In cooperation with ARD-Mediathek we extended the Android version of the VoD portal of the ARD network to demonstrate companion-screen features of the HbbTV 2.0 specification. Users of can launch a desired video clip on a desired HbbTV 2.0 device and remotely control the playback of the video on the TV from the mobile app. The app makes use of the following features of the HbbTV 2.0 specification:
- Discovery: Finding HbbTV 2.0 devices on the local network
- Launch: Invoke the start of an application on the TV device from the companion screen
- App-to-App Communication: Exchange messages between applications running on the TV and the companion screen device. This feature is needed for the exchange of control messages to the video player on the TV device.
The below video illustrates usage of the app.