How to get mobile TV ?
How to get mobile TV ?
Relaying TV - and VOD services - to a cellular handset involves a lot more than building an analogue or digital TV tuning system into the mobile, as TV signals do not propagate well to TVs on the move. Two main technologies are developed:
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DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld), and ETSI standard already trialled by Nokia. The technology uses data burst approach in order to reduce DVB-H power consumption on mobile phones. The DVB-H signal is carried across a separate network, and supports frame rates of up to 25 frames per second. O2 and Vodafone Germany are trialling the technology.
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Video streaming that is compliant with and reuses existing GSM-based networks. But with 3G transmission speeds of about 100-300Kbit/s, real-time TV programs cannot be transmitted in good conditions; quality is poor. HSDPA would be the solution for video streaming. Many countries are already trialling the system, and thanks to HSDA anticipated fast deployment, video streaming could reach the market faster than DVB-H.
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Japan and South Korea have been working on their own systems: the Japanese ISDB-T (Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting - Terrestrial) is currently at the field test stage; and the Korean DMB (Digital Media Broadcasting) system.
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Qualcomm has also developed its own proprietary TV-to-mobile system (ASTC-based), and launched its MediaFLO multicasting network.
It should be expected that after a trial period, the best one is selected or all these disparate systems merge/combine/disappear/evolve into a single worldwide standard in order to provide easy connectivity everywhere in the world and scale economy for mass production.