IMPALA - the International MHEG Promotion Alliance

MHEG-5 is a licence-free, market-proven public standard hybrid interactive TV middleware. It is highly efficient from a receiver perspective and allows a wide range of TV-centric iTV services to be deployed; services that are proven to enhance viewer loyalty and “stickiness”. A highly structured conformance regime and country profile system allows vibrant receiver retail models to be established. The hybrid MHEG Interaction Channel augments broadcast services by providing IP-based connectvity in the same receiver allowing broadcasters to create additional revenue streams.

As well as being conditional access-agnostic, MHEG-5 is also platform-agnostic and has successfully been deployed on terrestrial, satellite and cable  in the UK, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Australia.

MHEG-5 also has an active technology roadmap and is constantly being developed.

Freeview New Zealand took its lead from the successful Freeview UK platform in its business structure, brand positioning, and a number of technology decisions. It made sense for us to go with a cost-effect and proven open standard middleware platform – MHEG-5 - for interactive broadcast applications.

Steve Browning,
General Manager of Freeview in New Zealand