HbbTV launches new test suite

Hybrid broadcast-broadband standards body the HbbTV Association has released the 2021-21 version of the HbbTV Conformance Test Suite and the Test Assertions Repository (TAR).

The new version, v2021-1, is the first major release of the Test Suite in 2021 and contains 2,963 test cases in total, an increase by 142 test cases since the v2020-3 release, according to the HbbTV Association.

The new release includes new tests developed for the HbbTV specification for Targeted Advertising (HbbTV-TA) and the first test cases for the new version 2.0.3 of the HbbTV specification. The remaining test cases will be delivered during 2021 and should form part of the Test Suite release v2021-2, according to the outfit.

The HbbTV Conformance Test Suite is a tool for device manufacturers to verify compliance of their products with the most current HbbTV specifications, ensuring that applications and content from broadcasters and content owners can work across TVs and set-top boxes from all manufacturers. The Test Suite is available to all HbbTV members and also through the registered HbbTV test centres.

HbbTV is also releasing a set of test descriptions or “Test Assertions” which can be referred by any organisation running a conformance regime for HbbTV compliance when a definition of compliance is needed.

The test assertions are publicly available through a Test Assertion Repository (TAR) which can be found on the HbbTV website.

“The release of the new HbbTV Compliance Test Suite version, covering our new Targeted Advertising specification, and the release of the Test Assertions Repository illustrates the commitment of the HbbTV Association to facilitate the design and production of reception devices which fully comply with the HbbTV specification. This is a major expectation from all market players at a moment where HbbTV specifications play an increasingly central role in the deployment of business-critical innovative services, and we want to meet this expectation,” said Vincent Grivet, chair of the HbbTV Association.