DTG to publish Freeview Connect specifications this year

UK industry association the Digital TV Group (DTG) will publish the technical requirements for the recently announced Freeview connected TV platform later this year. 

The organisation, which already publishes and maintains the technical specifications for Freeview in the UK, known as the D-Book, said that the extension to the Freeview HD platform will include a common set of on-demand services.

These are designed to “enable the seamless implementation of both the broadcast services defined in the DTG D-Book and the new Digital UK, HbbTV based, Freeview Connected specification,” said the DTG.

“The technical requirements for this platform will build on the foundation on the D-Book and Freeview HD requirements and be published in a separate specification by Digital UK,” it added.

The DTG said it will publish the latest version of the D-Book – which defines both the delivery and reception of services – later in 2014. This will be D-Book 8. The existing version, D-Book 7 (Version 4) was published in May.

UK DTT platform Freeview announced earlier this month that it will launch a new connected TV service, in partnership with Digital UK – an organisation owned by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Arqiva.

The connected TV proposition will be developed and marketed as part of a five-year plan that will see Freeview offer broadcast and on-demand TV, along with a range of popular catch-up players and is designed to make “the best of broadcast and on-demand TV available free for everyone.”