Design of Middleware for Interactive Data Services in the Terrestrial DMB

In this letter, we introduce a new middleware architecture and its generic application programming interface (API) (called the T-DMB MATE API) for terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (T-DMB). Middleware in T-DMB enables inter-operable applications to be downloaded from both broadcast and telecommunication networks in advance and to be executed in any type of T-DMB receiver. The middleware we introduce here is especially designed to support a proposed method for application provisions applied to a concept of application module appropriate to the service environment of T-DMB. We also verify the designed T-DMB MATE API through the implementation of the middleware and its application in a PC-based receiver.