Introducing the Twitter proof-of-concept app, an EBIF app created by Shawn Van Every of NYU. With EnableTV's help to get this app running and accessible via SlingPlayer, this the the first example of and end-to-end test that OEDN has facilitated.  

More about this application: 

This is a bound application (tied to an MPEG-2 stream) that puts up a button that says "Get Last Tweet". If you push the "Select" button on the remote, a Java CGI application which is used for EBIF 2-Way Packaging triggers a PHP script, which returns XML for packaging.  The PHP script uses the Twitter API and pulls up the latest message to Twitter.  When the EBIF application receives a response from the Java CGI app, it displays that message over the top of the video.  

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One year ago, OEDN announced today the formation of an Academic ITV Software Developer Kit (AISDK) program with the Center for Media Design at Ball State University as its first participating school.

Ball State has been prototyping various interactive television applications using OCAP and EBIF tools over the past few months. With the help of Vinayak Tanksdale, Instructor of Computer Science, we're pleased to bring you regular updates from the program. Vinayak has designed vital software for a variety of groundbreaking projects since starting at Ball State in 2001. He's been able to work with faculty across disciplines on projects involving art, journalism, music and telecommunications.

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As Verizon's Widget Bazaar vision rolls out, excitement for EBIF applications is spreading with increased urgency. FiOS's new widgets, including Facebook and Twitter on TV, are examples of these micro-apps that can spin up in short order.
 
Leslie Ellis, technology analyst for Multichannel News, breaks EBIF all the way down to “ee-biff” in today's feature. She cautions, "if consumers are exposed only to EBIF triggers that lead exclusively to ads, they could easily 'learn,' incorrectly, that clickable things on the TV screen are ads, so why bother."
 

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Right now (as of September 2009)  the testing process for EBIF applications is confusing at best - so here's some insight on the current state of testing an EBIF application.  

While EBIF is a widely accepted standard for developing ITV applications, there is not a standard method for getting an application tested and deployed across millions of digital set-top boxes within the US cable MSOs (multiple system operators).  Application developers will need to discover the current certification method on an MSO by MSO basis prior to deployment.

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OEDN TV brings you a new video from Mike Bloxham, of Ball State University's Center for Media Design, talking about working with OEDN to bring ITV tools from Ensequence and TVWorks to enable students to develop ITV and cross-platform interactive apps.

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OEDN TV - NYU's ITP Lab's Prof. Shawn Van Every talks about students recently building EBIF apps using TVWorks XDK - a first in the US for OEDN's Academic Outreach Program

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Special thanks to Shawn Van Every, who led a group of students from NYU’s Interactive Telecommunication Program (ITP) through an introductory EBIF & tru2way (OCAP) course last week.
 
During the first OEDN Academic Software Kit workshop, Prof. Van Every's students were exposed to  the emerging opportunities available for developing interactive television apps.

On July 9th, OEDN team members and TWC engineers dropped in on the summer session at the ITP lab, to talk about developing apps in EBIF. Take a look at the video and photos from the event below:

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Geoff Katz, VP Business Development and Marketing for Transpond (formerly iWidgets) answers five questions about the state of the interactive television industry.

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Jeff Bonin, Vice President and General Manager, Alticast North America, takes on 5 Questions about OEDN:

Through his work with consumer electronics manufacturers bringing high-definition and iTV home entertainment products to market, Jeff Bonin shines as a leader in the world of of open standards technologies.

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