test centres and, as a convenience, to HbbTV members for use in their own facilities. More information on the v2023-1 Test Suite can be found here.

The HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application is a valuable interoperability tool for TV set manufacturers, broadcasters, and national testing regimes for testing TV sets and content regarding their support of different DASH video streams and DRM encryption decoding. The application implementation guidelines call for the code to be easily reusable for anyone to implement their own DASH video streaming application, and as the code is available under the MIT license, there’s no obstacle to achieve just that. More information on the HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application can be found here.

Geneva, March 14, 2023 – The HbbTV Association is pleased to announce the publication of version 2.0.4 of its core specification.

The three main highlights of the new version are the integration with voice assistants, with accessibility features, (e.g. dialogue enhancement or user interface magnification), and with the new DVB-I standard, enabling HbbTV ‘red button’ applications to be used with live/linear TV services received as a DVB-I stream via broadband networks. Their availability depends on the TV set or set-top box supporting the underlying feature.

There are also a number of smaller enhancements and fixes to errors found in previous versions of the HbbTV specification. A full list of the new features and changes can be found in the HbbTV 2.0.4 “explainer” in the resources library on the HbbTV website.

“This new version of the HbbTV core specification represents a huge amount of work by our members over the last 18 months. With this new milestone, the key global and European stakeholders of the TV world have evidenced their commitment to make sure HbbTV is always and fully up to the challenges of bringing a compelling TV experience to viewers,” said Vincent Grivet, Chairman of the HbbTV Association.

Jon Piesing, HbbTV Vice-Chairman and Chairman of the Specification Group which spearheaded the specification development process, added: “We are excited about the opportunities HbbTV 2.0.4 creates to improve the experiences for users of HbbTV applications and services. Integration with voice assistants is significant as voice input becomes more widely used in user interfaces of TV sets and other home devices. Accessibility features are an essential addition in the context of the European Accessibility Act. Integration with DVB-I is important as the distribution of live/linear programming via IP streams to TV sets becomes more widespread in the future.”

The HbbTV Association will shortly be issuing a Request for Proposals for the development of unit tests for the new features. While some of them may be reviewed and approved in time to be included in HbbTV’s July 2023 Conformance Test Suite release, most should be ready to be included in the February/March 2024 Test Suite release.

The HbbTV Association invites users of its specifications to provide feedback at any time. Please contact us by email at communications@hbbtv.org.

While such casual and direct input from specification users is welcomed by the HbbTV Association, market players using HbbTV are advised that the best way to influence and contribute to the HbbTV specification is by becoming a member and participating in the working group activities such as the Requirements Group which captures future requirements and the Specification Group where the specifications are generated based on those requirements. Information on membership and a list of all members can be found here.

Note: Improving accessibility through HbbTV-based solutions was the focus of a webinar hosted by the HbbTV Association in September 2021. The session features use case examples from several European markets, a look at the EBU guideline for accessibility services with HbbTV and future improvements. A recording of the 60-minute webinar and the presentations held by the speakers are available here.

Geneva, September 28, 2022

Dear developers in the HbbTV community,

The HbbTV Marketing & Education Working Group (MEWG) is seeking feedback on the current state of the development of HbbTV applications. We are keen to hear your opinions on the type of challenges your are facing as you build applications for the HbbTV ecosystem on a regular base.
 
We would ask you if you or someone from your development team could take some minutes aside and answer the survey below. Your feedback is highly appreciated and we will share the results in adequate form with interested HbbTV members.
 
To enter this survey please use the following link https://www.surveymonkey.de/r/JM5DQH3
 
The survey takes only 4 minutes to fill out. Please provide your input by October 11, 2022 (EoB).

Thank you for your participation.

Best regards,

Angelo Pettazzi
Chair HbbTV Marketing & Education Working Group

Geneva, August 25, 2022 – The HbbTV Association is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the HbbTV Conformance Test Suite.

The new version, developed by the HbbTV Testing Group, is called v2022-2; it is the second major release of the Test Suite in 2022. The release contains a total of 3,000 test cases, including a mixture of tests that have been approved for the first time, and tests that were updated after feedback from users of the Test Suite.

Prior to this release, the HbbTV Testing Group held a testing event at the beginning of July 2022 to gather the evidence required for the test approval. 12 companies participated in the event, representing manufacturers, test material providers, and reviewers.

“The constant adjustment to market requirements and addition of further features is key to the strong industry acceptance of the HbbTV specifications among broadcasters, platform operators and hardware manufacturers as the standard for improving the TV experience and enabling new monetisation opportunities such as Targeted Advertising,” said Vincent Grivet, Chair of the HbbTV Association. “The release of the new HbbTV Conformance Test Suite version ensures that existing and new features quickly and smoothly reach HbbTV-compliant TV sets and set-top boxes.”

The HbbTV Conformance Test Suite is an important tool for device manufacturers to verify compliance of their products with the most current HbbTV specifications and their features. The Test Suite is available through one of the registered HbbTV test centres and, as a convenience, to HbbTV members for use in their own facilities.

For more information on the v2022-2 Test Suite, please visit www.hbbtv.org.

Geneva, June 20, 2022 – The HbbTV Association is pleased to announce a significant addition to its DASH DRM Reference Application – multiperiod DASH (as may result from server-side Ad Insertion (SSAI)) and PlayReady SL3000 as is being required more and more by US content providers.

The HbbTV Association introduced the HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application in 2017, after recognising that DRM and DASH playback raised interoperability issues which were not covered fully in the HbbTV Test Suite. During its lifetime, the functionality of the application has been constantly improved under the guidance of the Improving Interoperability Task Force (IITF) of the HbbTV Association.

The HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application offers PlayReady, Marlin and ClearKey protected test content, Live DASH content created with LiveSim from DASH-IF, multi-track audio streams, important elements for low-latency DASH, two alternatives for support of subtitles, MPD events, and much more, all in different resolutions and frame rates, up to 4K.

Among the most recent additions are multiperiod DASH tests with both live and VOD content. The development was closely tied to the ongoing development of the open-source video player library developed by DASH-IF, dash.js. Multiperiod DASH content covers a variety of use-cases of Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) and offers alongside a simple example also more difficult scenarios complete with subtitles, multiple ad breaks, multi-track audio switching and timeline gaps in component streams.

Another important new addition is enhanced content security tests in the form of Microsoft PlayReady Security Level 3000. This content, along with multiperiod DASH content, is now freely available for device and end-user testing at https://refapp.hbbtv.org.

At the centre of the project since its beginning has been comprehensive testing. HbbTV Association’s supplier compiles a monthly anonymised testing report, which provides a detailed overview of the current status of the implementations in the field while avoiding identifying any particular manufacturer’s product.

The HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application is developed for the HbbTV Association by Sofia Digital, a Finland-based company specialising in video streaming and hybrid application development. New features being planned for the year 2022 include cbcs encryption mode for compatibility with Apple, key rotation examples and persistent DRM licenses.

The HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application is a valuable tool for TV set manufacturers, broadcasters, and national testing regimes for testing TV sets and content regarding their support of different DASH video streams and DRM encryption decoding. The application implementation guidelines call for the code to be easily reusable for anyone to implement their own DASH video streaming application, and as the code is available under the MIT license, there’s no obstacle to achieve just that.

FOKUS Media Web Symposium 2022
The latest additions to the HbbTV DASH DRM Reference Application will also be discussed at the 9^th FOKUS Media Web Symposium on June 21-22, 2022 in Berlin. The international conference organised by Fraunhofer FOKUS provides insights on new developments in internet-based media delivery.

HbbTV Webinar on new developments in DASH
The recent developments relating to DASH including PlayReady SL3000, multiperiod DASH and other features were also addressed in a webinar hosted by the HbbTV Association on June 13, 2022. The session, which featured speakers from Fraunhofer FOKUS, Sofia Digital and Digital UK, is available as replay. The presentations can be downloaded here.

Geneva, April 6, 2022 – The HbbTV Association is pleased to announce the release of a new version of the HbbTV Conformance Test Suite.

The new version is called v2022-1; it is the first major release of the Test Suite in 2022. The release contains 3,002 test cases in total, and includes an increase of 101 approved test cases since the v2021-3 release.

Many of the tests, which were approved for the first time, are to increase test coverage for the Low Latency streaming and Targeted Advertising features, in addition to improving the quality of tests across many areas of the core HbbTV specification.

“The release of the new HbbTV Compliance Test Suite version, offering enhanced and increased verification possibilities, perfectly illustrates the constant adjustment of the HbbTV specifications to market requirements,” said Vincent Grivet, Chair of the HbbTV Association. “The extended Test Suite ensures that existing and new features, enriching viewers’ TV experience, quickly and smoothly reach HbbTV-compliant TV sets and set-top boxes.”

The HbbTV Conformance Test Suite is an important tool for device manufacturers to verify compliance of their products with the most current HbbTV specifications and their new features. The Test Suite is available through one of the registered HbbTV test centres and, as a convenience, to HbbTV members for use in their own facilities.

For more information on the v2022-1 Test Suite, please visit www.hbbtv.org.

Geneva, March 18, 2022 – The HbbTV Association has launched the HbbTV Developer Portal.

The free service, available at https://developer.hbbtv.org, targets software developers looking for an introductory guide on how to programme and run HbbTV applications and also provides technical information for advanced users as well as a forum where developers can share their experience and discuss technical matters.

The HbbTV Developer Portal contains tutorials, for example on setting up an on-screen message, handling the audio/video broadcast signal and interacting with the remote control as well as documentation of the API reference, a resource section with details on the HbbTV DASH/DRM reference application, the HbbTV Test Suite and other tools, a developer forum to discuss questions, and the latest news on the HbbTV specifications.

“We are proud and excited about the launch of the HbbTV Developer Portal which has been one of our main projects in 2021, driven by strong interest from the developer community. We are convinced that this new service, which complements the comprehensive resources and specification details on the HbbTV website, will make it easier for new broadcasters, platform operators and their app development partners to create compelling HbbTV applications, ensuring a great TV viewing experience,” said Vincent Grivet, Chair of the HbbTV Association.

The HbbTV Developer Portal was initiated by the HbbTV Association’s Marketing and Education Working Group (MEWG) and developed by App Stream, a software development company based in Zagreb, Croatia, in collaboration with experts from the HbbTV Association.