At its 47th meeting, the EBU¹s Technical Committee agreed a set of measures for Hybrid Broadcast Broadband (HBB) services and devices. The Technical Committee recognised the exciting opportunity these technologies bring to viewers and the broadcasting world, and the significant work that has already been done in this domain. 

Various platforms   The Technical Committee acknowledged that there are likely to be various HBB platforms in the foreseeable future. However, the Technical Committee believes that the public interest will be served by harmonization where practical, in order to provide viewers with the highest quality experience, simple to use, at the lowest cost. Furthermore, having multiple HBB platforms in the same market, each with their own requirements, will increase costs for broadcasters.

HBB demo application (IBC 2009)

Harmonization

Consequently there is a need to harmonise the heterogeneity of solutions, and the work to be done should not be restricted to platforms alone. The Technical Committee asked EBU TECHNICAL to continue its work to harmonise HBB by working with EBU Members and the various initiatives, taking into account current Interactive TV systems where they are used.

Streaming

The EBU should seek to foster a common, open, flexible and extensible approach to match the requirements of specific environments. In addition, the EBU¹s Technical Committee will begin work on other essential elements, such as the streaming of 'long-form' content over the open Internet. This will add to current work on platforms, signalling, and other HBB related questions.

For more infomation on this topic, contact: Peter MacAvock (EBU).