HbbTV

HbbTV incorporates MP4, MPEG-2 transport streams, and MPEG-DASH for HTTP adaptive streaming.

The MPEG-DASH HbbTV profile is based on the MPEG-DASH ISO base media file format live profile with additional constraints for MPD files and segment formats. The MPEG-DASH HbbTV online delivery content preparation process is identical to MPEG-DASH, but it adheres to the additional restrictions of this profile.

The HbbTV specification (ETSI TS 102 796) specifies several use cases, client application models, and content playback behavior.

Typically, an HbbTV-compliant TV product first receives an MPEG-2 transport stream via a broadcast signal that contains a reference to a CE-HTML (or HTML5) page, which is the entry point to an HbbTV application. The CE-HTML (or HTML5) page, or the application, is a collection of files (CE-HTML, XML, and JavaScript) residing on an HTTP server. The application contains the URLs that refer to one or more DASH HbbTV MPD (.mpd), MP4 (.mp4), or MPEG-2 (.ts) files. Next, upon user request, the TV downloads and runs the application to either request the files automatically, or to allow the user to choose a program (one of the .mpd, .mp4, or .ts files) to play. Once the DASH HbbTV stream is selected, the server/client process of requesting and playing content is identical to any other non-HbbTV DASH streaming.