Any emergence of new technology in the world of television (among other worlds, in which the same thing happens) brings with it a discussion about the key standard on which the novelty will be based.
The universe of television for mobile devices, such as notebooks, handhelds or cell phones, was not exempt from this situation. In this case, the market seems to already be very inclined towards DVB-H (digital video broadcast-handheld).
The standard has been developed by DVB, an entity that brings together more than 200 organizations related to television and electronics, with a presence in about 35 countries. The mission of this entity is precisely to promote international standards.
The DVB-H specification is occasionally open and available to any company that wishes to adopt it and that uses cellular telephone networks for television transmission. It is compatible with the ground air standard launched by the same organization, the DVB-T, with channels of 6, 7 and 8 MHz.
This technology allows television signals to reach mobile devices directly from television antennas, without the need for them to cross cell phone networks. In this way, cell phone companies can preserve their traditional networks only for voice and data services, but with the possibility of offering their users video features.
The main competitor of this standard is MediaFLO, basically sponsored by the telecommunications company Qualcomm, although the fact that it was born in the bosom of a corporation instead of a standards organization, makes it have less weight than DVB-H.
The keys to success
One of the reasons why DVB-H has the highest odds of success in its segment is industry support. This factor is key for a standard to progress, because if companies are not willing to adopt it, the project is truncated.
The first boost was its adoption by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute at the end of 2004. Then, companies such as Nokia, Intel, Motorola, Texas Instruments and Siemens openly indicated their intentions to promote its use. Some of these companies even built the "Mobile DTV Alliance", whose main objective is to bet on the growth of the standard in the US market.
On the other hand, the fact that it is open is an advantage in this regard and analysts already predict the massification of its use by 2007.
Throughout 2005, successful tests have been carried out in Germany, Finland and the United States. Recently, it was also tested in Spain, based on a joint work between Abertis, Nokia and Telefónica Móviles. It was a pilot that involved a market study to reveal preferences and needs of potential mobile TV users.
Among the highlights is the fact that 75% of users would recommend the service, while 55% would be willing to pay to watch digital TV on their mobile phones. This pilot also served to test the coverage of the DVB-H network and the topology of various locations, such as internal and external coverages, underground, etc. One of the main conclusions was that the number of broadcasting/receiving companies should be much higher for a commercial digital mobile TV network than that available on the current network, especially for coverage inside cars and buildings.
According to the same report, "DVB-H represents the most realistic scenario of transmission to mobile; everything indicates that it is ready to be fully standardized by mid-2006, paving the way for interoperability solutions from the first quarter of 2007, which will allow, in turn, the commercial launch of these services."
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