Thursday, October 28, 2010

A Mobile DTV Status Report


Kicking off the “Video on the Go” session, Jerry Whitaker offer a look at ATSC Mobile DTV. “It is TV on the move,” he said. “It is real, and it is out there. It is a new way to think about broadcasting.”
--ATSC Mobile DTV is a standard for delivery of real-time and non-real-time TV content to mobile and handheld devices, which is backward compatible. The system uses a portion of the 19.39 Mbps ATSC payload.
--Mission critical tools include: Channel listing for simple signalling; electronic service guide; subscriber interactions; a rich media environment; and expected services including live video, live audio, datacasting, traffic, weather, news and sports.
--Mobile DTV implementation can be relatively low cost since the DTV infrastructure is already in place (average is $150,000 per station).
--Efforts of the Open Mobile Video Coalition have been instrumental in the rollout of the ATSC Mobile DTV. So far, more than 70 stations have been launched.
--Some initial results (Source: OMVC): Most viewers say they watch on the go, most viewing occurs between 9 am-4 pm, viewers tune in about six times a day, more viewing is done on weekdays than weekends, and local news is most popular program genre.
--A broad array of receiving devices is under development, including portable and in-vehicle receivers.
--Work continues to complete Recommended Practices on ATSC Mobile DTV. The initial version focuses on the management layer issues. ATSC could have the document published by January 1.
--Whitaker’s conclusion: “I think Mobile DTV is a game changer for broadcasters. It provides broadcasters with a direct connect from broadcasters to consumers.”

No comments:

Post a Comment