The European Telecommunications Standards Institute today published the TV-Anytime Forum’s Phase 1 specification set as an ETSI Technical Specification. The new document, ETSI TS 102 822, is entitled Broadcast and On-line Services: Search, select and rightful use of content on personal storage systems, and can be obtained free of charge from the publications download area at www.etsi.org.

The ETSI specification freezes the current output of the TV-Anytime Forum, and allows the specification to be normatively referenced by other relevant standards. The Forum will now move from a development to a deployment mode on its Phase 1 work. Meanwhile, work has begun on the next stage of TV-Anytime specification development (TVA Phase 2), which will address more advanced features of multimedia content management and personal storage.

In announcing the publication, TV-Anytime Forum Chairman Simon Parnall commented, “The Forum is extremely proud to have arrived at this culmination of its work to date. We are encouraged by the relatively rapid acceptance of our recommendations by such a prestigious standards body as ETSI, and expect that this will greatly enhance the adoption of TVA by multimedia content producers, service providers and equipment manufacturers worldwide.”

Phil Laven, Chairman of the ETSI/EBU/CENELEC Joint Technical Committee on Broadcasting, added, “The comprehensive specifications developed by the TV-Anytime Forum have now become an open standard, thus paving the way for widespread implementation of personal storage systems.”

Further information on the TV-Anytime Forum and its other documents are available at the Forum’s website, http://www.tv-anytime.org. This site also contains details on membership, meetings and other activities of the Forum.

About the TV-Anytime Forum
Formed in 1999, the TV-Anytime Forum is developing open specifications for interoperable and integrated systems that will allow consumer electronics manufacturers, content creators, telecommunications companies, broadcasters and other service providers to most effectively utilize high-volume digital storage in consumer devices. The group invites participation from all interested organizations. At present its meetings are held at approximately two-month intervals in Europe, North America and Asia.

For further information, contact TVAF Chairman, Simon Parnall (sparnall@ndsuk.com) or TVAF's Administrator Mark Saunders (tv-anytime@ntlworld.com, or +44 1737 358 799).

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