[vdr] Re: ARD and ZDF will just use MHP

[Marcel Wiesweg <marcel.wiesweg@gmx.de>]

Am Montag, 29. Dezember 2003 22:42 schrieb Klaus Schmidinger:
> Thilo Wunderlich wrote:
> > I just read this in another mailinglist:
> >
> > ZDF und ARD stellen EPG auf OpenTV-Basis ein
> > (zdf) Das ZDF wird zum 31. Dezember 2003 die Ausstrahlung des
> > seinerzeit gemeinsam mit der ARD auf Open TV-Basis entwickelten
> > EPG einstellen. Damit folgt das ZDF einer Vereinbarung, auf die
> > sich im Mai diesen Jahres die Intendanten von ARD und ZDF, Plog
> > und Schaechter, in einem Spitzengespraech in Berlin geeinigt
> > hatten.
> > Danach werden ARD und ZDF ab 1. Januar 2004 saemtliche
> > interaktiven Serviceangebote nur noch im digitalen MHP-Standard

-> MHP will be the only standard for interactive services
OpenTV: Proprietary standard
MHP: Free standard

"interactive" means Java applications with user input in the case of MHP.

EPG is not an interactive service. Especially ARD uses its MHP application to 
present the EPG data to the user in a graphical way (see 
http://www.ard-digital.de/home/index.php?id=411&languageid=1)

> > senden.
> > Bereits seit Sommer 2003 hat das ZDF als erstes MHP-Angebot den
> > ZDFdigitext im Regelbetrieb. Er versorgt die Zuschauer mit allen
> > aktuellen Informationen aus den Bereichen Nachrichten, Sport,
> > Wetter und natuerlich mit Programminformationen.
> > Um solche Serviceangebote nutzen zu koennen, benoetigt man eine
> > so genannte Set-Top-Box oder ein entsprechend ausgestattetes
> > Fernsehgeraet, die die neuen Zusatzinformationen im Sendesignal
> > erkennen und verarbeiten koennen. Dies sind Empfangsgeraete auf
> > Basis der internationalen MHP-Norm (Multimedia Home Platform).
> > Geeignete Geraete, die die strengen Qualitaetstests der MHP-Norm
> > erfuellen, sind im Handel mit dem MHP-Logo gekennzeichnet.
> > Ausgangspunkt fuer die Einfuehrung der neuen Fernsehtechnologie
> > auf MHP-Basis war die "Mainzer Erklaerung" vom September 2001.
> > Darin verpflichteten sich die deutschen Programmveranstalter,
> > ihre Zusatzdienste auf diesen internationalen Standard
> > auszurichten.
> >
> > Roughly translated this means that the german TV stations ARD and ZDF
> > will stop transmitting EPG and just will use MHP - if I understand it
> > correctly.
> > Will vdr be able to show this info as well or will those channels be
> > without informations then?
>
> It says that they will discontinue the EPG based on "Open TV",
> which, as far a I would understand, has nothing to do with the
> "Event Information" data defined in the DVB standard  ETSI EN 300 468.
>
> IMO any tv station can do whatever they believe works for them,
> as long as they support the event information as defined by the
> DVB standard. Broadcasting their EPG data _only_ via MHP is
> the wrong way to go, because then it would no longer be possible
> to have an EPG overview over _all_ stations - every "bouquet"
> would most likely have its own way of presenting their stuff,
> so the viewer would have to deal with different MHP frontends
> when switching between stations that belong to different bouquets.
> It would also make it hard (if not impossible) for programs that
> generate timers based upon EPG data to do their job.

The point is: You don't broadcast EPG information as MHP applications. The MHP 
standard defines a higher level API and a lower level API which allow the MHP 
application to access the SI, thus the EPG data. So these ARD/ZDF 
applications simply present the same EPG data as VDR - same job as the 
schedules menu, but with far more graphical sophistication ;-)

>
> Personally, I believe that the only reason why everybody is
> trying to push MHP is that they want to more effectively draw
> cash out of people's pockets through "interactive tv" ("Press
> the red button now to buy this car!"). EPG data should _always_ be
> broadcast in a standardized way that can be processed by
> any application - not only MHP applications.

I am really interested in the news portal ARD and ZDF offer via their MHP 
"digitext". 
I often use the teletext of these channels because of the high-quality news 
offered, but teletext is a very old analog standard, and I look forward to 
the time when the digital teletext is available on my TV.


Marcel

>
> Klaus



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