Euro Broadcasters On Board Broadband TV Consortium

CAMBRIDGE: Canal+, France Télévisions and TF1 are part of a pan-European cross-industry consortium that has launched a new technical standard for connected TVs and set-top boxes delivering both broadcast and broadband content.

Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) is a pan-European standard for the delivery of content through TVs and set-top boxes with an optional web connection. In addition to the French broadcasters mentioned, the consortium includes the German research institute Institut für Rundfunktechnik, the satellite operator SES ASTRA and the software and media solutions providers ANT and OpenTV. HbbTV is based on elements of existing standards and web technologies including OIPF (Open IPTV Forum), CEA, DVB and W3C. Products and services based on the standard promise a "seamless entertainment experience" experience for consumers, with broadcast and broadband content delivered with one remote control to on one screen, including catch-up TV, VOD, interactive advertising, personalization, voting, games, social networking, digital text and EPGs. HbbTV products and services will be developed for all broadcasting technologies including satellite, cable and terrestrial networks.

“HbbTV will build on the success of the existing SD teletext service which is used by more than 14 million consumers each day in Germany by providing a high quality video text service more suited to HD receivers," said Dr. Klaus Illgner-Fehns, the managing director of Institut für Rundfunktechnik. "It will deliver an open platform for broadcasters, manufacturers and service providers to deliver value added on-demand services to consumers of digital content. HbbTV not only allows service providers to enrich their offering, but results in considerable benefits to the end consumer who will no longer be challenged by usability issues across multiple platforms. By making the most of today’s hybrid receivers, HbbTV merges broadcasting and broadband services seamlessly to deliver value added content such as web and on demand in addition to traditional linear broadcast TV.”

The HbbTV product suite will include connected TVs and set-top boxes showcasing applications from public broadcasters such as ARD and ZDF.