IPTV Application Challenge

Call for Applications for the 2nd ITU IPTV Application Challenge – “a Better Quality of Life”

The 2nd ITU IPTV Application Challenge calls for original IPTV applications running over ITU-T IPTV standards, which are discussed in ITU-T IPTV Global Standards Initiative. The Challenge aims at discovering innovative IPTV applications, and expanding the range of the broad IPTV ecosystem including e-health, ICT accessibility, and all areas to improve social welfare. An awards ceremony, as well as a showcasing of the most promising apps, will take place during WTSA-12 in Dubai, UAE, 20-29 November 2012, an event attended by around 1000 senior representatives from ITU Member States and Sector Members.

By entering the Challenge, participants agree to be bound by the following Rules. All decisions of ITU are final and without appeal.

Article 1. No purchase or payment of any kind is required to enter this Challenge.

Article 2. The Challenge is open to participants from ITU Member States (see www.itu.int/members/index.html). Participants may be individuals, legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) and public sector organizations, though not all are eligible for the cash prize. Participants are responsible for compliance with legal requirements of their country. Staff of ITU and of the sponsor(s) of this Challenge, as well as members of the jury are not eligible to participate in this Challenge.

1. Individuals must be of age of majority in their country at the time of entry. Individuals may form teams and submit entries on behalf of teams. Individuals who join teams must meet the eligibility requirements.
2. Organizations must be legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) or public sector organizations in their respective countries.

Article 3. Submitted applications will be selected and awarded for the following categories:

1. Best App - Individual/SME (small and medium enterprise)

   Individuals and organizations (profit, non-profit) with fewer than 50 employees may compete for this award category with a cash prize of USD 3,000. Public sector organizations, regardless of their size, may not compete for this award with a cash prize.

2. Best App - Corporate

   Public sector organizations of any size, and legally established entities (profit, non-profit, academic) with 50 or more employees may compete for this non-cash award category.

In addition, some submitted applications may be selected as honourable mentions without any cash prize.

Article 4. Applications must run over ITU-T IPTV standards, either ITU-T H.761 (2011) "Nested context language (NCL) and Ginga-NCL for IPTV services" (http://itu.int/rec/T-REC-H.761) or ITU-T H.762 (2011) "Lightweight interactive multimedia environment (LIME) for IPTV services" (http://itu.int/rec/T-REC-H.762). Any video content must be encoded using ITU-T H.264 "Advanced video coding for generic audiovisual services" (http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-H.264). The file structure of the application must follow the details found in Draft Recommendation H.IPTV-Widget "IPTV Widget Service" (http://www.itu.int/md/T09-IPTV.GSI-110516-TD-GEN-0423/en). A copy of those standards and technical description is available at: www.itu.int/challenges/iptv.

Article 5. Submissions will be judged by a jury, determined by ITU. Decisions of the jury are final and without appeal. The jury verifies that the participant meets the eligibility criteria in Article 2 above, and the application(s) meet(s) the criteria in Article 4 above. The jury judges all submissions that pass the initial screening on the contents based on the following five criteria:

1. Degree of innovation (1/5);
2. Level of interactivity (1/5);
3. User friendliness/ease of use (1/5);
4. Value to society (1/5);
5. Value to quality of life (1/5).

Article 6. Participants must register on-line before submitting their application. On-line registration will be available on the Challenge website at: www.itu.int/challenges/iptv. The on-line registration period will run from 15 June 2012 until 12:00, 15 August 2012 CET (Central European Time).

When registering, the following information needs to be provided:

• Participant information (name, country, postal address, email address and phone number);
• Category that the entry falls in ( or in Article 3 above);
• ITU-T Recommendation(s) that the application runs over
• Application title (optional);
• Application outline, a brief description of the objective and function of the application (optional).

Following the registration, a registration ID and a work ID that must be included in the submission, a description form as well as information on the FTP area (see Article 7) will be sent to the registered participant by email.

Article 7. All submissions must be submitted in English in electronic format to ITU through its FTP area. Information on the FTP will be sent to each registered participant by email.

Only submissions to this FTP area will be accepted. A submission must be comprised of 1) a software application, 2) a description of the application, 3) screenshots in “.ppt” or “.pdf” format illustrating the application’s proposed features and functions, and 4) a short video in WMV format lasting a maximum of five minutes) that demonstrates how the application runs.

The description of the application should use a description form which will be sent to the registered participants by email, and include the following information:

• Registration ID and Work ID (see Article 6);
• Application title;
• Description of the application, including
  1. Summary of the application;
  2. How to use the application;
  3. What are the user benefits;
  4. Appealing points of the application on each evaluation criterion (see Article 5 above), if any;

ITU will acknowledge receipt of the submission by email.

Article 8. The submission period will run from 13 August 2012 until 12:00, 7 September 2012. Only submissions submitted during this period will be accepted. Once a submission is submitted, the participant cannot make any changes or alterations to the submission unless they receive permission from ITU.

Article 9. Participants are responsible for any expenses made in order to submit their submission(s).

Article 10. Participants may submit more than one submission; however, applications must not be substantially similar to a prior application submitted by the same participant. A separate registration is required for each submission.

Article 11. Submissions must be original applications that are not currently under review by another contest, be solely owned by the participant and must not violate the intellectual property rights of other parties. Participants will retain the intellectual property rights on their own application.

Article 12. By submitting an Application, participants grant the ITU and its assignees a non-exclusive, one-year, world-wide, royalty-free license to use and modify their application(s) and video(s) for promotion, public display, informational, educational or awareness purposes. This license does not prevent the participants from licensing their application (whether royalty-free or for royalties) at any time for commercial purposes to any party (including the sponsor(s) of this Challenge). ITU may, at its sole discretion, decide not to use any Application.

Article 13. Participants of the Challenge allow ITU to use their names and photographs for promotional purposes in any media, worldwide, without payment or consideration.

Article 14. ITU will notify the winners via email by 20 October 2012. If the winner(s) cannot be contacted by ITU, or does not respond within seven (7) calendar days from the time ITU sends its notification, ITU may decide to award the prize for the Challenge to other participant(s) or not award the prize at all.

Article 15. The winners of the Challenge will officially be announced and showcased at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-12) in Dubai, UAE, from 20 to 29 November 2012, and featured on ITU’s website on the Challenge at www.itu.int/challenges/iptv and in an ITU press release. The winners are responsible for any expenses made in order to attend the awards ceremony, including but not limited to travel and accommodation costs, travel insurance, etc. They are also responsible for all administrative formalities which might be required for their travel to Dubai, UAE and for all applicable taxes and fees associated with receipt and/or use of the prize. No transfer or substitution of the prize is permitted.

Article 16. The winners will receive a one-year right to use the Challenge logo on their own promotional materials for the awarded application.

Article 17. The use of the ITU logo is strictly prohibited.

Article 18. By entering the Challenge, participants agree to release and hold harmless the ITU from and against any and all claims, expenses, and liability, including but not limited to negligence and damages of any kind to persons and property, infringement of trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights arising out of or relating to participation in the Challenge.

Article 19. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation or a waiver of the privileges and immunities of ITU, which are specifically reserved.