GEM replaces MHP as primary DVB middleware

The European Technical Standards Institute (ETSI) has formally adopted the new versions of the Multimedia Home Platform (MHP 1.2.2) and Globally Executable MHP (GEM 1.2.2) specifications as standards.

GEM is the MHP variant that excludes transmission-related elements that was developed to accommodate its use as the basis of other Java-based TV platforms including US cable (tru2way) and consumer electronics platform Blu-ray.

The latest move by ETSI means that GEM has now emerged as a self-contained standard in its own right, and has taken over the role of the DVB’s primary middleware specification, with MHP becoming a derived specification based on GEM, rather than the other way round. As GEM is network-independent, it can be used for IPTV and hybrid broadcast/broadband deployments.

The latest version of GEM comes shorn of its references, clarifications and bug fixes to MHP, simplifying the structure of the standard.

According to the DVB, there are currently about 50 million GEM and MHP-based devices deployed globally.