On television, language barriers are reconciled by translations or subtitles. Thanks to artificial intelligence, audio tracks can now even be converted into foreign languages largely automatically and with much less effort. New features co-developed by IRT make it possible to offer viewers individual language versions via the TV speakers or via smartphones and headphones. A …
In the EU-funded R&D project 5G-VICTORI we aim to improve the availability and quality of video-on-demand (VoD) streaming services (such as “Mediathek”) for train passengers. In a series of articles we want to keep you informed about our activities in this area. In this article we explain the technical approaches we are investigating. How can …
DAB-Z is a wide-spread radio application for retrofit Android car head units. Affordable Android car head units are being successfully sold worldwide and can be purchased on shopping sites like Amazon, eBay or AliExpress. Prices typically vary between 180€ and 450€ depending on features and specifications such as RAM or flash memory. These units are …
We’ve recently teamed up with colleagues from SWR.Online to implement alternative audio tracks in the “ARD Player” for mobile and desktop Internet browsers. This allows ARD broadcasters now to distribute alternative audio versions in addition to the default mix in an efficient manner without extra bandwidth usage. Such alternatives can be for example a “Dialog+” …
IRT has developed a concept which allows HbbTV apps of different broadcasters to push links to websites or mobile apps to companion screens. These may provide additional information on a show, which viewers can retrieve during or after. A prototype app called Universal Launcher was developed by IRT to showcase the posibilities. Communication between the HbbTV …
The “inter-device synchronization” feature of the HbbTV2 standard allows the playback of IP AV streams on a mobile device in lip-sync with the broadcast TV image on the TV. One of the most important use cases for this is the provision of additional audio versions via mobiles and headphones, e.g. for use in a family …
Radio is going digital – slowly but steadily. Currently, this happens in two different worlds: One is DAB(+) and the other is IP streaming. DAB(+) is a sophisticated and efficient broadcast standard with many clearly specified add-on functionalities – but it does not support personalisation of its services as is. In contrast, IP-based radio services …
Social media content is becoming an ever more integral part of broadcasting. By incorporating social media services, it is not only possible to include user-generated content, but also to provide a more immersive and engaging experience for the viewers by using social media platforms as interactive feedback channels. Including this content directly into broadcasts, however, …
What we’ve done We have built a companion-screen application for the children’s quiz programme “1, 2 oder 3“. The app allows children at home to play along, just like the children in the show, using a floor pad. The floor pad uses a Raspberry PI single-board computer to connect to an HbbTV application on the …
Partners in the EU-funded project 2-IMMERSE have developed a platform for multiscreen services. The architecture of the 2-IMMERSE platform has been built around the HbbTV 2 specification, mainly using the new companion-screen protocols for app-to-app communication and inter-device media synchronisation. At the beginning of the project there were no TV sets implementing the HbbTV-2 standard available. …
