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Tuesday, December 27, 2005
BBC News predicts Mobile TV boom
It's starting to get confusing with all the different interpretations of TV on-the-go:
1. True Mobile TV: multi- or broad-cast via DVB-H, MBMS etc; requires completely new handsets; Nokia's first TV phone will be out mid 2006, so this won't happen quickly
2. Streaming via data channel (read: UMTS): not broadcast and prone to breaking down if over-used; as a novelty / early adopter feature it works fine
3. Replaying of local video files of TV shows: the way TV is promoted for the Apple iPod; this is not TV, but the only thing needed in a phone, iPod or similar is a video player, so this might actually be the most interesting choice in the short term
The ending statements sum it up (at least regarding points 1 and 2 above):
Unlike TV streaming via 3G, DVB-H does not eat up bandwidth and is a whole lot cheaper to roll out nationwide, about a tenth of what was spent on the GSM network, according to Mr Sharp.
"3G has capacity limitations and if two or three people in one place are receiving a TV picture, you can't make a phone call," explained Mr Sharp.
"The key thing with DVB-H is that it isn't a two-way thing. It is broadcast one way so as many people in one space as want it can receive it," he said.
"It is not a case of moving from 3G to DVB-H. The two are complementary and will co-exist because 3G is an important two-way technology," said Mr Sharp.
BBC NEWS | Technology | New era heralded for mobile TV
1. True Mobile TV: multi- or broad-cast via DVB-H, MBMS etc; requires completely new handsets; Nokia's first TV phone will be out mid 2006, so this won't happen quickly
2. Streaming via data channel (read: UMTS): not broadcast and prone to breaking down if over-used; as a novelty / early adopter feature it works fine
3. Replaying of local video files of TV shows: the way TV is promoted for the Apple iPod; this is not TV, but the only thing needed in a phone, iPod or similar is a video player, so this might actually be the most interesting choice in the short term
The ending statements sum it up (at least regarding points 1 and 2 above):
Unlike TV streaming via 3G, DVB-H does not eat up bandwidth and is a whole lot cheaper to roll out nationwide, about a tenth of what was spent on the GSM network, according to Mr Sharp.
"3G has capacity limitations and if two or three people in one place are receiving a TV picture, you can't make a phone call," explained Mr Sharp.
"The key thing with DVB-H is that it isn't a two-way thing. It is broadcast one way so as many people in one space as want it can receive it," he said.
"It is not a case of moving from 3G to DVB-H. The two are complementary and will co-exist because 3G is an important two-way technology," said Mr Sharp.
BBC NEWS | Technology | New era heralded for mobile TV
