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Thread: Sony Ericsson & Nokia co-operate on handheld digital video interoperability

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    Sony Ericsson & Nokia co-operate on handheld digital video interoperability

    February 13 2006, 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona - Sony Ericsson and Nokia today announced their intention to co-operate to achieve interoperability in DVB-H-enabled devices and secure multivendor mobile TV services and pilots from 2006 onwards.
    DVB-H ~ Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld

    More.

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    Does he need a reason? Funkstar's Avatar
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    Excellent.

    So is DVB-H network independant? I'm hoping it will be much like DTV in the UK with Freeview type services (free to air) and the posability for premium content/channels like you have at home.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Funkstar
    Excellent.

    So is DVB-H network independant? I'm hoping it will be much like DTV in the UK with Freeview type services (free to air) and the posability for premium content/channels like you have at home.
    I don't see how it can be.

    There is no network of BBC transmitters to put it out - so the TV reception you get, I think you'll find, will be specific to your phone provider.

    And can YOU see the mobile phone operators absorbing all the bandwidth costs and giving you free telly on the move?

    The only way that would be possible, I presume, is if they could secure some very cute advertising deals.

    Bob

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    I was hoping they would be able to mix the DVB-H broadcasts in amongst the DVB-T channels making it a true broadcast as opposed to being another data service over the mobile networks.

    But then, they have to do something to pay for the 3G licenses that cost them all so much a few years ago

    I'm looking forward to this, although it does depend on how you are going to be billed for it (monthly subscription or per minute of viewing). Would be handy for those time i'm waiting to meet people in town etc.

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    Check out this PDF - I think it bears out what I say but I certainly DON'T consider myself expert in it.

    Yet.


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    I'm no expert, but I was sure it is network independant. I thought that was the whole point of using that standard. Delivering it over the actuall mobile data networks would have been virtually imposible as demand got higher, it would have been crippling - even for 3G networks. It's live transmissions, not 'on demand' content is it not?

    Basically it's piggybacking or very simular to DAB, which is posible because the low resolution and smaller data requirement etc than standard TV could be squeezed into the narrower bandwidth digital radio uses (more or less).

    But again i am no expert either and probably wrong. I was just going on what i read a while back in a PC mag about all the different standards, pros and cons of each and what countries are using what.

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    There is a FAQ on that site that i think clears it up some what. There is definitely the posability for Free To Air services, as it is a broadcast in the same way as DVB-T and DAB (looks like it is possible for DVB-H to piggy back on the DVB-T transmitions). But, and it is a big but, DVB-H has "Service Purchase and Protection" built into it. Which effectively means your handset needs to contact your network operator for them to unlock the broadcast.

    these are the most interesting Q's in the FAQ:

    Will mobile TV be available free-to-air?

    Korean and Japanese broadcasters are required to deliver mobile TV free-to-air. This is quite limiting in respect of generating revenue from such a service. For this reason, DVB-H has built in the Service Purchase and Protection from the outset. Generating revenue from subscriptions or pay-per-view is a useful means of helping pay for the service. Advertising could well work, but an advertising model on a mobile phone raises a number of questions.

    It is reasonable to presume, that for regulatory reasons DVB-H could be available free-to-air, as in Korea and Japan.
    Why do the telecommunications network operators need to be involved with mobile TV services at all? Couldn't broadcasters just launch DVB-H services independently?

    Mobile TV doesn’t NEED to involve anyone other than the broadcast network operator, and the service provider. However, there are many reasons why a co-operative approach may be judicious. For example, many countries have mobile phone models which see the phones being subsidised by the operators, and to have mobile TV on such phones would require some co-operation between the mobile TV operator and the telco. Billing is going to be a key element to the success of mobile TV, and telecoms operators typically have sophisticated billing infrastructures in place – and a subscription model is that favoured by viewers according to the DVB-H trials underway.

    On the other hand, there are countries where the regulatory model prevents free-to-air broadcasters from becoming involved in pay-TV services on terrestrial networks. In such an environment, DVB-H could be considered for broadcasting to handhelds, e.g. suitably equipped mobile phones, PDAs, etc. And in this environment, the co-operative approach may have less benefits.
    So a possible scenario in the UK would be that the basic FTA chanels (BBC, ITV, C4 and C5) could be FTA with others being classed as premium and billed accordingly by the mobile network operators (who then pass on a cut to the broadcasters).

    On the other hand it is possible for the government to decide that DVB-H is just a subset of the current DTV model. So if it is FTA on DTV (Freeview in other words) then you will get it on your mobile device and TopUpTV and Setanta etc. will be able to offer pay services billed through your network operator.

    It's all very interesting technology, and i think we are going to be seeing this very soon, the tech is here now. As long as they get the regulation sorted out and are able to integrate the broadcasts into the UKs DTV offering i would expect to see this by the end of the year or begining of next.

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