Witbe now supports the Device Automation Bus (DAB) protocol, developed to markedly improve how consumer video devices are remotely operated for QA and automation purposes.
Witbe, post-device video testing and real-time monitoring specialist, now supports the Device Automation Bus (DAB) protocol, announced at the YouTube Device Partner Summit held 15-16 April in Tokyo. This protocol, co-developed by Amazon, Google (YouTube) and Netflix, is anticipated to markedly improve how consumer video devices are remotely operated for QA and automation purposes. Witbe is the first company to bring it to life in a real-world QA environment.
In Tokyo, Witbe showed the full effect of DAB in a demo that covered native application control, precise state queries and direct integration with Witbe’s Smartgate dashboard. Users could switch from the traditional IR remote to DAB control on the same device, making Witbe’s Remote Eye Controller (remote control application) more versatile and its Virtual NOC more effective.
“DAB is a major step forward for device control in streaming QA,” said Mathieu Planche, CEO of Witbe. “This open, standardized protocol is a natural fit with Witbe’s mission of real-device QA at scale, and e are pleased to partner with industry experts to bring it into production.”
DAB simplifies and unifies automation across brands and platforms by replacing a patchwork of legacy methods — like infrared commands, Bluetooth scripting and proprietary workarounds. Combined with Witbe’s monitoring systems, DAB enables smarter test coverage, deeper observability, and more secure, scalable workflows.
Witbe’s integration of DAB upgrades the company’s robust QA stack, which already includes IR-BT-RF4CE [infrared, Bluetooth, radio frequency] and voice control compatibility. With DAB, QA teams have an alternative way to control devices that reduce troubleshooting time and improve next generation testing scenarios, such as CI/CD deployment pipelines and remote operator workflows.
By using the DAB protocol’s bridge feature, Witbe also plans to add DAB support to non-DAB legacy devices, such as older Android TV, Roku and Fire TV devices. This will allow QA teams to run the same DAB script on both DAB-compatible and legacy devices.
“This isn’t just about compatibility — it’s about shaping the future of video QA,” Matthieu said. “We believe in open standards, collaboration and giving QA engineers the tools they need to work smarter. DAB is fully open-source and backed by some of the major organisations in streaming and content delivery. Witbe’s adoption reinforces the company’s leadership in video testing innovation and its commitment to continuous real-device automation.” www.witbe.net
