Raleigh, North Carolina has just rolled out its first CAT bus equipped with mobile DTV, says Engadget. Harris is supplying the mobile transmission equipment for the pilot program. It will be expanded to five buses by August with another 20 planned for the second phase.
The buses will feature a simulcast of local station WRAL with weather information — and lots of ads served up by Microspace Communications to a captive audience. Riders — apparently — will take it. Raleigh is putting no money into the program, and it remains to be seen whether there is a viable business model in selling ad space around the WRAL programming on the screen.
Two regional companies also will support the venture. Microspace Communications provides the digital signage management while Digital Recorders Inc. will provide integration of the communications systems on the Capital Area Transit (CAT) buses.
The bus system is using a broadcast Mobile DTV system, based on the emerging ATSC Mobile DTV standard. It allows broadcasters to allocate a portion of their digital channel capacity to reach viewers outside the home.
Of course lots of mobile television options are now available. ICO will soon launch their own pilot mobile television service in Raleigh.
ICO has constructed 14 terrestrial repeaters (above) to cover the Raleigh-Durham market. The ICO G1 satellite, launched a year ago, provides coverage outside of the terrestrial network. ICO will initially deliver 10 to 15 channels of live video, plus navigation information, weather data and an OnStar-like emergency assistance service. Video programming will come from NBC Universal, Turner, MTV and Viacom, for $15-25/month.
AT&T CruiseCast will provide 42 channels of satellite TV and radio to the back seat of cars. Intelsat’s Galaxy 25 satellite, will provide the backhaul. RaySat provides low-profile satellite antennas that enable communication on the move.
AT&T CruiseCast is the first service that uses video-buffering technology to minimize loss of programming when a vehicle loses line of sight with the satellite. That’s something that television’s mobile TV system doesn’t have (yet), and probably needs.
Then there’s Qualcom’s mobile television system, MediaFLO. MediaFLO doesn’t try to make it work using Digital Television’s 8-VSB modulation. It utilizes COFDM and inserts lots of error correction and buffering. Verizon Wireless and AT&T have both adopted the system for broadcasting to cell phones.
MediaFLO and DVB-H use a dedicated 6 MHz channel. Qualcomm bought UHF TV channel 55 (716-722 MHz), across the country for their mobile television system. MediaFLO can pack in nearly a dozen mobile video channels at 300-400Kbps each. But MediaFLO ($15/mo) and Mobile TV (free) are broadcast media. They’re not two-way.
MobiTV is used by Sprint, AT&T and others. It doesn’t need a tuner because it delivers television across mobile and broadband networks to more than 6 million subscribers. Last month an application developed by CBS Sports and MobiTV allowed iPhone users to watch live NCAA Basketball matches. It leapt to the top of the charts in the US Apple App Store.
Major League Baseball expects to generate $100 million this year from the 300,000 fans—a 15% bump from last season—willing to pay up to $109.95 a year to stream baseball games. ComScore, which measures internet audiences, claims 25 per cent of Britons now use a 3G mobile to go online.
Clear’s Mobile WiMAX network, also due in Raleigh N.C., doesn’t need a TV tuner either. The broadband wireless connection will work on virtually any netbook (and soon many handhelds). Video from internet-based video providers like You Tube, Hulu, and others is free. Broadband provides unlimited capacity – and choice.
The National Association of Broadcasters Show, Apr 20 in Las Vegas, will talk up the virtues of Mobile TV advertising over broadcast television. It may be a tough sell for viewers — you’d need to buy a special phone, channel choice is extremely limited and coverage is likely to be spotty.
With Internet Connected television you get everything. All the time.
SES ASTRA is the leading Direct-to-Home (DTH) satellite system in Europe. The satellite fleet currently comprises 14 ASTRA and two SIRIUS satellites. The combined satellite system delivers services to more than 122 million DTH and cable households. ASTRA2Connect offers two-way broadband internet access, including internet telephony, for flat service fees.
A satellite carrying Europe’s first S-band payload – operated by Solaris Mobile – was successfully launched on April 3. The joint venture between two of the world’s leading satellite operators, Eutelsat and SES Astra, aims to provide fully digital mobile video, navigation and emergency assistance services to Broadcasters, Telco operators, and the Automotive industry with its S-band payload at 2.2 GHz providing mobile, seamless coverage across Europe.
