To view the MHEG HD Demo, please contact Laura Buck
Voyager MHEG-5 & DSM-CC
Ocean Blue is pleased to announce that its extensively deployed Voyager MHEG-5 software, is being continually updated to conform to evolving profiles for the UK and around the world.
Voyager is a DVB (Digital Video Broadcast) based MHEG-5 interactive software middleware system which is ready for integration into digital televisions and set top boxes. The MHEG-5 engine allows the set top box to receive digital interactive terrestrial television transmissions from DVB-S, T or C broadcasters.
The DSM-CC data carousel (a data transmission mechanism) has support and is supplied as part of Voyager MHEG-5.
Voyager MHEG-5 and DSM-CC was originally developed by Philips Electronics and Ocean Blue has the sole development and worldwide distribution licence.
New MHEG-5 Product Developments - MHEG-5 with support for HD & Telecommunications link.
The Digital TV Group (DTG), the industry association for digital television in the UK, are close to finalising specifications for both MHEG support of High Definition (HD) TV broadcasts streams and broadband return path for interactive television on the UK digital terrestrial TV platform (Freeview). Ocean Blue is a part of these design groups. The new support for HD broadcasts (MPEG4 & H.264) and a telecoms links allowing true 2 -way interactivity to set top boxes and televisions, will provide consumers with even greater forms of viewing, entertainment, including interactivity applications and even shopping opportunities.
Ocean Blue is fully supporting the new DTG MHEG standards for its product range.
Voyager MHEG-5 HD Product Overview
Introduction
The support for High Definition (HD) seeks to ensure that the best possible experience is offered to viewers of an HD receiver. There are two parts to the MHEG-5 HD extension; one extension supports hardware that is HD display capable (graphics) and the other supports hardware that is both graphics and stream (H.264) capable.
The specification for support for HD has been created to meet the following requirements:
- Allow a Standard Definition (SD) application (i.e. one described using a 720x576 co-ordinate system and referencing SD resolution bitmap images) to be used with HD resolution video. This will, for example, allow content providers to use existing interactive applications (written for receivers conformant with previous versions of the D-Book) with new HD services without the need for re-authoring and potentially without the need for simulcasting.
- Allow an SD application to switch between the presentation of SD and HD resolution video without any change in the resolution used to present application graphics. This will, for example, make it possible to seamlessly integrate HD resolution video with SD resolution video in, say, a multi-stream sports application.
- Allow an SD application to reference HD resolution bitmap images. These may be used by HD receivers that support an HD resolution graphics plane to offer a superior visual output.
- Maximise the legibility and visual appeal of text on (typically large) HD resolution displays through the use of anti-aliased rendering.
- Allow a greater amount of text to be displayed on screen.
- For new HD MHEG application, allow the use of HD stream content.
Platform Requirements
- Support a minimum of a 16 bit colour palette (where each of R,G,B and A are assigned 4 bits).
- Where H.264 codecs are supported, the platform should support H.264 I-Frame display.
- Support JPEG image display (although Ocean Blue can supply a JPEG to bitmap tool as part of the MHEG glue software)
- Where H.264 codecs are supported, the platform should support MPEG-4 HE AAC and E-AC3 audio clips.
Ocean Blue MHEG-5 HD Enhancements to Voyager
The Ocean Blue Voyager MHEG will 'hide' much of the HD requirements within a new library that replaces some of the glue structure, thus minimizing the impact on existing Voyager customers and keeping porting time and effort to a minimum for new customers. Functionality that will be added inside of Voyager includes;
- Optional conversion of JPEG images to bitmaps (for platforms that do not natively support JPEG)
- Anti Aliased font rendering
- 16:9 aspect ratio font sizes
- SD to HD scaling (and vice versa)
- Dynamic Line art scaling and drawing to HD
- HD resolution PNG images
For more details please contact: info@oceanbluesoftware.co.uk
MHEG-5 Support for Telecoms Links
The DTG working group is in the closing stages of developing and delivering to the industry the specification for a broadband and PSTN return path as an extension to the existing interactive TV software UK profile MHEG-5. This extension is additional to the current UK profile (v1.06) of MHEG-5.
Interactive Revenue Streams
In recent years there has been industry wide recognition for the need to enhance interactive services through the introduction of a return path. A return path will allow content providers to offer viewers a new range of applications e.g. voting, games, chat-like services (allowing viewers to send in comments and opinion), video on demand and interactive transactions for purchasing goods and services.
In addition, it opens up the possibility of more advanced interactive services to enable data or streamed audio/video to be delivered over the broadband path for example IPTV set top boxes, this allows a combination of both internet based TV, Free to Air TV channels and Pay per view television.
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