CE-HTML
CE-HTML[1] is a language for creating user interface pages for Consumer Electronics (CE) devices such as televisions. These CE-HTML pages are typically placed online and are based on a 10-foot user interface for easy control from a distance. It is profiled on XHTML and associated standards with special CE-HTML extensions.
CE-HTML is part of the CEA-2014 standard (also referred to as Web4CE[2]), defined within the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).[3]
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[edit] Features
CE-HTML consists of the following internet languages:
- ECMAScript 262, 3rd edition[4]
- XHTML 1.0 transitional/strict[5]
- CSS TV Profile 1.0[6]
- XMLHttpRequest object[7]
- DOM level 2.0 (Core[8], Style[9], Events[10], HTML[11])
- a number of specific extensions for CE devices.
CE-HTML can both be used in-home through UPnP as via the Internet. It allows the content creator to use the common and known languages in the web to define a user interface that can be controlled on a CE device. A CE-HTML client typically consists of a web browser adapted for the CE-HTML standard running on a consumer electronics device. CE-HTML offers specific extensions for these browsers such as :
- Multi-tap or other CE-specific alpha-numeric input support, by making use of the CSS3 input-format tag[12].
- Media (audio/video) playout through the use of an audio/video scripting object.
- Operation via remote control (spatial navigation) using the up, down, left, right and OK keys
- Client capability matching – to match the client capabilities to the user interfaces that the server offers. For this purpose, each CE-HTML compliant client is making use of a capability profile. This profile, placed in the user-agent string of the client, lets the server know what part of CE-HTML is supported by the client. The server in turn transmits its capabilities in a so called "XML UI Listing" so the client can choose between the various CE-HTML user interfaces the server offers.
- User interface profiles for usage on CE devices such as a television. These are predefined capability profiles on which a CE-HTML client can base its capabilities. They define e.g. the fonts supported, screen-size of the device and the media that is supported by the a/v scripting object in the device. All profiles are based on a 10-foot user interface.
- Third-party notifications which allow a client to poll for messages from an external server, and display these to the user regardless of the currently displayed user interface.
- A specific new MIME-type for CE-HTML content: "application/ce-html+xml".
Typical CE-HTML code looks like this[13]:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "ce-html-1.0-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <title>CE-HTML</title> </head> <body onload="document.getElementById('myvid').play(1);"> CE-HTML a/v object:<br/> <object type="video/mp4" id="myvid" data="myvideo.mp4" width="640" height="480"></object> </body> </html>
[edit] History
CE-HTML was developed within the Consumer Electronics Association R7WG9 working group – consisting of a number of CE-manufacturers – to formulate an answer to the problem of displaying HTML (web) content on a device that does not possess the characteristics of a typical personal computer[14]. CE devices have problems displaying regular web pages because these pages make use of:
- small fonts and images, not readable from a distance as when experienced from a TV or set-top box
- only mouse or keyboard based navigation, not navigable using remote control
- no highlight on the navigable elements so a user cannot see the element they navigate
- many non-portable browser specific extensions (DOM level 0/legacy DOM)
- no standard audio/video object implementation
- the use of proprietary – not CE-compatible – extensions such as Adobe Flash
Further difficulties with using a CE device to display web content are caused by the fact that CE devices typically have different capabilities such as different resolutions, remote controls and audio/video codecs.
[edit] Use
CE-HTML is increasingly used within other standards, such as the Open IPTV Forum[15], the Digital Living Network Alliance (as of version 2) and HbbTV. Some research suggests that CEA-2014 (of which CE-HTML is an important part) will be one of the key technologies in the living room internet experience[16]. There are currently a number of browser vendors and solution providers that claim to have a CE-HTML capable browser, such as Oregan[17] developed by Oregan Networks Ltd and the Wedison project[18] which is based on Webkit.
Philips released the first devices which support the CE-HTML standard[19] through the Net TV feature in Europe in April, 2009[20][21], which in 2010[22] expanded to include Sharp[23] and Loewe[24] platforms. Connected TV's are also being released by Samsung[25], Panasonic[26] and Sony[27], although these base their work on different languages[28][29][30].
[edit] See also
- 10-foot user interface
- Interactive television
- Smart TV
- Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV
- Hybrid digital TV
[edit] References
- ^ "CE-HTML for remote user interfaces for consumer devices". Domoticspoint.com. http://www.domoticspoint.com/archive/2006/02/26/ce-html-for-remote-user-interfaces-for-consumer-devices/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Web4CE: Accessing Web-based Applications on Consumer Devices" (PDF). http://www2007.org/posters/poster1017.pdf. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Consumer Electronics Association: CEA-2014". Ce.org. http://www.ce.org/Standards/browseByCommittee_2757.asp. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Ecmascript 262, 3rd edition". Ecma-international.org. http://www.ecma-international.org/publications/standards/Ecma-262.htm. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.w3.org/TR/2002/REC-xhtml1-20020801/ XHTML 1.0 transitional/strict
- ^ "CSS TV Profile 1.0". W3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/CR-css-tv-20030514. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "XMLHttpRequest object". W3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/2007/WD-XMLHttpRequest-20070227/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "DOM level 2.0 Core". W3.org. 20 November 1997. http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Core-20001113. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "DOM level 2.0 Style". W3.org. 13 November 2000. http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Style-20001113. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "DOM level 2.0 Events". W3.org. 13 November 2000. http://www.w3.org/TR/2000/REC-DOM-Level-2-Events-20001113. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "DOM level 2.0 HTML". W3.org. 9 January 2003. http://www.w3.org/TR/2003/REC-DOM-Level-2-HTML-20030109. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "CSS3 working draft". W3.org. http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-roadmap/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ CEA-2014 errata[dead link]
- ^ CELF-2007 CEA-2014 standard introduction
- ^ Open IPTV Forum – Declarative Application Environment
- ^ http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4534279458.html
- ^ "Oregan media browser information". Oregan.net. http://oregan.net/oregan_media_browser.php. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.wedison.org Wedison project information
- ^ Andrews, Robert (1 September 2008). "Philips demoing Net TV". Paidcontent.co.uk. http://www.paidcontent.co.uk/entry/419-philips-demoing-net-tv-when-will-web-tv-work-on-the-sofa/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Philips Net TV live in April, 2009". Engadget.com. http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/20/philips-net-tv-rumored-to-go-live-in-april/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Philips announces Net TV". Pocket-lint.co.uk. 19 February 2009. http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/news/news.phtml/22430/23454/Philips-announces-Net-TV-internet.phtml. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Philips partners with Sharp and Loewe". Whathifi.com. http://whathifi.com/News/IFA-2010-Philips-unveils-3D-TVs-partners-with-Sharp-and-Loewe-to-develop-open-internet-TV-platform/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Sharp Aquos Net". Hughsnews.ca. 2 September 2010. http://www.hughsnews.ca/sharp-unveils-aquos-quattron-3d-lcd-hdtvs-009601. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Loewe Medianet". Loewe-int.de. http://www.loewe-int.de/en/loewe-ag/press/press-releases/top-news/newspost/beitrag/das-neue-loewe-medianet.html. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Samsung Internet-enabled televisions this year". Inquisitr.com. 26 August 2008. http://www.inquisitr.com/2673/samsung-internet-enabled-televisions-this-year/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Panasonic Vieracast internet enabled plasmas due this summer". Engadget.com. http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/20/panasonic-vieracast-internet-enabled-plasmas-due-this-summer/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Sony Google TV". Discover.sonystyle.com. http://discover.sonystyle.com/internettv/. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Samsung Connected TV Yahoo". Connectedtv.yahoo.com. http://connectedtv.yahoo.com/developer. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ "Panasonic Vieracast". .panasonic.com. http://www2.panasonic.com/consumer-electronics/learn/televisions/whats-hot-pz850.jsp. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS8497272379.html