ISSUE 05 // JULY 10
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What is HbbTV?
Matthew Huntington, vice president of product marketing for OpenTV, a founding member of the HbbTV consortium, explains...
Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) is a new initiative which aims to combine entertainment delivered via broadcast and broadband to consumers using connected TVs and set-top boxes. The founding members of the HbbTV consortium developed the HbbTV specification to create a global standard for such hybrid entertainment services.
Moving towards interactive television
People’s views, perception, and even definition, of interactive television have changed markedly over the last decade. Once simply a source of weather and other information services delivered mainly as text with a few pictures, it’s now evolved into personalised video services delivered over broadband – enabling users to catch up on missed programmes, watch the latest movie as well as still get an up-to-the-minute weather report.
What makes a TV service ‘interactive’ goes way beyond offering internet access on the TV set – the service needs to be driven by TV channels and programmes. Despite the growing range of options available today, the vast majority of video watched around the world (even in broadband connected homes) is still linear broadcast television. There are many reasons for this but mostly it’s down to this method still being the most efficient way to deliver video to the home. And it still draws large audiences.
What interactive television offers is the chance for viewers to move between a mass audience and personalised experience without having to leave the comfort of their living room.
Just as an example, in the UK the BBC recently announced that 11 million people pressed the red button to access their interactive services across digital terrestrial, satellite and cable television each week in 2009. This amply demonstrates our thirst for interactive television.
Why do we need standards?
For new services to be successfully rolled out we need standards. Service providers need them so they can make sure their services can run across a wide range of devices. Consumer electronics (CE) manufacturers need them to make sure a wide range of services will run on their devices. In our increasingly borderless world, the CE industry today also needs global standards so that a device can have the global reach necessary for real economies of scale.
There have been many previous attempts to create standards for interactive television. These have largely failed. Either the existing technology wasn’t advanced enough to support the standard or the business model wasn’t strong enough for the services the standard was created for, or both.
In the past, interactive television standards have had to rely on slow dial-up connections or expensive broadcast bandwidth to deliver applications and content. Services were also restricted to the resolution of interlaced standard definition television screens and palette-based graphics. Nowadays a new standard can be based on high definition television and the wide-scale availability of broadband internet connections.
Introducing HbbTV
HbbTV is a new interactive television standard created by a consortium of industry-leading companies. What’s unique about this consortium is that it’s made up of both television broadcasters and CE companies. These share a common aim to create a standard that supports the services that the broadcasters wish to offer while matching the capabilities of televisions that CE companies are manufacturing.
HbbTV doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It’s based on existing standards and web technologies including OIPF (Open IPTV Forum), CEA, DVB and W3C. The standard aims to provide the features and functionality required by broadcasters for interactive television services, and so limits the investment required by CE manufacturers to build compliant devices.
The core of the standard is HTML and JavaScript to support control of both broadcast TV and broadband on-demand TV. Adopting HTML means existing internet services and technologies can be re-used for TV services. It also minimises the investment required by CE manufacturers as they can re-use browser technology they’re already including in their network connected TVs. It’s predicted that one in five flat panel televisions shipped in Europe in 2010 will support network connectivity and an internet browser.
How will the entertainment experience work?
HbbTV enables service providers to enhance the standard linear TV experience through personalisation. But it’s not trying to be a standard for a full range of service provider services (such as OIPF and Tru2Way). HbbTV-enabled products and services will give the consumer a seamless entertainment experience with the combined richness of broadcast and broadband. For this ‘enhanced’ entertainment experience you only need one remote control, on one screen – meaning the consumer can use TV like we do now.
By adopting HbbTV, consumers will be able to access new services from entertainment providers such as broadcasters, online providers and CE manufacturers. This will include catch-up TV, video on demand (VoD), interactive advertising, personalisation, voting, games and social networking - as well as programme-related services such as digital text and electronic programme guides (EPGs).
Even when watching a broadcast channel, viewers will have access to the full range of HbbTV services offered by the broadcaster simply by pressing a button on their remote control. The same service can also be made available through a portal provided by the CE manufacturer. These services could be owned by the broadcaster, the channel or even the programme the viewer is watching. Content within the services may be synchronised with events within the programme while services can be displayed as an overlay on the television channel, contained in a scaled window or cover the whole screen.
Broadcasters can promote the existence of HbbTV service through a ‘call to action’ pop-up that appears on the television screen, telling the viewers about the existence of the services and how to access them.
What does it look like?
This diagram shows a typical HbbTV solution. Applications are broadcast with standard linear TV (A/V content) by broadcasters to network connected televisions (hybrid terminals). The televisions can access additional applications and data and non-linear video content from the internet via an IP connection (back channel).
It’s here and now, and the future…
HbbTV services and products have already been demonstrated and launched at key trade shows in 2009. In Germany, services provided by public service broadcasters ARD and ZDF are already live.
Services will be launched in France in 2010 with other countries expected to follow in 2011. By this time most network connected televisions shipped in Europe will support HbbTV. It’s here and now, and the future of interactive television.
TECHNICAL DETAILS ›
For more information
Next Generation User Interface
Roundtable with Matthew Huntington // 07 May 2010
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