TV Control/Application Types
During the TPAC 2016 F2F meeting, the group discussed three types of web applications that could make use of the TV Control API. We should consider each use case and API feature from the point of view of each of these types of application. Doing this should help resolve several of the current open issues against the spec (e.g., #7, #8, #11, #13).
- Type 1: Device on-screen display: The only web application that runs in this environment is provided by the device implementer. This environment is highly privileged, with access to all device features.
- Type 2: Web applications associated with broadcast TV/radio channels: Hybrid broadcast/internet standards for TV define a mechanism to associate a Web application with a broadcast channel. For example, in HbbTV this can be signalled through an Application Information Table (AIT) carried in the broadcast transport stream. At present, the TV Control API does not describe how the association between a broadcast channel and the web application is established.
- Type 3: General web applications, not directly associated with broadcast TV/radio channels: What level of access should any arbitrary website have to TV features?
Features and application types
| Feature | Type 1 | Type 2 | Type 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enumerate tuners | yes | yes | ? |
| Enumerate channels of a source | yes | yes | yes |
| Schedule recordings | yes | yes | no |
| Access recordings | yes (all) | same-origin only | same-origin only |
| Enter parental control PIN | yes | no | no |
| Set parental control PIN | yes | no | no |
| Enumerate CI cards | yes | ? | ? |
| Read signal strength | yes | ? | ? |
| Tune to a channel | yes | yes | yes |
| Scan the source for channels | yes | no | no |
| Read the type of source | yes | yes | yes |
| Access channel IDs | yes | yes | yes |
| Get the current program | yes | yes | ? |
| Retrieve the EPG | yes | yes | yes |
| Tamper with the broadcast channel | yes | ? | ? |