July 13, 2018

HbbTV Association announces release of its free-to-use DASH DRM Reference Application 

Geneva, July 13, 2018 – The HbbTV Association, a global initiative dedicated to providing an open standard for the delivery of broadcast and broadband services through connected TVs and set-top boxes, is proud to announce the release of its DASH DRM Reference Application. Although the HbbTV specifications are agnostic with respect to DRM systems, the ability of content providers to deliver DRM protected content to consumers via MPEG-DASH using an HbbTV application is key to enabling the monetisation of HbbTV content and services. The DASH DRM Reference Application provides a model that makes it easier to deploy services that require HbbTV together with DRM and DASH. The model has been successfully tested on TV sets representing a large proportion of the installed base in the market, on HbbTV 1.5 and 2.0.1 terminals, and with some limitations, on generic web browsers supporting W3C MSE and EME.

This application and sample content serve as a showcase of the HbbTV technology and as a useful resource to help members validate their tools, content and devices. The reference application is freely distributed under an open source MIT licence and includes documentation covering the creation of valid MPEG-DASH files from users’ own video content. Furthermore, the reference application facilitates code reusability for anybody implementing their own DASH video streaming application. The Request for Proposals was published in January 2017 and Sofia Digital was chosen as the supplier in May 2017.

The reference application is expected to be used by HbbTV Members as well as non-Members. The code and an address for a live instance is available at https://github.com/HbbTV-Association/ReferenceApplication.

More details about the DASH DRM Reference Application can be found on the www.hbbtv.org website.

About HbbTV Association
Hybrid broadcast broadband TV (or “HbbTV”) is a global initiative aimed at harmonizing the broadcast and broadband delivery of entertainment services to consumers through connected TVs, set-top boxes and multiscreen devices. The HbbTV specification is developed by industry leaders to improve the video user experience for consumers by enabling innovative, interactive services over networks. The specification uses elements of existing specifications from other standards including OIPF, CEA, DVB, MPEG-DASH and W3C. With the incorporation of activities from the Open IPTV Forum (OIPF) in 2014 and Smart TV Alliance in 2016, HbbTV is able to address service providers and technology suppliers for IPTV services as well as the combined scope of broadcast and over-the-top services.

This year, the 7th HbbTV Symposium and Awards will take place on November 14-15 in Berlin. The Symposium is in collaboration with Deutsche TV-Plattform and the overall theme is “Growing Value Through HbbTV”. The Call for Speakers includes the topics of the two-day conference. More information:  https://www.hbbtv.org/news-events/hbbtv-symposium-and-awards/ 

Contact HbbTV Association:
Heinrich E. Haase
Project Coordinator HbbTV Association
email: heinrich.haase@htbc.de
Tel: +49 160 96 25 37 92

Press Contacts:
Thomas Fuchs
Fuchs Media Consult GmbH
email: tfuchs@fuchsmc.com
Tel: +49 171 4483 168

Holger Crump
Fuchs Media Consult GmbH
email: hcrump@fuchsmc.com
Tel: +49 151 401 404 93