Technical Specification Summary
All Freeview Play products will meet existing standards for Freeview HD and provide the
following functionality:

A common hybrid DTT/IP standard

Scroll-back EPG for 7 days – with direct access to on-demand content within players

Enhanced EPG data – to provide additional programme information

Connected red button – enabling IP-enhanced interactive services

Search, browse and recommendations (via post launch upgrade)

Adaptive bitrate streaming – to optimise video quality for a range of network
connection speeds

Support for accessibility features and companion screen experiences

Second-screen device control

Security requirements to provide a robust environment for content providers
The Freeview Play platform is based around the following key technical features:

D-Book 7 Part A v4, incorporating DVB T2

HbbTV 2.0 - the latest Hybrid Broadcast/Broadband TV standard, which specifies a
common framework for consumer devices, and includes:
o HTML5 browser environment for applications
o DVB-DASH adaptive bitrate video streaming

DRM based on the Microsoft PlayReady standard

HEVC video decoding (optional for launch devices)

Additional support for Smooth Streaming and HLS adaptive bitrate video streaming

Centralised metadata service providing enhanced metadata for:
o DTT services
o On-demand players
o Forwards and backwards EPG content
o Archive content
o Search, browse and recommendations
The hardware platform required to support Freeview Play will be specified by each
manufacturer. There are some user interface guidelines and rules but manufacturers can
build and innovate using their own designs.