Interactivity Handling for TV 3.0 Applications (Brazil DTV+)
This page provides guidelines and technical details for implementing the MPEG-H interactivity options in TV 3.0 Applications, according to Brazil's next generation DTV+ broadcast system.
TV 3.0 Application Coding, standardized in ABNT NBR 25608, is a comprehensive software platform specification for interactive digital television in Brazil which has evolved from the middleware specification defined in ABNT NBR 15606. It provides a standardized environment for running interactive applications, enabling broadcasters to deliver enhanced content such as voting, quizzes, additional information, and multimedia experiences. In Brazil's TV 3.0, the Application Coding continues to play a central role by supporting advanced interactivity features, including the MPEG-H Audio personalisation and accessibility options.
To enable MPEG-H interactivity within a TV 3.0 Application using the mpeghdec and mpegh-ui-manager, it is necessary to bridge the communication between the MPEG-H UI Manager, which uses an XML-based message protocol, and the TV 3.0 web-based applications using JSON interchange format. This conversion is accomplished using the mpegh-ui-translator project provided by Fraunhofer IIS. The translator library converts MPEG-H UI XML messages to a standardized JSON format and vice versa, allowing seamless integration with TV 3.0 web applications and the TV 3.0 Ginga Common Core.
The ABNT NBR 25608 standard establishes in Annex C a common set of WebServices supported by implementations of the TV 3.0 Application-oriented Platform (TV 3.0 AoP) in digital television receivers. These services are specified as REST APIs so that application developers can use them in a uniform, well defined style.
As illustrated in the example system architecture diagram, the TV 3.0 WebServices specification provides a REST API to enable communication between the web application (or media player) and the MPEG-H UI Manager. The key responsibilities of the REST service are:
- REST Interface: The TV 3.0 WebServices REST service acts as a bridge, receiving and sending JSON messages to and from the web application or media player.
- Message Translation: The TV 3.0 WebServices REST service utilizes the mpegh-ui-translator to convert incoming JSON action messages into the corresponding XML format required by the MPEG-H UI Manager, and vice versa for outgoing UI configuration message.
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Endpoints: The TV 3.0 WebServices REST API should expose endpoints for:
- Sending MPEG-H UI configuration (XML->JSON) from the MPEG-H UI Manager to the web application.
- Receiving MPEG-H user action messages (JSON->XML) from the web application to the MPEG-H UI Manager.
By implementing this REST-based communication and message translation, TV 3.0 WebServices can fully support MPEG-H interactivity utilizing the mpeghdec, the mpegh-ui-translator and the MPEG-H UI Manager, allowing end-users to personalize their audio experience in compliance with Brazil's TV 3.0 next generation broadcast standard.