By Stuart Thomson

Interactive TV standards body the HbbTV Association has launched the HbbTV Developer Portal, a new free service designed to provide software developers with an introductory guide on how to programme and run HbbTV applications.

The developer portal, available at https://developer.hbbtv.org, also provides technical information for advanced users as well as a forum where developers can share their experience and discuss technical matters.

The HbbTV Developer Portal contains tutorials, for example on setting up an on-screen message, handling the audio/video broadcast signal and interacting with the remote control as well as documentation of the API reference, a resource section with details on the HbbTV DASH/DRM reference application, the HbbTV Test Suite and other tools, a developer forum to discuss questions, and the latest news on the HbbTV specifications.

The HbbTV Developer Portal was initiated by the HbbTV Association’s Marketing and Education Working Group (MEWG) and developed by App Stream, a software development company based in Zagreb, Croatia, in collaboration with experts from the HbbTV Association.

“We are proud and excited about the launch of the HbbTV Developer Portal which has been one of our main projects in 2021, driven by strong interest from the developer community. We are convinced that this new service, which complements the comprehensive resources and specification details on the HbbTV website, will make it easier for new broadcasters, platform operators and their app development partners to create compelling HbbTV applications, ensuring a great TV viewing experience,” said chair of the HbbTV Association, Vincent Grivet.