MHP Knowledge

This task delivers, during the project, the knowledge about MHP-based applications and e2e architecture. The knowledge will be delivered into the KDB in various forms, ranging from FAQs to more sophisticated analyses supported by the tools developed in this project.

The main aspect is seen in the MHP-applications running on a set top box. Various code fragments of different granularity (simple elements to entire [benchmark] applications) are created here in order to test applications for the aspects mentioned above (qualities like speed and usability) and offer DTV industry code samples/applications exemplifying different MHP features. Areas covered by code samples will be those that have been identified during the analysis as particularly difficult or unknown. This provides an essential input for the KDB since these elements (code fragments) allow an effective test, validation and MHP - conformance test of a given set of MHP based applications.

This facilitates a way to use MHP in a standardised way, since on the one hand it is certainly important to provide different brandings which supports customer-supplier relationships, but on the other hand standardised ways to navigate through an application must be provided in order to avoid frustration in using such applications. The result is a large set of software components with related information on how to use such components.

But also the entire distributed software system realising the value chain from content provider/broadcaster to TV-end-user is covered here. This includes all components in the value chain and the interface between them. Solutions will be analysed and provided as input to the KDB. Knowledge regarding this aspect is crucial in delivering and running MHP-based applications in such a way that they are also useable in the end. The large parameter space will be explored using the tools and the related results will be collected, assessed and stored for later retrieval.

"The MHP-Guide" generated here gives guidance for the KDB user in form of a structured electronic active document. The set of important design knowledge regarding the entire set of MHP related aspects considered in this project needs to be made accessible in an easy and intuitive way. The various tasks defined above are instrumental to achieve this. The structure, scope of the data base, as well as the protocols to define the access to it are the online version of the collected knowledge. In complement to these efforts the MHP Guide will provide access to the collected knowledge in a way more amenable to structured reading than to information retrieval and thus provide the necessary guidance when accessing the data base either online or also even offline.