ANGA: IRT simplifies conformance testing for HbbTV receivers

The IRT (Institut für Rundfunktechnik) will use ANGA Cable 2012 to highlight its HbbTV Test Harness, which enables and simplifies HbbTV conformance testing of set-top boxes and integrated digital televisions (iDTV). Receiver manufacturers and network operators can easily integrate the testing environment into their custom hardware testing procedure in order to validate all the use cases of the Test Suite. The IRT says the process is efficient and reliable.

HbbTV is the Hybrid Broadcast Broadband standard that enables broadcasters to launch next-generation interactive TV services and, more importantly, online VOD services that can be watched via televisions. Germany is probably the most important market for HbbTV today, with major broadcasters and even some network operators supporting the standard. German cable operator Primacom will introduce an HD DVR this summer that supports HbbTV services, providing access to popular online content services including Maxdome, ARD , ZDF and YouTube.

With HbbTV Test Harness, the test results are automatically generated for the test reports. They are captured as screen shots by a digital video camera controlled by the HbbTV Test Harness. The HbbTV Test Harness enables receiver manufacturers and network operators to test TV devices against the standard functionalities of the so-called Test Suite of the HbbTV consortium. There are tests to ensure the proper functionality of the ‘Red Button’, for opening HTML pages and ensuring the flawless navigation of HbbTV applications by users, for example.

The IRT will also be highlighting its Broadcast Server, the stand-alone PC-based playout system for DVB, HbbTV and IPTV at ANGA. This provides precast applications with all necessary control signals to create a playout in DVB. HbbTV applications can be linked and synchronised with TV content via stream events. The integrated DSM-CC carrousel generator allows the insertion of HbbTV applications
randomly into the DVB multiplex.