[opendtv] Re: Specs flap is mobile TVs next test
- From: Tom Barry <trbarry@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 11 Mar 2006 18:16:12 -0500
What confuses me is that the broadcasters, who supposedly detest the=20
interactive mobile guys, do not instead want to use a form of=20
broadcasting that could easily be received on a normal portable phone,=20
without subscription.
My daughters cell phone also happens to have an FM radio for which no=20
special fees are required. That feature just happened to be in her=20
model. While I realize the cell phone providers might not be=20
particularly pleased to provide normal OTA TV reception it seems some=20
cell phone CE manufacturers would be happy to include it if passable=20
reception could be expected. And you would think broadcasters would=20
love it to compete with the cell phone services if not the phones=20
themselves.
I wonder it if would be royalties issue?
- Tom
Albert Manfredi wrote:
> To me, this article seems to further confirm that the TV aspect of "TV =
to=20
> handheld devices" might be quite different from run of the mill TV=20
> broadcasting. They claim that interactivity would be a major component =
part=20
> of it, and even say that it's a sine qua non of the whole concept of TV=
to=20
> handheld devices.
>=20
> "Operators blame a lack of choice and availability of set-tops or hands=
ets=20
> for the initially slow take-up of free-to-air set-tops in the United Ki=
ngdom=20
> in 2002, as well as for the glacially slow penetration of 3G service."
>=20
> That sounds familiar. On the other hand, lack of rapid take-up of 3G in=
=20
> general might be caused by a lack of long-term interest by consumers in=
=20
> having video sent to cell phones, and especially if this involves highe=
r=20
> fees, as both of the competing DVB-H camps now seem to have taken for=20
> granted.
>=20
> Also, it would seem to me that any interactive TV to a two-way device s=
uch=20
> as a cell phone should be a no-brainer, requiring no new protocols. You=
have=20
> your TV broadcast channel, and you already have a two-way IP connection=
as=20
> well. Should be doable with any TV to handheld protocol you can name, a=
nd=20
> the interactive TV service provider should not have to care whether DVB=
-H,=20
> DMB-T, or MediaFlo are used. I must be missing something.
>=20
> Bert
>=20
> ---------------------------------------------------
> Specs flap is mobile TVs next test
>=20
> Junko Yoshida
> (03/06/2006 9:00 AM EST)
> URL: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=3D181500540
>=20
> Dublin, Ireland -- The 30-odd DVB-Handheld mobile-TV trials in progress=
=20
> around the word have drawn positive responses from consumers. But speak=
ers=20
> at DVB World here last week warned that the incompatibility of two prot=
ocols=20
> developed to deliver interactivity and content protection to handsets c=
ould=20
> irreparably splinter the nascent market.
>=20
> The specs were developed by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and the Digi=
tal=20
> Video Broadcast Project. In the OMA camp is Nokia Corp., which took an =
early=20
> lead by implementing its own version of the OMA-BCAST specification in =
its=20
> DVB-H handsets, which are being used in many of the trials now under wa=
y. In=20
> backing the OMA platform, Nokia and others in the mobile industry are p=
itted=20
> against the broadcast community, where support is strong for the DVB-CB=
MS=20
> (Convergence of Broadcast and Mobile Services) spec stipulated in the=20
> DVB-developed IP Datacast standard.
>=20
> Both protocols target such interactive functions as service discovery a=
nd=20
> selection, service purchase and content protection between broadcast sy=
stems=20
> and mo-bile handsets. The disparities are in implemen- tation. If the=20
> differences are not resolved, handset manufacturers will have to develo=
p=20
> separate software for each. "We really don't want to go down that road,=
"=20
> said Markus Lindqvist, director of server at network solutions at Nokia=
=2E
>=20
> That holds particularly true, said John Cullen, mobile-TV strategy mana=
ger=20
> at O2 Group Technology, because "DVB-H success is not guaranteed. Indus=
try=20
> fragmentation could destroy the mobile-TV market."
>=20
> Cullen noted that DVB-H variants could crop up for each segment, with, =
say,=20
> "three or four different protocols [emerging] to implement security asp=
ects.=20
> These dangerous divisions need to be closed."
>=20
> Asked whether Nokia would consider a migration path to DVB-CBMS, Lindqv=
ist=20
> said, "If there is a market need."
>=20
> "Interoperability is the key," he said. "It's not just specifications t=
hat=20
> are important. It's really about implementations. Where are the product=
s?"
>=20
> Nokia gets nods in the industry for the lengths to which it has gone to=
=20
> support the DVB-H development process. It has worked in parallel with t=
he=20
> standard's developers to roll a couple of generations of DVB-H terminal=
s,=20
> based on its own implementations of the spec, so that handsets would be=
=20
> there for consumer trials.
>=20
> Lindqvist said Nokia is not fighting its battle alone. When Nokia and S=
ony=20
> Ericsson announced at the 3GSM World Congress last month that they woul=
d=20
> join forces to ensure their mobile-TV phones would work with new DVB-H =
> services, the agreement was partly intended to marshal Sony Ericsson's =
> support for Nokia's implementation of OMA-BCAST.
>=20
> "Others are also getting on board with us," Lindqvist said last week.
>=20
> Several technology components are involved in both OMA-BCAST and DVB-CB=
MS,=20
> but the specs part ways in how a mobile TV device would talk to servers=
in=20
> the service infrastructure. For one, handset makers and DVB broadcaster=
s are=20
> promoting different approaches to the Electronic Service Guide (ESG) or=
=20
> programming guide. Nokia uses its own Open Air Interface (OAI), a subse=
t of=20
> OMA-BCAST.
>=20
> The two sides also differ on copy protection mechanisms. OMA-BCAST prom=
otes=20
> OMA's digital rights management (DRM), while DVB-CBMS, more true to its=
=20
> broadcast industry background, pushes conditional access based on SIM c=
ards.
>=20
> ESG variations are no small matter for consumers and mobile-TV network =
> operators. Noting the ease-of-use mandate for mobile-TV handsets, O2's =
> Cullen argued that incompatible ESGs could force consumers to "relearn =
ESG"=20
> when they buy a new handset. "This is wrong," he said.
>=20
> Michael Schueppert, president of network operator Modeo LLC, predicted =
a=20
> shakeout in ESGs in his keynote speech here last week. The "unnecessary=
"=20
> multiplicity of program guides confuses the market, he said, and the gu=
ides=20
> must be "harmonized" by year's end or risk impeding the public's accept=
ance=20
> of DVB-H.
>=20
> Content protection is another can of worms. Modeo has opted for Microso=
ft=20
> Corp.'s DRM, but other operators are still struggling with the choice.
>=20
> Smart-card based conditional access systems may work well in stationary=
=20
> set-top boxes whose single purpose is to receive TV services, said Noki=
a's=20
> Lindqvist, but "won't work well" in battery-powered mobile devices wher=
e TV=20
> reception is only one of many applications.
>=20
> Some in the industry have wondered aloud whether Nokia may have a veste=
d=20
> interest in promoting its own implementation schemes for DVB-H. But=20
> Lindqvist notes that neither DVB-CBMS nor OMA-BCAST was available to th=
e=20
> industry when Nokia decided to go with its proprietary Open Air interfa=
ce in=20
> May 2005.
>=20
> "Nokia promotes open standards,"he said. "It's unfortunate that DVB peo=
ple,=20
> in developing DVB-CBMS, did not really consider the work that had alrea=
dy=20
> proceeded within the mobile-handset industry with OMA-BCAST."
>=20
> IP Datacast over DVB-H was standardized by ETSI late last year. OMA-BCA=
ST is=20
> slated for standardization in June.
>=20
> The interactivity debate shouldn't be taken lightly. Two-way mobile=20
> operators insist that interactive service is a must for mobile TV. If a=
n=20
> open application programming interface is not available in the first ph=
ase=20
> of DVB-H launch, O2's Cullen said, "the potential revenue stream from a=
ny of=20
> those new interactive services is not open to us." With trial results=20
> suggesting $10 per month as the highest fee consumers will support, wir=
eless=20
> carriers are already worried about how much profit they will have to sh=
are=20
> with content owners and broadcasters. In contrast, Nokia's Lindqvist=20
> believes interactivity can wait. It's more important, he argued last we=
ek,=20
> to master the broadcasting aspects first.
>=20
> Philip Laven, director of the Technical Department of the European=20
> Broadcasting Union, took Cullen's side, calling the notion of limiting =
Phase=20
> 1 DVB-H services to TV and radio broadcasts "a bit difficult" to swallo=
w.
>=20
> Some mobile operators are hedging their bets on interactivity by consid=
ering=20
> the potential use of their networks by "nonconnected" devices. Among=20
> Schueppert's Letterman-like Top 10 predictions for mobile TV(search=20
> www.eetimes.com for article ID: 181401747) was his declaration that mob=
ile=20
> phones--currently the overwhelming focus of mobile broadcast=20
> developers--will serve only half the mobile-TV market. Fifty percent of=
=20
> consumers in this market, he said, will prefer "a much broader range of=
=20
> devices than just cell phones," including PDAs, portable media players =
and=20
> laptops.
>=20
> Mobile rec rooms
>=20
> Many operators are finding out through the mobile-TV trials that consum=
ers=20
> expect no less from mobile TV than what they currently get from the TVs=
in=20
> their homes. Beyond watching broadcast programs, consumers want such PV=
Rs,=20
> on-demand downloads and such interactivity features as the ability to v=
ote=20
> for one's favorite contestant. Modeo's Schueppert stressed the growth o=
f=20
> podcasting as a medium for mobile television. For that, devices will re=
quire=20
> implementation of file delivery protocols, the inclusion of at least a =
> gigabit of memory and/or an SD card slot, and the ability to receive tw=
o=20
> services in parallel, he noted.
>=20
> But foremost on the minds of operators is the availability of "millions=
of"=20
> mobile TV handsets in volume and variety for consumers.
>=20
> Operators blame a lack of choice and availability of set-tops or handse=
ts=20
> for the initially slow take-up of free-to-air set-tops in the United Ki=
ngdom=20
> in 2002, as well as for the glacially slow penetration of 3G service.
>=20
> "Volume, conformity and choice are keys to the consumer," O2's Cullen s=
aid.
>=20
> All material on this site Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. All rights rese=
rved.
>=20
> _________________________________________________________________
> FREE pop-up blocking with the new MSN Toolbar =96 get it now!=20
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>=20
> =20
> =20
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