Using MPEG-7 at the Consumer Terminal in Broadcasting

The European Union IST research programme SAMBITS (System for Advanced Multimedia Broadcast and IT Services) project is using Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB), the DVB Multimedia Home Platform (MHP) standard, MPEG-4 and MPEG-7 in a studio production and multimedia terminal system to integrate broadcast data and Internet data. This involves using data delivery over multiple paths and the use of a back channel for interaction. MPEG-7 is being used to identify programme content and to construct queries to allow users to identify and retrieve interesting related content. Searching for content is being carried out using the HySpirit search engine. The paper deals with terminal design issues, the use of MPEG-7 for broadcasting applications and using a consumer broadcasting terminal for searching for material related to a broadcast.