Service List Registry

Last updated

Service List Registry Limited
Company typePrivate
IndustryCommunication Services, Media & Entertainment
FoundedApril 12, 2022;2 years ago (2022-04-12) in London, United Kingdom
Headquarters
London
,
United Kingdom
Area served
Worldwide
Website www.slrdb.org

The Service List Registry (SLR) provides an online directory of audiovisual services, based on open standards for Digital Video Broadcasting. [1] The Service List Registry enables any compatible client device or application to query a distributed online database to retrieve lists of relevant media services and obtain technical details of how to access them over various delivery networks.

Contents

The federated online directory is based on the open DVB-I standard for Service Discovery and Programme Metadata, [2] developed by the European Broadcasting Union and the DVB Project based in Geneva. It is part of a suite of standards used to deliver digital radio and television services in Europe and many other countries around the world.

Purpose

The purpose of the Service List Registry is to enable "Simple Service Selection on any screen". [3] It provides a means for internet-connected devices and displays to offer access to audiovisual services that may be delivered over various transmission networks. [4]

The SLR platform allows registered regulators, producers, distributors and service providers to administer lists of audio and video services available online and through traditional broadcast networks. [5]

Compatible devices and applications can use the Service List Registry to discover and access audio and video services from various sources, including fixed and wireless internet connections and traditional cable, satellite and terrestrial transmissions. [6]

History

The Service List Registry platform was developed to support DVB-I, a Digital Video specification developed by the DVB Project. The DVB established a group to begin the definition of DVB-I in October 2017. [7] Work on the commercial requirements for DVB-I began in January 2018 and the terms of reference were agreed in March 2018. [8] The initial service discovery elements were defined by November 2018. [9] The specification was approved by the DVB in November 2019. [10] It was first published as a DVB BlueBook in June 2020 and as an ETSI standard in November 2020. [11]

The DVB-I standard defines the technical function of a Service List Registry or SLR as an HTTP endpoint available at a known URL that, if queried, can return a list of Service List Entry Points. It does not specify how the SLR collects and stores such information. [12]

In June 2021, the DVB Project commissioned a reference implementation of a skeleton DVB-I Central Service List Registry as a proof of concept for verification and validation of the specification. [13] This was developed by Sofia Digital in Tampere, Finland and released as open source software in December 2021. [14] A federated system that allows a level of national control of regulated lists of appropriately authorized services was proposed in March 2022. [15]

Service List Registry Limited was incorporated as a separate entity in April 2022 to provide the service discovery platform. [16] The Service List Registry launched at DVB World in Brussels on 18 May 2022. [17] [18] Three months after launch, a pilot programme was announced for participants to join the Service List Registry. [19] The first public demonstration of the Service List Registry platform was provided at the international IBC Show trade convention in Amsterdam on 9-12 September 2022. [20]

In November 2024, the HbbTV Association appointed the Service List Registry to run the registry platform enabling HbbTV Application Discovery over Broadband. This will enable unique identifiers carried in media streams reaching TV sets to be resolved to an online address that is used to access and load an HbbTV application. [21] [22] [23]

Implementation

As specified in the open DVB-I standard, a compatible device, display or application can make an online query request to the Service List Registry server, specifying parameters such as language, country or technical capabilities, and in response will receive a list of relevant audiovisual service offerings. From this the device is able to request one or more service offerings and receive a list of services with technical details of how to access specific service instances over various delivery networks. An internet connected device can therefore determine which services can be presented depending on available distribution systems.

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "SLR". Service List Registry.
  2. ↑ "DVB-I information site".
  3. ↑ "Service List Registry". Service List Registry.
  4. ↑ "Service List Registry offers simple service selection on any screen" (PDF). CSI Magazine: 30–31. Autumn 2022. ISSN   1467-5935.
  5. ↑ "New DVB-I registry will give prominence to PSBs". Broadband TV News. 16 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "AV services registry launches". Advanced Television. 16 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Kicking Off DVB Internet TV Services" (PDF). DVB Scene (51): 6–7.
  8. ↑ "DVB launches new DVB-I initiative for open internet". SVG Europe. 5 March 2018.
  9. ↑ "DVB-I will not replace apps but will make service discovery easier from within them". Videonet. 27 November 2018.
  10. ↑ "DVB approves new specification for linear TV delivered over the internet". TVB Europe. 13 November 2019.
  11. ↑ "DVB-I Service Discovery".
  12. ↑ "ETSI TS 103 770 V1.1.1 (2020-11)" (PDF). ETSI. November 2020. p. 21.
  13. ↑ "DVB seeks proposals for a skeleton DVB-I Central Service List Registry". DVB. 11 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "Testing begins on reference Central Service List Registry for DVB-I". DVB. 16 December 2021.
  15. ↑ "DVB-I: who manages the service list?" (PDF). DVB Scene (59): 8–9. March 2022.
  16. ↑ "Service List Registry Limited". Companies House. 12 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "DVB World - Let's talk about the future of media delivery". DVB World.
  18. ↑ "AV services registry launches". Advanced Television. 16 May 2022.
  19. ↑ "Service List Registry introduces Pilot Programme". Broadband TV News. 18 August 2022.
  20. ↑ "DVB: Shaping the future of television - IBC Show". IBC Show. September 2022.
  21. ↑ "HbbTV Association and Service List Registry introduce new facility to enable online application discovery". HbbTV Association. 14 November 2022.
  22. ↑ "HbbTV and Service List Registry enable online discovery of HbbTV applications". Broadband TV News. 14 November 2022.
  23. ↑ "HbbTV Association appoints Service List Registry". Advanced Television. 14 November 2022.
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