[opendtv] Re: Verizon adding Live TV to Cell Phone service
- From: "John Willkie" <johnwillkie@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 8 Jan 2007 10:13:01 -0800
Well, sure, but this isn't one of them.
Mobile add-on to free over the air tv is probably the only way to do it, and
even then the "bit-budget" might be tough. That said, paying 5 mb/sec so
that you can offer an HDTV service that can be seen on mobile sets might be
the best way.
I'm thinking that the framing issue that Mark Schubin raises might be easier
done (by auto-cropping) when going to smaller screens than larger screens.
Videographers and cinematographers will, of course, growl.
The yarn below concentrates on the technology. The MediaFlo technology is
fantastic and high-quality. So was EVR's. Just nobody wanted to pay $1900
for a home unit in 1967.
The killer here is the monthly rate, the audience size, the cost of the
phones, and the fact that it won't be used much.
The "real killer" is when the accidents start happening on the roads because
drivers were watching TV rather than the road. In short order, cops will be
subpoenaning the records of the carriers -- in accidents -- to see if the
subscriber was watching TV at the time of the accident.
John Willkie
> -----Original Message-----
> From: opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:opendtv-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
> On Behalf Of John Shutt
> Sent: Monday, January 08, 2007 7:31 AM
> To: OpenDTV
> Subject: [opendtv] Verizon adding Live TV to Cell Phone service
>
> John is right that there is no market for mobile television exclusively.
> However, there does seem to be a market for adding mobile television as an
> incremental service on top of an existing service.
>
> John
>
> http://www.localtechwire.com/news/technology/story/1129337/
>
> Live TV Set for Verizon Cell Phones
> By GARY GENTILE
>
> Posted: Jan. 7 7:58 p.m.
>
> LAS VEGAS - Verizon Wireless customers will soon be able to watch live TV
> over a network constructed by Qualcomm Inc.
>
> Verizon will launch its new service, dubbed V Cast Mobile TV, sometime in
> the first quarter, the company said Sunday at the International Consumer
> Electronics Show. Verizon said it would release details on pricing and
> availability closer to the launch of the service.
>
> Verizon also announced an upgrade to its FIOS digital television service
> that will let users use their cell phone to program their home digital
> video
> recorders, change parental controls and perform other functions.
>
> Many of the channels on the V Cast service will be live feeds from major
> broadcast partners, including NBC, CBS and Fox. Recorded full-length
> programs will also be offered, such as episodes of late-night talk shows.
>
> Two handsets will be available at launch - one from Samsung and another
> from
> LG. More handsets and TV channels are expected to be added by year's end.
>
> Verizon is the first wireless carrier to use the network created by
> Qualcomm
> Inc. The MediaFLO system broadcasts signals to mobile phones over a
> different portion of the wireless spectrum than cellular calls and data
> services.
>
> The phones have dedicated TV keys that launch the service. An antenna can
> be
> extended to strengthen the signal.
>
> In a demonstration Sunday, the signals were strong and the picture quality
> sharp, without delays or hiccups caused by buffering data as often happens
> with video carried over current wireless networks.
>
> The service comes with a program guide and customers can "channel surf"
> using the phone's keypad. The screens on the phones are about two and a
> half
> inches diagonally.
>
> The live programming will be available in East coast and West coast feeds.
> Local programming might be added later, said John Stratton, Verizon's vice
> president and chief marketing officer. Parental controls are included to
> block objectionable programs.
>
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