Twenty-five years after its first technologies were published, the DVB’s latest standard is emerging as one of enough significance to sit alongside DVB-S and DVB-T2.
DVB-I received formal approval in November 2019 and designed to be an internet-centric solution for linear TV services. Subsequently, the DVB has published a reference client, in collaboration with Sofia Digital, paving the way for future HbbTV and Android deployments.
The DVB-I specification defines DVB-I Service Lists, a means for internet-connected devices to find curated sets of linear TV services that may be delivered through broadband or broadcast mechanisms. It also defines the methods to retrieve electronic programme data for those services, which can be integrated into a single coherent offering that is accessed through a consistent user interface.
And not just for TV. Through DVB-I linear TV services to be delivered to any device with a suitable internet connection and media player, including smartphones, tablets, media streaming devices and TV sets.
At Future Vision: DTG Summit 2020, Stuart Savage, European Director of R&D at LG Electronics, pointed to Italy, which is considering adopting DVB-I as the means to clear channels from the DTT platform, and using the freed capacity for broadcasting UHD on terrestrial. Savage would like to see the UK adopt a similar tact. “We should be providing better quality consumers over our DTT platform and investing in it, at the moment we don’t seem to be doing that,” Savage told his online audience.
Emily Dubs, Head of Technology, DVB Project Office, said the DVB was about unification of the whole value chain. Using the unique position the DVB has established for itself in Europe, Africa and most of Asia, the organisation believes it’s able to bring unification is expected for the whole value chain. This would take advantage of collaboration with players such as Google, itself working on a streaming hub that would combine all the popular streaming services, and give opportunities to deliver OTT over satellite.
Alongside this is DVB-DASH an optimised streaming format that also enables low latency.
