1.9 Organization of This Book

This book is a broad survey of issues and technologies related to iTV. It is intended to be a starting point for iTV professionals and not the final stop. As such, each chapter in this book presents related issues, technologies, or standards.

Chapter 2 presents the potential of iTV. The scenarios presented were assembled over time through the author's participation in standard organizations.

Chapter 3 presents issues related to the complex "food chain" governing the iTV industry. This includes content authors, producers , distributors , broadcasters, cable system operators, receiver manufacturers, and viewers .

Chapter 4 addresses the need to understand how an iTV receiver works. It presents receiver architecture, protocol and software stacks, relationships between various software and hardware components, and technologies used to build these components .

Chapter 5 presents the building blocks of declarative markup content that form the foundation for Web pages and iTV pages. It presents the underlying principles of the HTML, XML, XHTML, and CSS standards.

Chapter 6 presents the scripting language that is critical for real-time local interactivity that does not require a return channel. It presents issues related to the use of ECMA Script, such as the building of Dynamic HTML (DHTML) pages. Most of the chapter is dedicated to the nuts and bolts of how a scripting engine works.

Chapter 7 presents JavaTV, a technology and de facto standard incorporated in some iTV standards. The Java class file format, Java programming, and deployment models are presented. Most of the chapter is dedicated to the description of some key libraries such as the JavaTV APIs.

Chapter 8 presents the Home Audio Video interoperability (HAVi) framework, which is incorporated in all iTV standards. Some background and the general framework are presented. Most of the chapter focuses on the API that iTV receivers are required to implement.

Chapter 9 presents media streaming protocols and technologies. It described the Java Media Framework (JMF) that is incorporated in all iTV standards and required to be implemented by all iTV receivers.

Chapter 10 presents security considerations. Discussed are various security concepts, threats, and strategies to protect against these threats. The chapter focuses on XML Digital Signatures (XML-DSIG) and the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.

Chapter 11 presents the broadcast file system. It presents the MPEG DSM-CC Data and Object Carousel, and explains how it is used to carry file systems distributed across an arbitrary number of transports over arbitrary periods of time.

Chapter 12 surveys the major content formats that are commonly used within the lifecycle of iTV applications. The chapter presents graphics, audio, video, and asset management formats. Included are the formats of ZIP, GIF, JPEG, MP3, AAF, and others.

Chapter 13 surveys the seven major iTV Standards: DVB-MHP, ATSC, ARIB, OCAP, TV-Anytime, ATVEF, and iTV production standards. An overview of each standard is provided with a focus on its differentiating aspects.