Requirements, methods, and interfaces of the advanced service platforms to enhance the delivery of audiovisual content, and other multimedia interactive services over integrated broadband cable networks

(Continuation of Question 9/9)

Motivation

The use of the service platform, including cloud computing platform, for the end-to-end (E2E) delivery of audiovisual content, e.g., television programs, over-the-top (OTT) services, is spreading at an impressive pace. Existing cable television platform is based on conventional functions including user management, accounting, terminal management, content management, content delivery, and so on. These functions are still useful and will be used continuously in the future for not only cable television but also general audiovisual content (including the new emerging interactive and immersive videos) delivery systems. On the other hand, a lot of advanced server-side technologies for service enhancement (e.g. target specific content distribution system, artificial intelligence assisted operation and maintenance system, multi-device content distribution, content recommendation system, and cloud-based content storage) become viable. To adopt these server-side technologies to the existing cable television and other audiovisual content delivery services efficiently and quickly, the common interfaces between those systems and other advanced platforms are indispensable. Therefore, it is quite important and urgent to study the requirements, architectures, methods, and interfaces to leverage the platform side technology to enhance the existing cable television systems. This study will include, but is not limited to, advanced service platforms which include:nce the existing cable television systems. This study will include, but is not limited to, advanced service platforms which include:

• advanced content management including cloud-based content storage to realize the cable contents TV everywhere;
  
• user's account/terminal management for TV everywhere services;
  
• platform side technologies and interfaces to realize the harmonization between existing cable television services and OTT services;
  
• management functions of the user/service statistics and analyses to enhance the personalization services, with the necessary collaboration with other Questions (e.g., Q12).
  

The work area includes the interface between cable television systems and advanced platforms. In some cases, not only cable television systems but also the advanced platforms are operated by the cable operator (e.g. TV everywhere service system, target specific content distribution system, application market). In other cases, multiple cable systems work together through interfaces with the outside systems such as (but not limited to) machine-to-machine (M2M) system, Internet of things (IoT) system, and cloud-based system.

Question

Study items to be considered include, but are not limited to:

• What are the service requirements applicable to the service platform to enhance the existing cable television and OTT services?
  
• What are the requirements and technologies applicable to the service platform for enabling interactive or immersive audiovisual content delivery?
  
• What is the appropriate platform architecture to provide enhanced service with the satisfaction of the above-described service requirements?
• What interfaces and compatibility are required between existing cable television platform and the advanced service platform?
• What user account/terminal management method can be used for the TV everywhere service and how should it harmonize with existing user account/terminal management system? More specifically, when the cable operator provides the TV everywhere service, the content distribution to second devices (such as the mobile phone, tablet, etc.) will be controlled based on the subscriber information of cable television systems. Therefore, the communication between the subscriber management function of cable TV system and the TV everywhere service platform is necessary.
• What interface can be used to realize the harmonization between OTT video services and existing cable TV content management system?
• What interface can be used to adopt device-independent content recommendation system to the existing cable television system?
• What are management functions requirements for enabling the enhancement of personalization services, with the necessary collaboration with other Questions (e.g., Q12)?
  
• What management method and interface can be used to utilize the social media information to the content recommendation?

Tasks
Tasks include, but are not limited to:

• The preparation of revised or new Recommendations as required.

An up-to-date status of work under this Question is contained in the Study Group 9 work programme (https://www.itu.int/ITU-T/workprog/wp_search.aspx?sp=16&q=9/9).

Relationships

Recommendations

• API of terminal platform: ITU-T J.200, J.201, J.202
• Set-top box: ITU-T J.295, J.296
• Server platform: ITU-T J.287, J.301, J.302, J.380-series, J.704, J.706, J.707

Questions

• Q1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 12/9
  

Study groups

• ITU‑T SG12
• ITU-T SG13
• ITU-T SG15
  
• ITU‑T SG16
• ITU‑T SG20

Standardization bodies

• Broadband forum
• ETSI