Mobile TV

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DMB in South Korea

Mobile TV is television service delivered to subscribers via mobile telecommunications networks, such as the mobile phone carriers. This is one of the features provided by 3G phones. In 2005, South Korea became the first country in the world to have mobile TV when it started satellite DMB (S-DMB) and terrestrial DMB (T-DMB) service on May 1 and December 1, respectively. Today, South Korea and Japan are at the forefront of this developing sector[1].Mobile TV services have been launched by the operator CSL in Hong Kong in March 2006 on the 3G network. [2] BT in the United Kingdom was the among the first companies outside South Korea to launch Mobile TV in September 2006, although the service was abandoned less than a year later[3]. The same happened to "MFD Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland", who launched their DMB-based service June 2006 in Germany, and stopped it in April 2008[4]. Also in June 2006, mobile operator 3 in Italy (part of Hutchison Whampoa) launched their mobile TV service, but opposed to their counterpart in Germany this was based on DVB-H[5]. Sprint started offering the service in February 2006 and was the first US carrier to offer the service. In the US Verizon Wireless and more recently AT&T are offering the service.

Contents

[edit] Overview

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Mobile TV is a service which allows cell phone owners to watch television on their phones from a service provider. Television data can be obtained either through an existing cellular network or a propriety network.

In South Korea, mobile TV is largely divided into satellite DMB (S-DMB) and terrestrial DMB (T-DMB). Although S-DMB initially had more content, T-DMB has gained much wider popularity because it is free and included as a feature in most mobile handsets sold in the country today.

Mobile TV is also available for the Indian consumers. BSNL introduced this feature for its eastern and north-eastern regions of India. In 2007, it also launched a mobile TV application called "isee". Today, isee is available not only in the four BSNL zones but also to other networks across india(except Reliance and TATA Indicom). An individaul using a streaming enabled handset can download or access the WAP version of this application on his/her mobile by sending a simple sms "isee" to 57575 or log on to http://www.isee.co.in for further information.

[edit] Challenges

  • Device Manufacturer’s challenges

1. Power Consumption: Battery technology for mobile portable devices may be stuck in a race condition. Improved battery life can be used up by the upgraded mobile content and enhanced functions. However, dashtop mobile devices can also be powered by a 12-volt vehicle battery, however vehicle batteries are not a sustainable source of power for mobile devices.

2. Memory: To support the high buffer requirements of mobile TV. Current memory capabilities available will not be suited for long hours of mobile TV viewing. Furthermore, potential future applications like peer to peer video sharing in mobile phones and consumer broadcasting would definitely add to the increasing memory requirements. The existing P2P algorithms won't be enough for mobile devices, necessiating the advent of 'mobile P2P' algorithms. There is one start-up technology that claims patentability on its mobile P2P, but has not drawn attention from 'device manufacturers' yet.

3. User Interface Design: A large number of mobile phones do not support mobile TV; users have to purchase new handsets with improved LCD display and user interface that support mobile TV. This new design has to appeal to the end-users and increase the clarity of images without making the handset very bulky. The wider LCD touchscreens will be preferred by end-users and iPhone's popularity in the United States is part of the compelling evidence.

4. Processing Power: Device manufacturers should improve the processing power significantly to support a MIPS intensive application like mobile TV.

  • Content Provider’s challenges

The mobile TV industry opens up a new market for the content specifically tailored for mobile TVs. These could include making new mobisodes –mobile episodes of popular shows which are relatively shorter in length (3 to 5 minutes), modifying the content to suit mobile TV.

[edit] Digital TV

ION Media Networks said it was making available HDTV, standard definition and Mobile DTV streams using its affiliates in New York City and Washington, D.C.. The "triple play" concept is part of an effort to create a Mobile DTV standard. For now, only those with prototype receivers can pick up the streams. Eventually, the Open Mobile Video Coalition, made up of over 800 broadcast TV stations, wants to help Mobile DTV reach its potential.

ION Chairman and CEO Brandon Burgess says Mobile DTV lets stations "think beyond the living room and bring live television and real time information to consumers wherever they may be."[6]

The Advanced Television Systems Committee started work on mobile DTV standards in May 2007, and manufacturers and sellers have worked quickly to make the new technology a reality. The OMVC persaded LG and Samsung to work together starting in May 2008 so that differing systems would not delay the technology.

The ATSC Technology and Standards Group approved the ATSC-M/H standard for mobile DTV which all members would vote on in August, with the standard possibly taking effect in September. The public could be using the new devices by 2010.[7]

[edit] Mobile TV standards

  • ATSC-M/H
  • CMMB (China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting) - China
  • DAB-IP (Digital Audio Broadcast) - UK
  • T-DMB (Terrestrial Digital Mulitmedia Broadcast) - South Korea, Germany
    • S-DMB (Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcast) - South Korea, Japan
  • DVB-H
  • HSPA
  • ISDB-T (Integrated Service Digital Broadcasting) - Japan and Brazil
    • 1seg (One Segment) - Mobile TV system on ISDB-T
  • MediaFLO - launched in US, trialled in UK and Germany

European Union adopted DVB-H/DVB-SH over other versions of the technology in 2008.

[edit] References

  1. ^ NYTimes.com via Yahoo! Finance: Mobile TV Spreading in Europe and to the U.S., May 6, 2008
  2. ^ 3G UK: The service is based on the Golden Dynamic Enterprises Ltd.'s "VOIR Portal" and follows the 3GPP standard 3G-324 M. The same service is also deployed to Philippines in 2007.
  3. ^ ZDnet: BT ditches mobile TV service, 26 July 2007
  4. ^ Broadband TV news: MFD hands back German T-DMB licence, May 1, 2008
  5. ^ The Register: DVB-H rockets ahead in Italy, 28 July 2006
  6. ^ Dickson, Glen (2009-06-29). "ION Broadcasts Mobile DTV in N.Y., D.C.: Hails Its Digital TV "Triple Play"". Broadcasting & Cable. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/307120-ION_Broadcasts_Mobile_DTV_in_N_Y_D_C_.php?rssid=20068&q=digital+tv. Retrieved on 2009-07-02. 
  7. ^ Dickson, Glen (2009-07-06). "ATSC-M/H voted to proposed standard status". Broadcasting & Cable. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/307463-Mobile_DTV_is_Almost_Official.php?rssid=20065&q=digital+tv. Retrieved on 2009-07-08. 

Sources: BBC

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Wireless video and data distribution methods

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

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