The Digital Audio-Visual Council	DAVIC/372
Fifteenth DAVIC meeting Hong Kong, 96/12/09-13 Source: Board of Directors

Issued: 13 December 1996

DAVIC - the Digital Audio Visual Council - has just issued further specifications aimed at ensuring world-wide operation of Multimedia services. These show technical details of how real-time interactive TV, audio and data services can be carried reliably over many sorts of networks.

DAVIC includes three major results in its output from its meeting in Hong Kong this week. The first integrates the delivery of Internet services with the delivery of TV and audio. This enables TV networks to provide Internet services at high speed to TV and PC users.

The second is a resolution to a long standing gap in world-wide agreement over HDTV standards. DAVIC has resolved that, within its specified networks, HDTV signals will work at a maximum of 1080 lines of 1920 pixels. This creates a specification for a single world-wide HDTV and multichannel audio implementation and increases the opportunity for the success of such services.

Finally, DAVIC has issued its first security specification - an essential step to ensuring the commercial viability of many DAVIC services. This sets out tools for open and interoperable conditional access and security in DAVIC networks - which includes digital broadcasting of all sorts.

DAVIC’s interoperable specifications aim to provide for reduced risk for manufacturers and operators alike in introducing these advanced digital services. DAVIC systems are now being built and tests of interoperation have taken place in the US and publicly in Japan at the Japan Electronic Show during October 1996.

DAVIC’s Hong Kong meeting was hosted by Hong Kong Telecom’s Interactive Multimedia Services Division.

Ends

DAVIC, the Digital Audio Visual Council, has a membership of over 200 companies from 20 countries. It’s teams of experts meet at least four times a year to develop specifications for technology to provide advanced TV and multimedia services.

DAVIC 1.2, finished in Hong Kong, builds on the foundations of earlier specifications (DAVIC 1.0 and 1.1) in a backwards-compatible manner. This latest version increases a DAVIC system’s ability to leverage the Internet to provides a rich variety of services.

DAVIC’s strength as a resource of industry-wide system integrators, combined with its expertise of physical networks has resulted in ready-to-implement plans for systems and components that can deliver both Internet-based services and real-time, full-bandwidth video. The road map to achieve this combined capability in a globally convergent way has been long awaited by the market place. DAVIC 1.1, now available on CD-ROM (with the DAVIC 1.2 version already in preparation), shows how to assemble all the pieces of such a system. At the physical level, the specification covers HFC, FTTC, FTTH, MMDS, LMDS, ADSL, cable modems and satellite.

The digital video and audio implementations are accompanied by specifications for the use of the JAVA virtual machine to provide the means to download new software to the Set Top Unit, along with advanced graphics and display tools to aid the interaction with the user.

The DAVIC "tools" described in the specification explain how, on a common basis, signals and protocols can be defined to allow all of these systems to carry Content and its control information interchangeably. This allows applications which include Video on Demand, Internet combined with guaranteed-quality real-time video, enhanced broadcast service, home shopping and more.

The DAVIC vision is of a world-wide interconnection of video, audio and data. To do this it has insisted on new dimensions of inter-system compatibility and global interoperability, and will reduce risk for manufacturers and operators. This will accelerate the introduction of attractive services to the advantage of all concerned - most importantly consumers.

Interoperability of DAVIC’s specifications was demonstrated publicly in October at the Japan Electronic Show. Six equipment suppliers provided servers and set-top equipment fashioned after the DAVIC specification and proved to the world that all the key inter-operability combinations had been achieved.

DAVIC will continue in its efforts to develop state-of-the-art specifications to meet the need of the fast-growing multimedia industry to achieve agreed inter-operable systems.

DAVIC membership is open to all interested parties. Full information about DAVIC, including the latest specifications, are available on the World Wide Web at "http://www.davic.org/". CD-ROMs can be obtained by contacting the Secretariat:

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