MHEG

MHEG

Overview

Voyager is OBS’s DVB-based MHEG-5 middleware system, which enables interactive ‘red button’ services on digital TV devices for every transmission network (DVB-T /S /C.) Although Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) is becoming more widely supported for interactive TV services, MHEG-5 still has a wide install base of services in countries across the globe (UK, Australia, New Zealand, HongKong, Ireland, and South Africa). MHEG-5 offers access to a range of news and weather services, home shopping, electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive advertising and games. MHEG-5 is also one of the technologies specified by CI+ for use in conjunction with CAM resident applications.

OBS' MHEG-5 middleware is fully compliant with all MHEG standards as set in the UK 1.06 and DBook 6.2.1, DBook specifications. Voyager can be provided as a standalone software product with a well-defined API for integration into a third party DVB stack, or customers can opt for a turnkey solution from OBS, using Sunrise, our proven DVB software. The Voyager MHEG solution has been deployed in over 10 million units worldwide.

Features

MHEG allows a wide range of TV-centric interactive services to be deployed, providing users with a range of features. The interactive services that are offered include: news, weather services, home shopping, electronic programming guides (EPG), interactive advertising and games.  The Interaction Channel (ICS) allows for additional broadcast related services and content to be delivered via an IP connection. The Interaction Channel, with its two-way interactivity, provides consumers with more forms of viewing, entertainment and richer interactive applications such as linear IP TV channels, catch-up TV, and VOD, T-commerce, voting and shopping. Our MHEG solution supports HD resolutions to ensure that users get the very best viewing experience possible.

Interactive Advertising

Interactive Advertising

MHEG features include interactive games

Interactive Games

Electronic Programme Guide

EPG

Catch up TV

Catch-Up TV

MHEG HD Country Profiles

The ETSI MHEG standard (ES 202 184) is now the main standard from which all country profiles are generated. Each country/operator will then define their own profile to ensure that devices deployed into their market support the features used by their MHEG applications. Country profiles currently supported by OBS are:

  • Freeview – UK
  • Freeview – Australia
  • Freeview – New Zealand
  • TVB – Hong Kong
  • Saorview – Ireland
  • South Africa

MHEG Interaction Channel

The Interaction Channel (Return Path) extensions to the MHEG standard enable broadcast interactive services to be delivered via an IP connection. This will allow delivery of additional content and two-way interactivity, providing consumers with more forms of viewing, entertainment and richer interactive applications such as T-commerce, voting and shopping.

MHEG & CI Plus

MHEG, along with HbbTV, is one of the two execution environments specified by CI+ LLP for enabling CAM resident applications. The OBS MHEG engine is fully compliant with the latest CI+ requirements and is available for use with OBS' own CI Plus Host stack.

Find Out More...

If you would like to know more about Ocean Blue Software's MHEG solution, please email us at:

info@oceanbluesoftware.co.uk