The German DVB-I project will enter its second phase at IBC 2023 in Amsterdam.
The focus is on open questions and requirements to establish the basis for a market launch of DVB-I in Germany. The core points of this phase are:
- The definition for a technical-organisational instance for the central provision of a service list in Germany.
- The implementation of the public value recommendation of the German media authorities as well as a server-side localisation based on the postcodes of the distribution areas.
- The expansion of DRM and subscription services to business models for commercial TV broadcasters.
- The implementation of addressable TV technologies for the playout of individual content via streaming.
- The development of strategies for DVB-I clients as apps for smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks and mobile devices.
- The evaluation of new use cases for playlists, pop-up channels, media library deep-links in content guides.
- The investigation of possible concepts for reach measurement and personalisation.
According to the project partners, phase 2 is to create a stable test scenario for device manufacturers and software companies as a common technical basic profile, enabling manufacturers to test their product development in a realistic environment and to help shape market maturity. In parallel, a roadmap for a market launch will be developed.
A wide range of market players from the media industry – including broadcasters, equipment manufacturers, software providers and research institutions – launched the German DVB-I Pilot last year. In phase 1, which ran from September 2022 to March 2023, a comprehensive proof-of-concept was realised. The groundbreaking result of the project will be recognised with the IBC Special Award 2023 for Innovation on September 17, 2023 at IBC.
“The various stakeholders in Germany have opted for this ambitious pilot project to test DVB-I as a potential solution and to prepare for the future switch to a purely internet-based distribution of TV channels. Not least thanks to the German DVB-I Pilot, the DVB-I standard has made tremendous progress in recent months, creating the opportunity for an open and horizontal TV market as part of the digital transformation,” said Fergal Ringrose, Chairman of the Jury of the IBC Innovation Awards 2023.
Remo Vogel (rbb), project manager of the German DVB-I Pilot, added: “The extremely positive results of phase 1, the constructive cooperation in the pilot and not least the honour of receiving the IBC Special Award 2023 for Innovation motivate us for the tasks ahead. The market readiness of DVB-I has made enormous progress in the past months and our pilot initiative was able to contribute a lot to this. Cooperation with other European partners is very important for us. Together with the Italian pilot project driven by Mediaset, we are defining a common profile to harmonise the requirements for equipment manufacturers.”
At IBC 2023, the German DVB-I Pilot will be a partner at the EBU stand 10.D21 in hall 10 and at the DVB Project stand 1.B73. At the EBU booth, Bayerische Medien Technik (bmt), WDR and ZDF will demonstrate dynamic service list generation in line with the public value recommendation of the German media authorities, server-side localisation of selected coverage areas, and new offerings such as playlists, box sets and pop-up channels. At the DVB stand, demos on the DVB-I trials across Europe will be shown, along with further details on the German pilot.
