TARA Systems > Products & Services > HbbTV Receiver - Solution for HbbTV application life-cycle management and reception of DSM-CC object carousels.

HbbTV Receiver

HbbTV Logo TARA Systems presents the first browser-agnostic and middleware-independent HbbTV receiver solution available in the market: as extension for the Inaris DVB Middleware or as flexible stand-alone component for integration with other DVB software solutions.

New Youtube Video: Previous alpha version of HbbTV Receiver on actual embedded HD Set-Top Box (November 2010). In March 2011, the HbbTV Receiver solution has been released!

The open-standards, browser-agnostic solution

HbbTV (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV) is a pan-European initiative to deliver next-generation interactive content, applications, services and portals to TV viewers seamlessly via DVB and Internet. HbbTV content can be either broadcasted via DVB using DSM-CC object carousel or delivered via IP connection. Since 2011, TARA Systems has been a member of the HbbTV consortium (hbbtv.org) and participates in standardisation and certification.

Since 2010, TARA has developed its own HbbTV Receiver solution for HbbTV "basic profile" and "PVR profile", which has been released in March 2011. It enhances existing DVB software solutions with full support for HbbTV applications, services and portals. The HbbTV Receiver is available as extension for TARA's own Inaris DVB Core or as stand-alone component for third-party or customer-specific DVB middleware solutions.

TARA Systems' browser-agnostic receiver solution is designed to work with CE-HTML compatible web browsers, e.g. Opera or WebKit with CE-HTML extensions. As reference implementation and starting point for customers, a framework with support for a CE-HTML compatible WebKit version is available. Thus the solution is tailor-made for manufacturers, which plan to add HbbTV functionality to their products in a cost-effective way.

Markets & Use Cases

The HbbTV Receiver is well suited:

for STB and TV products with or without internet connection ranging from premium to entry model products.
for manufacturers, who want to add a cost-effective HbbTV solution to their product.
as add-on for customers, already using the Inaris DVB Core in their products.
as flexible HbbTV extension for customer-specific or third-party DVB software solutions.

Features & Standards

Support for basic profile and PVR profile of the HbbTV standard (ETSI TS 102 796 V1.1.1)
Extendible to Download profile and RTSP streaming profile.
Generic, browser-agnostic interface to a CE-HTML web browser (e.g. Opera, WebKit with CE-HTML extension).
Reception and handling of HbbTV content via DSM-CC object carousel or Internet.
Application signaling and lifecycle management for HbbTV applications.
HbbTV application access to the underlying DVB middleware stack (depending on stack capabilities).
Stream Events: Fully integrated support of stream events, used e.g. for programme-associated HbbTV triggering.

Modular Architecture

The HbbTV Receiver consists of four components: the HbbTV Adaptation Layer, the Application Manager, the DSM-CC Object Carousel Receiver (also available as stand-alone component) and an HbbTV extension plug-in for the web browser (see schematics below).

HbbTV Receiver Schematics (click to enlarge): The solution can be used with any CE-HTML web browser and enables the integration of various DVB middleware stacks. A reference implementation of the HbbTV Application Layer is available with support for a CE-HTML compatible WebKit version (not part of the framework) and based on TARA's Inaris DVB Middleware.

In DVB broadcasts, HbbTV applications are signaled within the Application Information Table (AIT) in the service information. The Application Manager handles the AIT, creates a list of available HbbTV applications and manages their lifecycle. The data files related to a particular HbbTV application, e.g. HTML files or images, can be transmitted via DVB or IP. In case of DVB transmission, the Application Manager notifies the Object Carousel Receiver to retrieve all necessary files. The DSM-CC Object Carousel Receiver is also available as stand-alone component for HbbTV, MHP and other interactive TV scenarios.

HbbTV applications can be marked for autostart, which typically displays the "red button" on the screen, or can be started by the viewer directly, e.g. via the Teletext button. The HbbTV application is then executed and presented by a CE-HTML compatible browser. To achieve compatibility with HbbTV requirements, the browser is enhanced with an HbbTV Extension plug-in.

If an HbbTV application requests information or actions of the underlaying DVB middleware, the browser can access the middleware via the HbbTV Adaptation Layer. For example, an application for an electronic programme guide (EPG) can directly retrieve programme information from the middleware. In its reference implementation, TARA uses its own Inaris DVB Middleware underneath the HbbTV Adaptation Layer. The adaptation layer represents an abstraction to the DVB middleware, so that customers are enabled to integrated the HbbTV Receiver also with own or third-party DVB stacks.

All four components of the HbbTV Receiver are completely own implementations of TARA. They are optimized for embedded systems and verified with automatic system and unit tests.

DiVi Test Tools

TARA has enhanced their DiVi Test Tools for HbbTV support, e.g. to enable analyzing and generation of DVB transport streams with HbbTV specific SI data. This provides manufacturers with the ability to test their HbbTV Receiver integration and implementation e.g. in system and unit tests, in laboratories and factories. Please see the DiVi Software Tools page for further details.

Roadmap

TARA is part of a new EU-funded initiative for future improvements of HbbTV, together with broadcasters, universities and manufacturers. The initiative researches and develops new solutions for e.g. multi-user scenarios, user identification and personalization, as well as content distribution amongst various different device types.