A new association of software providers, manufacturers and others supporting the use of the MHEG-5 interactive TV standard hosted a stand at IBC to increase awareness of the format and promote membership. The International MHEG Promotion Alliance (IMPALA) includes founding members Strategy & Technology, Cabot Communications and EchoStar Europe.

MHEG-5 provides an efficient, cost-effective and flexible standard that can be rapidly deployed into digital TV markets by broadcasters and terrestrial, satellite or cable operators interested in low-cost interactive TV services.

The MHEG-5 scheme was originally developed and standardized by ISO in the mid 1990s as part of the DAVIC effort to support interactivity and navigation for video-on-demand services. Since then, it has achieved significant success on the UK's Freeview DVB-T platform with more than 12 million receivers deployed using UK Profile 1. The latest version is also an ETSI standard.

For more information, visit www.impala.org.