Chapter 1 - EBIF Overview

Chapter 1: EBIF Overview:

The CableLabs EBIF standard was developed as a solution for interactive television to work on the existing set-top boxes that are now in millions of subscribers’ homes, even the older and less-equipped models. Using a “thin-client” methodology, EBIF condenses interactive television apps to require minimal resources in the broadcast bandwidth stream and the set-top box. EBIF stands for Enhanced Binary Interchange Format, but is commonly referred to as ETV (for Enhanced TV). We will use the latter in this document.

Business Reasons for ETV:

Reach: Since ETV is capable of running on the lowest-common-denominator of set-tops, it allows broadcasters and advertisers to reach the widest possible audience with interactive television. As cable customers typically are less inclined to update their set-top hardware in the same way that a mobile subscriber would, the wider cable audience is likely to rely on legacy hardware for the near future. ETV will not only standardize applications across MSO’s, but across the variety of hardware in the field now.

Measurement:

The ecosystem of ETV requires a two-way communication channel between the set-top box and the outside world. An ETV application is able to post information through HTTP allowing for detailed measurement of how the audience is interacting with the application.

Advertising:

These capabilities make ETV a prime candidate for advertising to engage the cable audience in a way that the 30-second spot can’t accomplish. Customers can react to ads that are of particular interest without having to leave the couch. Content providers and advertising partners can now access precise statistics that are thought to be web-exclusive.

Subscriber Retention:

As the competition of video providers widens in each market, so will the services offered as a means of attracting new customers and keeping existing ones. Interactive applications that enhance the customer experience for subscribers are attractive to MSO’s as a way of differentiating themselves from other alternatives.

ETV User Experience:

The basic user experience of an ETV application involves overlay banners presented on top of programming content or spot advertisements that prompt the user to take a specific action using the basic buttons on the remote control. Other uses of ETV can involve a dedicated channel running 24/7 that invokes a specific and time-intensive application, such as microsites or games.

Examples of ETV Applications:

• Voting/Polling: In order to engage viewers more deeply with the programming, voting and polling applications are popular implementations of ETV. Subscribers can post their opinion about reality show contestants or politicians in a debate and see the results

• Request for Information (RFI): A user is prompted that there is more information available through mail or e-mail regarding a product or service advertised. The viewer clicks “OK” on the remote and materials such as brochures or coupons are delivered to the subscriber.

• Telescoping: Within an ETV application the viewer can opt to leave the current programming and jump to an on-demand video (or perhaps a microsite).

• Microsites: In order to aggregate content, a dedicated channel or VOD stream can include an enhanced “microsite” where a viewer can take time to browse through content, launch video on-demand or request information from an advertiser.

• T-Commerce: Broadcasters can present products for sale through ETV applications. By connecting with backend order-processing systems, a viewer can submit account login information through the remote and submit an order through the television interface.

Technical Overview: for non-technical people:

ETV in a nutshell:

Enhanced television applications are typically “bound” to particular pieces of content, packaged into the video itself while being broadcast to the set-top box. This content can be a 30-second ad or a dedicated channel running a video loop 24/7. Digital subscribers will see the overlay and be able to interact with their set-top remote control while the app is simply ignored when shown to an analog subscriber.

User Agent:

In order for the application to pop-up the subscriber’s set top box must contain a “user agent.” The user-agent is software downloaded to the subscriber’s set-top box that interprets applications when somebody tunes to a channel that has an ETV app bound into it. The MSO is responsible for pushing the user-agent software onto the set-top boxes.

Broadcasting system:

Enhanced content can be broadcast in different ways. A piece of video can be pre-produced, meaning that the ETV application has been bound into the video and saved separately to be later broadcast. This method might be used for enhanced spot ads, where interactive elements are added in and the ad is trafficked into commercial breaks. Other applications are streamed live, meaning that the ETV application is streamed (or “multiplexed”) into video at the moment it is broadcast. This would be used for applications that rely on live data updates, such as a poling application that shows results. The hardware and software required for broadcasting ETV will depend on the broadcast systems of each MSO.

Backend servers:

These may be used to both update data that is fed into an ETV application and to collect data being delivered from the set-top box. For updating data, this will typically require a separate application to be written that aggregates content and formats it into a format that can be delivered into the ETV broadcast. Conversely, in order to gather data from the set-top, a destination server will be required. MSO’s typically utilize a specific service to collect data retrieved from ETV.