[opendtv] TI Exec: Open Standards Crucial for Mobile TV

"However, given the tremendous interest in DVB-H and ISDB-T and the lack of 
interest in E-VSB, it now looks as if broadcasters will end up dependent on 
a distribution platform they don't own or control when it comes delivering 
TV to mobile devices."

Who is going to take the bitrate hit that E-VSB demands? (lose 2 bits for 
every 1 robust bit transmitted.)  If broadcasters were so willing to take 
that kind of a bitrate hit, switch to DVB-T.  Then we could transmit DVB-H 
as part of our DVB-T signal.

John Shutt

(I know, Bert, I know.  ATSC is what we have.)


***************

Date posted: 2005-03-29

TI Exec: Open Standards Crucial for Mobile TV

Doug Rasor, Texas Instruments vice president and manager for worldwide 
strategic marketing, told broadcasters at the National Association of 
Broadcasters (NAB) Futures Summit in Pebble Beach, Calif. that mobile 
digital broadcast TV combines the two best-selling consumer products in 
history--TVs and mobile phones. He explained, "In the last sixty years we've 
evolved from radio, to black and white TV, to color TV, to the cable TV 
universe. Now that opportunity is expanding even further with TV on mobile 
phones, representing the ability to reach millions of consumers in new ways. 
TV will be the ingredient that drives demand for the next generation of 
wireless mobile phones because consumers want both communications and 
entertainment - all in one place. Mobile phones are already becoming a 
delivery mechanism for TV and radio broadcasts, bringing new interactive 
content to savvy on-the-go consumers."

Rasor noted mobile DTV could provide revenue opportunities for broadcasters 
and content providers through subscription services, interactive TV, Web 
traffic and premium content. These opportunities would be restricted, he 
warned, if the mobile TV system was not based on open standards such as the 
DVB-H. "At TI we believe that working in an open ecosystem built on an open 
standard such as DVB-H, for instance, is far better for the industry and 
consumers than working in a proprietary environment, where a few players 
dominate the majority of the value chain and limit other players in their 
ability to participate in and generate revenue from that value chain. Open, 
non-proprietary standards provide the best opportunity for broadcasters and 
content providers to play in multiple areas and get the most revenue from 
the DTV market."

ATSC standards were not mentioned anywhere in the TI news release describing 
Doug Rasor's presentation. Texas Instruments "Hollywood" single chip DTV 
receiver for handhelds only supports COFDM based systems DVB-H and ISDB-T. 
While Crown Castle is using DVB-H for its mobile DTV system, Qualcomm is 
focusing its mobile effort on the CDMA/EvDO system used in its cell phone 
products.

Can the ATSC enhanced VSB (E-VSB) system compete with these standards? DVB-H 
and ISDB-T are designed to minimize power consumption in handheld devices 
and many manufacturers are showing cell phone designs using these standards. 
Cell phone based data standards like Qualcomm's 1xRTT are already being used 
by Sprint for delivering TV content to cell phones.

ATSC has one advantage that could make it a player in the U.S. mobile DTV 
market-- a nationwide distribution platform is already in place, with very 
few areas not having access to multiple ATSC DTV signals and desirable 
content, including local news, traffic reports and weather. Before this 
opportunity can be realized, E-VSB standards need to be finalized and mobile 
phone manufacturers have to be convinced to include E-VSB capability in cell 
phones.

This may be the most difficult part, as almost all cell phones are sold 
through cellular service providers. They will have to have a business reason 
for including this capability in their phones and free TV programming may 
not offer it. Qualcomm and Crown Castle have barriers to overcome as well. 
Not only do they have to provide revenue opportunities for their mobile 
phone partners, they also have to build out a distribution system and 
negotiate with programmers for content. However, given the tremendous 
interest in DVB-H and ISDB-T and the lack of interest in E-VSB, it now looks 
as if broadcasters will end up dependent on a distribution platform they 
don't own or control when it comes delivering TV to mobile devices.



 
 
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