Conformance Testing for iTV Content: Best Practices and Challenges
Successful deployment of interactive television (iTV) content poses significant challenges in conformance testing. Effective strategies must encompass clearly defined authoring standards, robust test technologies leading to comprehensive test suites, and strict certification procedures. Each iTV receiver and application must comply with specified rules to ensure proper functionality. A branding authority must oversee conformance to maintain quality and consumer trust. This overview discusses the multifaceted nature of iTV content delivery, addressing the roles of broadcasters, application developers, and centralized vetting authorities in achieving a reliable and compliant infrastructure.
Conformance Testing for iTV Content: Best Practices and Challenges
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Presentation Transcript
iTV SoftwareConformance Testing Basics Guy Hadland UniSoft Corporation grh@unisoft.com
Introduction • Successful deployment of iTV content presents a considerable conformance testing challenge • Appropriate testing technologies need to be applied to: • Address technical aspects of the challenge • Reduce the associated risks
The Challenge • Running many different applications on a wide variety of iTV receivers. What is needed: • A clearly specified authoring standard • Test technologies leading to a test suite • Certification procedures and policies • A brand
The Rules of the Game • The specification contains the rules: • The receiver must behave as described in the specification • The application may only use features that are described in the specification
The Referee – Part 1 • The iTV receiver must pass all the tests in the test suite • When it does so, it gets the brand • Broadcasters, networks, retailers and customers need to understand the significance of the brand • The referee is the branding authority
The Referee – Part 2 • Each application must be accessed for conformance to the specification • Broadcasters must not transmit a non-conforming application • Who should be responsible for this: • the broadcaster? • the author? • a centralised vetting authority?
The Pitch • Specification • Test Suites • Certification regime • The brand • All of which requires careful and adequate consideration and of course funding