Mobile TV is coming your way!

Stefanie Khaw

Watching television has long become part of our culture and a popular form of relaxation in modern society. With excellent TV shows like Desperate Housewives and American Idol, who can blame modern society for embracing the couch potato-culture? It’s no surprise then that mobile television is expected to impact modern lifestyles in a big way soon. Imagine watching your favourite TV show, tuning into news as it happens and catching the latest sports events even when you’re travelling.

History isn’t kind to the idea of mobile TV. Pocket TVs were first promised in 1966, first available in 1977 and first affordable in 1988: by 1999 most of the manufacturers had lost enthusiasm for the market. Most pocket TVs are bought in a mild gush of gadget desire and then left in a drawer until the batteries leak. So what’s the difference this time?

Firstly, mobile powerhouse Nokia has predicted that mobile TV will be the next “must-have” device since the PDA was introduced. It predicts that television viewing on mobile phones would reach the masses by 2008. Secondly, Mobile TV and e-mail access via mobile handsets have been identified as the most popular advanced multimedia applications in a recent survey conducted by Siemens AG. 

Mobile TV services work by receiving specialised digital TV broadcast signals on mobile phones. The DVB-H (digital video broadcasting-handheld) transmission is the standard most commonly used. This standard is ideally suited for sending high-quality, digital TV pictures from a single source to multiple users in a way that complements the one-to-one video streaming which is already possible via today’s GPRS and 3G mobile data networks.

Sling Media, an American-based company, introduced new software in January which allowed users to stream video originating on their home television, including local broadcasts, cable and satellite content to their Windows Mobile-powered handheld or smartphones. SlingPlayer Mobile can be utilised on any device running on Windows Mobile 4 or 5 such as the Palm Treo 700w, the Samsung i730, the Motorola Q and the HP’s iPaq via a WiFi or 3G network to the video stream. The cost to the consumer will be dependent on 3G data rates set by the carrier. Over a WiFi network however, you can expect to be paying relatively nothing after the initial start-up costs of hardware and software are incurred.

Trials carried out across Europe last year proved to the mobile industry that mobile TV would potentially be a profitable venture. The mobile phone pilot schemes which ran in Finland, England, France and Spain involved a mobile operator and a TV content provider, which transmitted live digital TV to a Nokia 7710 handset. Interestingly, it was discovered that English viewers were most inclined to tune into mobile TV at midday, suggesting that viewers were enjoying their favourite TV content while on their lunch break. In Spain people were most inclined to watch TV during the early evening. In France participants spread their viewing periods evenly between early evening, lunchtime and mid-evening. Trial participants said that they would gladly sign up for mobile TV services and were prepared to fork out around five to 10 euros a month for it.

Closer to home, Vodaphone’s Japanese operation recently unveiled its latest TV phone, a Sharp-made W-CDMA 3G handset. The clamshell unit has a swivelling widescreen TV display coupled with a telescopic aerial at the rear of the phone for tuning into broadcasts. It’s supposedly based on the same technology that Sharp uses in its Aquos line of LCD TVs. It’s set to be released in Japan next month and should probably hit Malaysian shores soon after.

In Malaysia, a collaborative effort between Astro, Maxis and Nokia resulted in a showcase of the wonders of Mobile TV during last year’s Merdeka eve celebrations. Live broadcasts of the celebrations on TV1, TV3, Astro Ria and Astro AEC were made available to honoured guests attending the Ambang Merdeka concert at Dataran Merdeka. The general public were also given demonstrations of the Mobile TV Broadcasting technology by promoters at the venue. Following the positive response received from the showcase, it is believed that a commercial Mobile TV service is in the works.

Judging by the various Mobile TV services mushrooming across the globe, this service is set to become the next phenomenon in mobile technology. It’s going to change the broadcasting industry and it’ll change the way people watch TV.