The HbbTV Association, a global initiative dedicated to providing open standards for the delivery of advanced interactive TV services through broadcast and broadband networks for connected TV sets and set-top boxes, 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.
About the HbbTV Association
Hybrid broadcast broadband TV (or “HbbTV”) is a global initiative founded in 2010 developing a specification enabling the delivery of advanced and interactive TV and entertainment services to consumers through a combined use of both broadcast and broadband networks. The HbbTV specification is developed by industry leaders to improve the video experience of consumers on connected TV sets, set-top boxes and multiscreen devices. The HbbTV specification uses elements of existing specifications from other standards including OIPF, CEA, DVB, MPEG-DASH and W3C. With the incorporation of activities from the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) in 2014 and Smart TV Alliance in 2016, HbbTV is able to address service providers and technology suppliers for IPTV services as well as the combined scope of broadcast and over-the-top (OTT) services.
HbbTV is organised as a non-profit association registered in Switzerland and has around 80 members which include all global TV manufacturers, the large European broadcasters and TV platforms as well as a vast array of global technology and chipset vendors.
