MHP / GEM - Frequently Asked Questions

What is middleware and why is it needed?

Where are MHP and GEM in use?

What are the licensing costs for using MHP?

What is the difference between the various versions of MHP?

What is the current status of the MHP specifications? What is the future roadmap?

How much does a typical MHP enabled receiver cost?

What is the role of GEM in the Blu-ray Disc environment?

Is it possible to convert web-based applications (e.g. flash, html, etc...) to run in an MHP environment?

Where can I learn how to create MHP/GEM applications?

Does MHP operate on HDTV systems?

What is middleware and why is it needed?

Middleware is the layer that enables the software, in this case interactive TV applications, to run on the hardware, for example a set-top box. It can been seen as performing a similar function to that of the operating system on a PC. However, MHP middleware in fact sits on top of the operating system of a set-top box, as an Application Programming Interface (API).

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Where are MHP and GEM in use?

Initial deployments of MHP were in broadcast markets, over satellite (DVB-S) by Skylife in Korea, and terrestrially (DVB-T) by MTV3 in Finland. Since then, the uptake of broadband has meant that many recent MHP deployments have been in hybrid broadcast/broadband networks, where the broadcast network is using the broadband network for complementary information, applications and, recently, video. Other key markets for MHP include Italy (DVB-T), Austria (DVB-T/DVB-C), Spain (DVB-T), Belgium (DVB-C), Poland (DVB-S2/DVB-C), Norway (DVB-T), Saudi Arabia (DVB-T), Switzerland (DVB-C) and Taiwan (DVB-T).

Blu-ray Disc players represent the single biggest category of GEM-compatible devices already deployed. Other GEM-compatible deployments include OCAP on cable networks in the USA and South Korea, ACAP on terrestrial networks in the USA and South Korea, and ARIB B.23 in Japan. South Korea is also the location for the first rollout of GEM-IPTV with more than 200,000 subscribers by March 2008.

For up-to-date information on MHP and GEM deployments see the MHP NewsBlog.

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What are the licensing costs for using MHP?

For those who wish to implement MHP services there are a number of issues relating to licensing costs that should be considered. The issues differ depending on which sector of the industry is concerned.

Manufacturers of set-top boxes and other receiving devices are required to obtain the MHP Test Suite, which is used to ensure that the specification has been correctly implemented. The completion of this certification process enables a manufacturer to apply to use the MHP logo on their products as a mark of compliance. A license fee is also payable to the holders of essential IPR in the MHP specifications. The patent holders have formed a patent pool which is administered by Via Licensing. The schedule of fees due can be seen on the Via Licensing website.

For more information on licensing costs for device manufacturers, and to see a list of companies with the right to display the MHP logo on their equipment see Implementing MHP.

A license fee for essential patents is also sought from some broadcasters. The schedule of fees is available from Via Licensing.

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What is the difference between the various versions of MHP?

Each MHP version is designed to address specificic market needs:

MHP 1.0 is for unidirectional interactivity, mainly aimed at horizontal DVB-T markets, with limited use of a return channel
MHP 1.1 is for bidirectional interactivity
MHP 1.2 is for bidirectional interactivity including video streaming. MHP 1.2 also includes features that allow further customisation of the end-user experience by Pay TV operators.

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What is the current status of the MHP specifications? What is the future roadmap?

MHP 1.0: MHP 1.0.3, along with Errata #2 and Errata #3 is the final specification
MHP 1.1: MHP 1.1.3 is the final specification.
MHP 1.2: MHP 1.2 is likely to be reviewed and improved after initial market deployments

The current versions of the MHP and GEM specifications, along with their associated errata and JavaDocs are available under Technical Specifications, above right.

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How much does a typical MHP enabled receiver cost?

Current prices can be easily found by searching online stores and price comparison sites using the search term "MHP". Here are some examples:

- Italy (MHP 1.0, 3x CA systems, smart card reader, modem, SDTV): ciao.it
- Spain (MHP 1.0, free-to-air, modem, SDTV): mercamania.es
- Austria (MHP 1.1, FTA, modem/ethernet, SDTV): geizhals.at
- Norway (MHP 1.1.2, HDTV): prisguide.no

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What is the role of GEM in the Blu-ray Disc environment?

The Blu-ray Disc specification provides a fully programmable application environment with network connectivity thereby enabling content providers to create highly interactive titles. This mode is based on a platform that is fully compliant with the J2ME Personal Basis Profile Java platform (PBP 1.0) and GEM 1.0.2. It is known as “BD-J”.

Possible BD-J applications include:

A disc that supports downloading trailers for a sequel from a website with playback under application control
A disc with a set of games, each game associated with a title in the disc’s table of content. The main menu of the disc allows downloading subsequent games from a website.
A disc is distributed supporting only a small number of languages. Later support for more languages (i.e. subtitle and or audio streams) can be downloaded by the BD-J application on the disc.

BD-J provides a Java User Interface & graphics framework along with support for Local Storage and Internet connectivity features, thereby creating a complete and future proof solution.

BD-J resources:

BD-J Baseline Application for BD-ROM (PDF)
Guides for BD-J application developers
HDcookbook for BD-J and GEM from java.net

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Is it possible to convert web-based applications (e.g. flash, html, etc...) to run in an MHP environment?

TV is a very different environment from the desktop PC Internet browser, but it is possible to transcode other application formats into Java MHP. MHP offers other options to be considered when moving web-based applications into the TV space:

MHP 1.1 supports DVB-HTML applications, so HTML is largely supported with the required extensions to deal with TV environment (video window, remote control, etc.)
MHP 1.1 also supports both native and interoperable plug-ins to run other content formats on the digital TV receiver
Additionally, any MHP version can be used to create "browsers" to support: declarative content formats suited for TV; standards like MHEG-5, WTVML; or a proprietary language from each application developer company.

Note that when Flash runs on desktop PCs it is very CPU and memory demanding. Most of the digital TV receivers in the market are not able to run desktop Flash applications for this reason. Even devices as powerful as the iPhone are not ready for desktop Flash.

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Where can I learn how to create MHP/GEM applications?

Visit the Implementing MHP where you can find links to resources for application developers.

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Does MHP operate on HDTV systems?

Yes! Support for HDTV has been included since MHP 1.1 was published.

Examples of deployments include Norway (DVB-T), Belgium (DVB-C) and Poland (DVB-S).

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