The new release versions of the MHP 1.2.2 (Multimedia Home Platform) and GEM 1.2.2 (Globally Executable MHP) specifications have been formally adopted as standards by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI).
In a statement the DVB said the announcement marked the culmination of refactoring work that has made GEM a self-contained specification. GEM will now take on the role of the DVB’s primary middleware specification, with MHP becoming a subset of GEM.
While MHP failed to make significant headway in Europe, following much publicised licensing issues, CableLabs, the ATSC, ARIB and the Blu-ray Disc Association picked up the derivative GEM in the United States.
The refactoring of GEM was able to remove references, selections, clarifications and bug fixes to MHP.
The MHP 1.2.2 (TS 102 727 v.1.1.1) and GEM 1.2.2 (TS 102 728 v.1.1.1) standards can be downloaded from ETSI or via DVB’s MHP website.