HbbTV updates Test Suite and DASH DRM Reference Application

HbbTV updates Test Suite and DASH DRM Reference Application

GENEVA — 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.