Advanced Television

abertis telecom readies HbbTV launch

August 14, 2013

Spanish telecoms infrastructure specialist abertis telecom is preparing for the mass launch of its Hybrid DTT service in the second half of 2013. This is the certified connected TV service based on the HbbTV standard (Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV), which allows viewers to enjoy the interactive content offered by television channels through the Internet while still tuned in to the DTT channel.

The HbbTV technological solution allows, through a link transmitted together with the rest of the DTT content, to access a network specifically designed to be consumed together with DTT on television. With this technology, spectators would enjoy access to a wide array of services ranging from on-demand TV to participation in surveys or contests and additional independent information, or information that is totally linked to the broadcast.

During the I Hybrid DTT Interoperability Conference, held in Madrid on 23 and 24 of July, abertis’s telecommunications infrastructure subsidiary worked jointly with radio broadcasters and television receiver manufacturers to test the improvement in the compatibility and interoperability between the already existing applications for connected TV and the television receivers equipped to receive HbbTV content.

According to abertis telecom, the different tests carried out demonstrated that the latest advances in the technology for the Hybrid DTT standard guarantee the quality of service offered and its correct functioning, which opens up the possibility of carrying out a massive launch of the product in Spain in the coming months, during the second half of 2013.

All the DTT channels that are issuing Hybrid DTT applications participated in the conference, along with the main manufacturers of televisions that currently have receivers which are compatible with these services.

The event took place in the interoperability laboratory of abertis telecom, which is equipped with equipment testing and signal generating systems. This allowed different television manufacturers to test the correct functioning of their current models, as well as upcoming developments, with Spanish broadcasters’ applications, all in the same laboratory.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, DTT/DSO, HbbTV, OTT