Television for handheld or mobile device
Mobile television
is
television
watched on a small
handheld
or mobile device, typically developed for that purpose. It includes service delivered via
mobile phone networks
, received
free-to-air
via
terrestrial television
stations, or via satellite broadcast. Regular broadcast standards or special mobile TV transmission formats can be used. Additional features include
downloading
TV programs
and
podcasts
from the Internet and storing programming for later viewing.
According to the
Harvard Business Review
, the growing adoption of
smartphones
allowed users to watch as much mobile video in three days of the
2010 Winter Olympics
as they watched throughout the entire
2008 Summer Olympics
, a five-fold increase.
[1]
However, except in South Korea, consumer acceptance of broadcast mobile TV has been limited due to lack of compatible devices.
[2]
Early mobile TV receivers were based on old
analog television
systems. They were the earliest televisions that could be placed in a coat pocket. The first was the Panasonic IC TV MODEL TR-001, introduced in 1970. The second was sold to the public by
Clive Sinclair
in January 1977. It was called the Microvision or the
MTV-1
. It had a two-inch (50 mm)
CRT
screen and was also the first television which could pick up signals in multiple countries. It measured 4.0 inches (100 mm) x 6.25 inches (159 mm) × 1.6 inches (41 mm) and was sold for less than
£
100 in the
UK
and for around
$
400 in the
United States
. The project took over ten years to develop and was funded by around £1.6 million in British government grants.
[3]
[4]
In 2002, South Korea was the first country to introduce commercial mobile TV via
2G
CDMA
IS95
-C, and
3G
(
CDMA2000
1X
EVDO
) networks.
[5]
In 2005, South Korea became the first country to broadcast satellite mobile TV via DMB (
S-DMB
) on May 1, and terrestrial DMB (
T-DMB
) on December 1. South Korea and Japan are developing the sector.
[6]
Mobile TV services were launched in Hong Kong during March 2006 by the operator CSL on the 3G network.
[7]
BT
launched mobile TV in the United Kingdom in September 2006, although the service was abandoned less than a year later.
[8]
Germany had a failed endeavor with MFD Mobiles Fernsehen Deutschland, who launched their
DMB
-based service June 2006 in Germany, but ended it in April 2008.
[9]
Also in June 2006, mobile operator 3 in Italy (part of
Hutchison Whampoa
) launched their mobile TV service, but in contrast to Germany's MFD it was based on the European
DVB-H
standard.
[10]
In the US
Verizon Wireless
and
AT&T
offered
MediaFLO
, a subscription service from March 2007 until March 2011.
In the 2010s, specialised mobile TV platforms and protocols have been discontinued with the rapid deployment of
LTE
cellular network
and rising popularity of
streaming television
over the internet from modern
smartphones
.
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
Digital television
[
edit
]
North America
[
edit
]
As of January 2012
[update]
, there were 120 stations in the United States broadcasting using the
ATSC-M/H
"Mobile DTV" standard – a mobile and handheld enhancement to the HDTV standard that improves handling of
multipath interference
while mobile.
[15]
Broadcast mobile DTV development
[
edit
]
While MediaFLO used the TV spectrum and
MobiTV
used
cell phone
networks,
[16]
"mobile DTV" (ATSC-M/H) used the
digital TV
spectrum.
ION Media Networks
started a test station on channel 38, which was to be used for digital
LPTV
, which used a
single-frequency network (SFN)
. In some areas, more than one
TV transmitter
would be needed to cover all areas. Mobile DTV could have been used at that time because it would not affect
HDTV
reception. A single standard, however, had to be developed.
[17]
Gannett Broadcasting
president David Lougee pointed out that many of those attending the
inauguration of Barack Obama
would likely hear him but not see him; had the new technology been in place, this would not have been a problem.
[18]
In April 2009, the
Open Mobile Video Coalition
, made up of over 800 broadcast stations, selected four test stations: Gannett's
WATL
, ION's
WPXA-TV
in
Atlanta
,
Fisher Communications'
KOMO-TV
, and
Belo Corporation
's
KONG-TV
in
Seattle
. WPXA had begun mobile DTV broadcasting on April 1. The others would begin in May.
[19]
ION chairman and CEO Brandon Burgess said mobile DTV lets stations "think beyond the living room and bring live television and real time information to consumers wherever they may be."
[20]
The Advanced Television Systems Committee started work on mobile DTV standards in May 2007, and manufacturers and sellers worked quickly to make the new technology a reality.
The technology was expected to be used for
Opinion polls
and even voting.
[21]
[22]
By the end of the year, the ATSC and the
Consumer Electronics Association
began identifying products meeting the standard with "MDTV".
[23]
Paul Karpowicz, NAB Television Board chairman and president of Meredith Broadcast Group, said
"This milestone ushers in the new era of digital television broadcasting, giving local TV stations and networks new opportunities to reach viewers on the go. This will introduce the power of local broadcasting to a new generation of viewers and provide all-important emergency alert, local news and other programming to consumers across the nation."
[22]
ION technology vice president Brett Jenkins said, "We're really at a stage like the initial launch of DTV back in 1998. There are almost going to be more transmitters transmitting mobile than receive devices on the market, and that's probably what you'll see for the next six to nine months."
[24]
Devices would eventually include
USB
dongles,
netbooks
,
portable DVD players
and in-car displays.
[24]
White House officials and members of
Congress
saw the triple-play concept in an ION demonstration on July 28, 2009 in conjunction with the OMVC.
[25]
[26]
Another demonstration took place October 16, 2009 with journalists, industry executives and broadcasters riding around Washington, D.C. in a bus with prototype devices. Included were those who would be testing the devices in the Washington and Baltimore markets in January 2010.
[27]
Progress
[
edit
]
On August 7, 2009,
BlackBerry
service began on six TV stations. Eventually 27 other stations are expected to offer the service. By October, 30 stations were airing mobile DTV signals, and that number is expected to grow to 50. Also in the same month, FCC chair Julius Genachowski announced an effort to increase the spectrum available to wireless services.
[22]
Also in August,
WTVE
and
Axcera
began testing a
single-frequency network
(SFN) with multiple transmitters using the new mobile standard. The
RNN
affiliate in
Reading, Pennsylvania
had used this concept since 2007.
[28]
An amplified antenna or higher power for the transmitting station would likely be needed, as well as
repeater stations
where terrain is a problem.
[29]
Lougee, whose company planned testing in its 19 markets in 2010, said the
chip
designs with the new devices made
targeted advertising
possible.
[27]
In December 2009, Concept Enterprises introduced the first mobile DTV tuner for automobiles. Unlike earlier units, this one provides a clear picture without pixelation in a fast-moving vehicle, using an LG M/H chip and a one-inch roof-mounted antenna. No subscription is required.
[30]
Also in December, the
Consumer Electronics Association
hosted a "plugfest" in Washington, D.C. to allow manufacturers to test various devices. More than 15 companies, and engineers from different countries, tested four transmission systems, 12 receiver systems, and four software types.
[23]
[31]
On December 1,
News Corp.
chairman
Rupert Murdoch
said mobile DTV would be important to the future of all journalism, and he planned to offer TV and possibly
newspaper
content in this way.
[32]
Wireless broadband
, which some wanted to replace broadcasting, would not be able to handle the demand for video services.
[33]
ION's Burgess showed off one of the first
iPhones
capable of receiving mobile DTV, while ION's Jenkins showed an LG Maze, a
Valups
, and a
Tivit
; the latter sends signals to the
iPod Touch
and is expected to soon work with the
Google
Nexus
.
[34]
Sinclair Broadcast Group
director of advanced technology Mark Aitken said the mobile DTV concept of multiple transmitters would help free up spectrum for wireless broadband in rural areas but not large cities. He also explained to the FCC that mobile DTV was the best method for sending out live video to those using cell phones and similar devices.
[35]
The
OMVC
's Mobile DTV Consumer Showcase began May 3, 2010, and lasted all summer. Nine stations planned to distribute 20 programs, including local and network shows as well as cable programs, to
Samsung Moment
phones.
Dell Netbooks
and Valups Tivits also received programming.
[36]
On September 23, 2010, Media General began its first MDTV service at
WCMH-TV
in
Columbus, Ohio
and had plans to do the same a month later at
WFLA-TV
in the
Tampa Bay, Florida
area and five to seven more stations in its portfolio.
[37]
On November 19, 2010, a joint venture of 12 major broadcasters known as the
Mobile Content Venture (MCV)
announced plans to upgrade TV stations in 20 markets representing 40 percent of the United States population to deliver live video to portable devices by the end of 2011.
[38]
Brian Lawlor, a
Scripps TV
senior vice president said that in September 2011, Scripps stations would offer a
mobile app
allowing people with an
iPhone
or
iPad
to see emergency information (e.g. weather bulletins) in the event of a power outage.
[39]
In 2012, a number of stations plan to conduct tests of the Mobile Emergency Alert System (M-EAS), a system to deliver emergency information via mobile DTV.
[40]
In January 2012, the MCV announced that
MetroPCS
would offer MCV's Dyle mobile DTV service.
Samsung
planned an
Android
phone capable of receiving this service late in 2012.
[41]
At the end of 2012, Dyle was in 35 markets and capable of reaching 55 percent of viewers.
[42]
According to the home page on its website, "As of May 22, 2015, Dyle mobile TV is no longer in service, and Dyle-enabled devices and their apps will no longer be supported."
[43]
At the NAB show in April 2012, MCV announced that 17 additional television stations would launch mobile DTV, bringing the total to 92, covering more than 55% of US homes. Included are stations in three new markets:
Austin, Texas
,
Boston, Massachusetts
, and
Dayton, Ohio
.
[44]
In September 2012,
WRAL-TV
announced rollout of a
Mobile Emergency Alert System
based around mobile digital television technology.
[45]
By early 2013, 130 stations were providing content, but adoption of devices such as
dongles
was not widespread.
[46]
According to NPD's "Free Streaming TV" report, released in February 2013, 12 percent of United States TV watchers reported streaming TV shows for free during the prior three months, compared to 14 percent who watched a TV show via SVOD.
As of 2023, WNUV CW 54, a Nextgen TV station in Baltimore, is broadcasting in a format called MobileW at 480p resolution for cell phone reception. WNUV owner Sinclair also operates an experimental TV station on Baltimore on RF 24 to test the One Media ATSC 3.0 chip enabled Nextgen TV cell phone, The Mark One.
[47]
Standards
[
edit
]
Mobile network
[
edit
]
- eMBMS
(Evolved Mobile Broadcast Multicast Service) ? also known as LTE Broadcast, transmissions are delivered through an
LTE
cellular network
Terrestrial
[
edit
]
- 1seg
(One Segment) – Mobile TV system on
ISDB-T
- ATSC-M/H
(ATSC Mobile/Handheld) – North America
- DAB-IP
(Digital Audio Broadcast) – UK
- T-DMB
(Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcast) – South Korea
- DMB-T/H
– China
- DVB-H
(Digital Video Broadcasting ? Handheld) –
European Union
, Asia
- iMB
(Integrated Mobile Broadcast, 3GPP MBMS)
- ISDB-Tmm
(Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting ? Terrestrial Mobile Multimedia) – Japan
- MediaFLO
– launched in US, tested in UK and Germany
Satellite
[
edit
]
- CMMB
(China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting) – China
- DVB-SH
(Digital Video Broadcasting ? Satellite for Handhelds) – European Union
- S-DMB
(Satellite Digital Multimedia Broadcast) – South Korea
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
4 Ways Smartphones Save TV
TV Genius Blog. 31 January 2011.
Archived
30 April 2011 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
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"Korean mobile content kings spill the beans"
.
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- ^
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"Mobile TV Spreading in Europe and to the U.S."
Yahoo! Finance
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on Mar 10, 2016.
- ^
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 was also deployed to the Philippines in 2007.
- ^
ZDnet:
BT ditches mobile TV service
, 26 July 2007
- ^
Broadband TV news:
MFD hands back German T-DMB licence
, May 1, 2008
- ^
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:
DVB-H rockets ahead in Italy
, 28 July 2006
- ^
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"
.
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.
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a
b
c
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.
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.
- ^
a
b
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.
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.
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a
b
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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- ^
Free Streaming Making Inroads with Traditional Television Consumers from The
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https://www.npd.com/wps/portal/npd/us/news/press-releases/the-npd-group-free-streaming-making-inroads-with-traditional-television-consumers/
External links
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]
Wireless video and data distribution methods
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