Fundamental Principles
In order to promote Hybridcast, IPTV Forum has launched the “Advanced Smart TV Promotion Center (ASPC)”. The ASPC operates under the fundamental principles “safe and secure” “open environment for development”, which were agreed to in a study group at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) and participation is comprised of major broadcasters, telecom operators and manufacturers.
The following is the complete text of fundamental principles of next generation smart TV issued by the study group at MIC:
On June 11, 2013, MIC officially announced the summary of the results of the “Study group on upgrading of broadcasting services”. The study group recommends the following fundamental principles for promoting next generation smart TV:
1. Ensuring safe and secure service for viewers
With the roles of existing broadcast service in mind, “broadcast-related applications” should also continue to provide safe and secure service to viewers.
2. Establishing an open environment for development
In order to enable a range of interested parties to participate in the development of “broadcast-related applications” and ensure viewers have the ability to enjoy a wide variety of applications on their smart TVs, relevant companies shall endeavor to establish an open environment for development, including making their technical specifications and other information publicly available.
The report further recommends seven requirements with which “broadcast-related applications” should meet:
(1)Requirements related to “ensuring safety and security of viewers”.
In order to ensure safety and security of viewers, “broadcast-related applications”, while effectively promoting its characteristic features, should also implement technical means to restrict its operation under a certain level of control. It is ideal that broadcast services and receivers fulfill the following requirements:
1. Screen image transfer from broadcast program to program interacted application should be made smoothly. Viewers should effectively understand the characteristics of the interaction between broadcast service and application.
2. If there are more than one application interacting with a broadcast program, there should be an easy to manage display for users to choose an application from a wide range of options available.
3. Viewer should be charged per application and be given a choice to make payment on application basis.
4. Applications running on smart TVs should be controllable by broadcast signals on a program by program basis or time code basis, with respect to its operation, overlay, and simultaneous display. The purpose of this requirement is to avoid the following situations which could endanger viewers' safety and security:
a) interference with emergency broadcast,
b) risk of leakage of personal information, computer virus attack, approach by scam of fraudulent business, etc. by means of malicious application imitating a secure application,
c) display of information unsuitable for children.
(2) Requirements related to “establishment of open environment for development work”.
In order to expand the market of next generation smart TV the following conditions must be met: (1) above, and also from the viewpoint of public nature of broadcast services, open environment for development of “broadcast-related applications” to non-broadcast service providers, such as application software developers, receiver manufacturers, etc. is essential.
Independent software developers wishing to participate in the development work should have access to information related to: (1) above, and in order to enable development of application meeting these requirements, broadcast service providers are encouraged to satisfy the following requirements:
5. Information provided via broadcast, such as SI (Service Information), should be made available for use by third party service or application providers.
(e.g. search keywords, URL for official web site of TV program)
6. Related information broadcaster provides through the Internet should also be made available for use by third party service or application providers.
7. By using information listed in 5 and 6 above, application should be able to automatically update itself on a program by program or time code basis.