10639_DVB_SCENE_01.qxd 2.4.2002 12:49 Page 1 Edition No. 01 April 2002 Tune in to Digital Convergence Tune MHP out of the box 01 The Standard for the Digital World This issue’s highlights > Commissioner Liikanen addresses MHP implementation > MHP Progress Report > MHP in the USA > MHP launches > Behind the wheel with MHP > DVB-T tests in South Korea 10639_DVB_SCENE_01.qxd 2.4.2002 12:49 Page 2 SUPPORT FOR MHP IMPLEMENTATION and Information Society. Commissioner for Enterprise Erkki Liikanen, European At a political level, the Commission has undertaken to support MHP implementation. MHP will be included in the official list of standards to be published shortly. Member States have to encourage implementation of listed standards. In 2003, the Commission will publish a review on how far interoperability and freedom of choice for EU citizens have been adequately achieved. DVB-SCENE : 01 Now industry must follow through by collaborating on MHP implementation across all Member States. This is essential in order to achieve critical mass. Manufacturers need the Single Market in order to achieve critical mass across the EU. The process has already started. Several national MHP is a tremendous opportunity to Society, one of the objectives of the MOUs are in place within Europe. facilitate the passage from today’s e-Europe Action Plan. I therefore I also support the initiative of the vertical markets, using proprietary support voluntary migration MHP Action Group to develop an technologies, towards horizontal towards MHP. industry MOU at European level. markets based on open standards. The European Union’s new legislative DVB members come from all over the This will benefit consumers and framework for communications was world now. I urge you all to support market players. Interoperability and agreed on December 12th 2001. MHP implementation in all possible standardisation will help Europe to Whether to mandate MHP or not – in ways across the world. Global take up achieve a socially inclusive Information support of interoperability – was a key of MHP can contribute to achieving issue. The new framework does not critical mass and making MHP the impose MHP; but the European natural choice for broadcasters and Parliament will follow MHP’s future platform operators everywhere. progress closely. I welcome the challenge of supporting MHP implementation and count on the DVB’s support. The views expressed in this newsletter Published by DVB Project Office, All rights reserved. No part of this publication are those of the individual DVB members c/o European Broadcasting Union, may be reproduced without the prior consent 17a Ancienne Route, of the publisher. All content correct at time of or guests and are not necessarily the CH-1218 Grand Saconnex, Switzerland. print. © DVB-SCENE 2002. DVB, the DVB views of the DVB Project Office or http://www.dvb.org logo, mhp and the mhp logo are trademarks of DVB. Certain other product names, brand Steering Board. News Editor - William Daly Features Editor - Harold Bergin names and company names may be trademarks or designations of their Editorial and Advertising enquiries to: respective owners. WHD, PO Box 3035, Westminster, London SW1P 3BH, UK. Designed by GyroGroup, Geneva, E-mail: [email protected] www.gyrogroup.com Tel: +44 (0)20 7799 3100 Printed by Jenson Press Limited. Fax: +44 (0)20 7976 0922 10639_DVB_SCENE_01.qxd 2.4.2002 12:49 Page 3 After MHP version 1.0.1, comments Jon Piesing, Vice-Chair DVB “Technical Aspects of the MHP” on the MHP specification continued and Senior Project Leader, Philips Electronics gives an update to arrive. Between April 2001 and February 2002, the DVB project continued its process of comment MHP review as part of a process leading to PROGRESS the second maintenance update of MHP 1.0. The final text of this update, known as version 1.0.2, includes REPORT solutions to around 500 comments. As with MHP version 1.0.1, one of the largest sources of comments was Since the completion of version 1.0 of were rejected for various reasons Unisoft working under contract to the the MHP specification (also known as including for being duplicates of MHP Test Consortium when they ETSI TS 101 812 V1.1.1) in January others. The single largest source of reviewed their earlier work with MHP 2000, a process has been in place comments was the exhaustive review version 1.0 and updated it to fit with within the DVB project to deal with of the MHP specification performed version 1.0.1. MHP 1.0.2 is for all comments on that document. by Unisoft under contract to the MHP practical purposes backward The main sources of these comments Test Consortium as one of the first compatible to version 1.0.1. have so far been implementers of steps towards developing MHP receivers and receiver conformance tests for MHP receivers. conformance tests. Some examples of Version 1.0.1 of the MHP specification the type of comment received include: was approved in the DVB project in DVB-SCENE : 02 spelling or grammar mistakes; March and April 2001. It was requests to improve the clarity of the published by ETSI some time Whilst there are changes which are specification; ambiguities in the later in 2001. not backwards compatible, these are specification, i.e. where several Version 1.1 of the MHP specification all found in small detailed areas of the implementation choices exist which was approved in the DVB project in specification which are sufficiently are incompatible from the point of June 2001. It includes the full text of impacted by issues and problems that view of an application or network; MHP version 1.0.1 as well as a reasonable applications cannot use conflicts between two parts of the number of extensions, both the affected areas. specification; and features in the mandatory and optional. Mandatory specification which cannot reasonably In conclusion, version 1.0 of the MHP extensions mostly relate to extra be implemented or cannot be specification continues to grow in mechanisms for downloading and made to work. maturity and quality. One very signalling of MHP applications, encouraging piece of evidence to Between January April 2000 and particularly for markets where there support this is that during 2001 and March 2001, a large number of is very little bandwidth available for early 2002, several new MHP 1.0 comments on the MHP specification MHP. Optional extensions include receiver software implementations were received and reviewed as part DVB-HTML and the MHP Internet have appeared from companies who of a process leading to the first access profile. At the moment, were not involved in writing the MHP maintenance update of MHP 1.0. MHP version 1.1 is taking very much specification. These are showing high The final text of this update, known as a “back seat” compared to MHP levels of inter-operability even before MHP version 1.0.1 (ETSI TS 101 812 version 1.0 and very few comments any MHP receiver conformance tests V1.1.2) includes solutions to 1500 have been received concerning the are approved. comments. Another 628 comments MHP 1.1 specification. ADDING VALUE TO ENTERTAINMENT CANAL+ TECHNOLOGIES goes CE delivers an open middleware tool for components for creating a DVB-MHP beyond the basics of the DVB-MHP developing added value interactive compliant solution. standard offering two Java-based DVB- television (iTV) applications specifically MHP MEDIAHIGHWAY middleware for the consumer electronics users. products, each tailored to a specific Both MEDIAHIGHWAY solutions feature audience. For television operators, the Studio+ authoring tool for easy MEDIAHIGHWAY provides a full DVB- creation of highly interactive, MHP end-to-end interactive platform customisable and scalable iTV with associated professional services, applications at minimal cost. As an including system integration and onsite end-to-end solution, MEDIAHIGHWAY validation. For consumer electronics includes all necessary head-end (CE) manufacturers, MEDIAHIGHWAY- 10639_DVB_SCENE_01.qxd 2.4.2002 12:49 Page 4 critical mass. DVB believes that MHP as a common API has great advantages for manufacturers, content developers and consumers alike. The move by CableLabs offers up an enormous market for content providers to author MHP compatible applications for DVB and OpenCable MHP boxes, bringing the write once, read anywhere aspect of DVB-MHP to the forefront of content provision.” IN THE That announcement was followed by a report in the industry newsletter Inside Digital TV that Canal+ Technologies USA had revealed that the MediaHighway technology it is selling to Echostar was to be MHP compliant. Recent announcements from DVB digital applications. Over 85 per cent Echostar is the largest DVB-S provider members Canal+ and CableLabs add of North America’s cable household in the US with six satellites in orbit to the growing success of MHP as an could potentially benefit from that give the company a footprint to open standard for interactive TV for MHP-based interactive services. cover all US households and over a DVB-SCENE : 03 both the cable and satellite sectors. 5 million customer base. Commenting on the agreement, Don The first of such announcements Dulchinos, Vice President of In the article Jean-Marc Racine, came separately in November by both CableLabs’ Advanced Platforms & Executive Vice President, Marketing the DVB and CableLabs, the Services, remarked: “We are pleased for the technology division of Canal+ technology consortium for cable to be working with DVB. The OCAP revealed to Barry Flynn of Inside systems operators in North and South America. Both press releases carried “MHP is becoming a worldwide standard” the news that cable operators in North America had agreed that MHP is to specification has been based on MHP Digital TV “MHP is becoming a become the core of the OpenCable from the start, but we now have an worldwide standard” and went on to Application Platform (OCAP).