Thomson aiming at Nokia with OMA BCAST

Thomson has developed a content and access solution based on OMA BCAST standard, that it says will help operators choose their mobile TV platform with more confidence it will be interoperable with different handsets and security platforms on he market, writes Keith Dyer reporting from IBC,.

Thomson's OMA BCAST solution features a Thomson DVB-H Mobile TV encoder with scrambling capabilities and its SmartVision service platform, which generates an OMA BCAST Electronic Service Guide (ESG). Speaking to Mobile Europe, Yann Courqueux, Director IP & Mobility Systems, WW Systems Solutions, Thomson, said that so far in the area of content access there has been a battle between the broadcast and the mobile side of the industry. The standards based approach was about bridging that gap, he said. "Essentially the head end market is split between Thomson and Nokia, so up until now, if you chose Nokia¹s solution, it also meant working with Nokia phones, not with LG, Motorola, or anyone else.

The incompatibility meant it was not possible to change across brands. Yet of course with nearly 50% of the market operators feel they need to have Nokia in their portfolio. So they need Nokia phones yet can¹t work with others. "This is a single platform that is interoperable with different service and content protection systems including Irdeto, Nagravision and Viaccess," Courqueux said. Courqueux added that that in countries where there is going to be one frequency, and one host mobile TV network, sharing is going to be essential, hence mandating interoperability.

"When Nokia phones get OMA BCAST in them in the next year or so then operators will have a choice, and that¹s the differentiation," Courqueux said. The OMA BCAST SmartCard Profile integrates security software into the SIM card itself.

"The OMA BCAST SmartCard Profile is Mobile Operators' preferred standard for Mobile TV service and content protection, as it places all the rights management in the SIM card to lower the overall price of mobile TV terminals," said Frédéric Caussarieu, General Manager of Thomson¹s network software business. Thomson said its Mobile TV solutions is involved in 50% of the trials and 70% of the commercial services currently deployed around the world.

First trial in South-Africa

Multichoice is currently trialing their Digital Video Broadcasting – Handheld (DVB-H) service in Soweto, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town and Durban.
This service is delivered over Multichoice’s own 800 MHz trial network, and the company has partnered with Vodacom, MTN and Cell C to ensure smooth service delivery and that SIM cards are compatible.

Most of the content which is delivered on the new DVB-H platform is syndicated with a strict requirement that encryption is part and parcel of the service. This in turn requires conditional access which is why Vodacom, MTN and Cell C are important players in Multichoice’s mobile TV plans.

The DSTV provider further envisages that consumers will purchase this new service – and be billed for it - through their cellular company rather than Multichoice since it makes sense that it will be bundled with other mobile services like voice or data.

Multichoice’s Linda Vermaas, CEO of DSTV Mobile, says that the company is confident that the service will enjoy great uptake after launch. The DVB-H product will be a commercial business in its own right, looking for high volumes at low rates.

For this trial Multichoice selected the Samsung P910, which has a direct TV button that makes accessing the service seamless. The process is as easy as pressing the TV button and selecting a channel.

Once connected, the streaming of content is very smooth – as can be expected from a broadcasting service – and the visuals and sound quality are excellent.

You can clearly read the small scrolling text appearing on news sites like CNN (which is surprising considering the size of the screen) and the sound quality is superb.

The resolution is currently 320 x 240 pixels, high enough to satisfy most mobile TV users.

Axel & Siano Cut DVB-H Channel Switching Time Down To 2 Seconds

Axel Technologies, and Siano Mobile Silicon, have announced a comprehensive platform for DVB-H terminals, with record-fast channel switching time of even less than 2 seconds.

The platform will be demonstrated in a mobile phone at the Informa DVB-H conference in London, September 26-27.The companies feature a comprehensive, highly optimized DVB-H solution, compliant with the MBRAI 2.0 specifications, based on Siano's SMS1010 integrated mobile TV receiver chip, and Axel's Salmonstream DVB-H middleware.

Among other features, the joint offering obtains the industry's fastest channel switching time, of 2 seconds. The solution is targeting DVB-H enabled cellular phones, smartphones, laptops, PDAs, pocket TVs, PMPs and GPS systems.

DVB-H is already commercially deployed in Italy and is expected to be further deployed in additional countries within the next 9-12 months, including Germany, France, The Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, and more.

“The combination of Salmonstream, Axel’s leading DVB-H middleware and the SMS1010, Siano’s integrated receiver chip has enabled us to offer a fully optimized DVB-H solution, which achieves an unprecedented channel switching time,” said Petri Kalske, CEO of Axel. “We are working very closely with Siano to provide our customers cutting edge technology, that will result with the most enjoyable and innovative user experience for DVB-H consumers.”

“By integrating the fastest DVB-H receiver in the market with the most compact, efficient DVB-H middleware, we were able to obtain the industry's fastest channel switching time," said Alon Ironi, CEO, Siano Mobile Silicon.

"At the same time, we have provided evidence that the commonly believed myth about DVB-H being slower than FLO is no longer relevant, and proved, that the two technologies are practically equivalent.""Towards the major DVB-H launches expected in the first half of 2008, Siano and its partners are focused on perfecting the DVB-H offering so as to enable our customers to introduce devices that people love to use," added Ironi.

"The idea of mobile TV is to take the experience of watching TV at the living room – out to the street, and onto the end user's palm. This means crystal-clear, multiple-channel, real-time audio and video experience packaged into an easy-to-use application - and this is exactly what Axel and Siano offer."The demonstration will utilize also the market leading multimedia player and video and audio codec’s from VisualOn, a Silicon Valley based mobile software company.

Mobile TV to create 10000 jobs in France

At a meeting with telecommunication regulator Arcep and media regulator CSA, the ministry of economy and finance is set to sign a decree retaining the norm DVB-H.

The government would like that MobileTV is thrown before next summer, for the Olympic Games of Beijing. This new service should create 10000 jobs according to Hervé Novelli, state secretary loaded with Firms and with the Foreign trade.

Mobile TV to reach 120 million users by 2012

Mobile TV is expected to reach almost 120 million users by 2012 -- a significant increase from the current 12 million.
The broadcast services are expected to be available throughout 40 countries worldwide, with consumer spending on mobile TV predicted to top USD6.6 billion within the five-year period.

According to a report from Juniper Research, DVB-H will be the dominant transmission standard, and the streaming services that are currently available will gradually evolve to complement mobile broadcast TV, as an outlet for minority viewing TV channels. The largest single market for the services in 2012 is expected to be the US, followed by Japan and Italy.

Spanish mobile operators want DVB-H conditions

Spanish mobile TV operators Telefónica's Movistar, France Telecom's Orange, Vodafone and Yoigo want to establish some conditions on the development of the DVB-H standard in the territory.

DVB-H has been chosen by the Spanish government for the country’s mobile TV service. The mobile operators essentially want to build their own network and issue themselves the frequencies for their services. So the implementation of DVB-H (the technological standard chosen by the European Union) will depend basically on the competition for the construction and usage of the network, due in 2008.

But it is likely licenses will be limited since Spanish Minister of Industry Joan Clos has already announced the radioelectric spectrum "is very full" of signals (see separate story). If the Spanish government doesn't come to an agreement with the mobile operators, the developement of the DVB-H network is at risk since the operators may then choose their own UMTS networks for the distribution of content.

Source : http://www.rapidtvnews.com/

Irdeto conducts Sydney DVB-H trial

Irdeto, the proven expert in content security for digital TV, IPTV and mobile, has partnered with Broadcast Australia, and head-end systems vendor Thomson in a DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld) trial in Sydney, Australia.

During the three-month trial, which began on May 7, 2007, Irdeto is demonstrating the delivery of a secure platform on DVB-H networks. It has deployed its Mobile Broadcast conditional access (CA) solution to secure content across mobile services and devices, in order to ensure content protection and robust rights management.

The first phases of the trial, which included testing interactive services, technical capabilities and performance of the DVB-H Solution to deliver mobile TV and related broadcast services has resulted in five secure, encrypted channels available for viewing in the Sydney Metropolitan area, on the newest generation Samsung P930 swivel screen handsets.

Irdeto technology is currently integrated into more than 90 different devices from leading manufacturers including mobile phones, PDAs, PMPs and in-car devices, making it the most-integrated mobile TV security solution in the world. The solution uses patented technologies which enable mobile TV operations to scale to support at least 20 million subscribers.

Irdeto is the only content security company with deployments in all three types of networks - with DVB-H solutions in South Africa and Hungary, S-DMB solutions in South Korea and T-DMB solutions in Germany. Irdeto also supports and complies with the security specification adopted by the FLO Forum, the interest group that supports MediaFLO.

According to ABI Research, the subscriber base for mobile broadcast services is expected to grow from 1.5 million at the end of 2006 to 460 million by 2011.

Harris Corporation to Conduct Collaborative DVB-H Mobile TV Demonstration at IBC2007

Harris Corporation (NYSE: HRS), an international communications and information technology company, will host a continuous Mobile TV demonstration using the DVB-H standard at the upcoming IBC convention (RAI Exhibition Center, September 7-11, Stand #7.621).


The demonstration, featuring a Harris® Atlas™ DVB-H transmitter that broadcasts TV content to mobile phones, highlights a new collaborative effort with key technology vendors to design fully integrated DVB-H Mobile TV transmission solutions for service providers in Europe and beyond. Harris offers a wide range of DVB-H solutions from its Atlas™ range of transmitters, from gap filler and low-power transmission to high-power UHF solutions for single frequency networks.


The Atlas™ DVB-H transmitter display features the Expway FastESG™, a highly robust electronic service guide that is a gateway for seamless access to Mobile TV and digital audio channels, as well as video-on-demand programming and interactive services. Harris and Expway recently signed an agreement to work together to supply a collaborative DVB-H Mobile TV transmission solution.


"We are thrilled to announce our technology alliance with Harris to develop a collaborative DVB-H solution to provide Mobile TV content to consumers," said Antoine Weil, chief executive officer of Expway. "The Expway FastEPG™ electronic program guide enables Mobile TV broadcasters to expand and differentiate their service offerings and effectively promote their brands. We look forward to working with Harris, a worldwide leader in Mobile TV and transmission solutions, on a collaborative DVB-H solution for Mobile TV."


The complete demonstration features Envivio® MPEG-2 and H.264 encoding hardware and an UDcast™ IP encapsulator. The demo will mimic a deployed solution where Envivio® encoded video content and Expway encoded data content is sent to the UDcast™ IP encapsulator separately and multiplexed into a single transport stream. The Harris® Atlas™ DVB-H transmitter will then provide the broadcast-quality video and audio to LG Electronic mobile handsets at the booth.


The Expway FastESG™ electronic service guide program enables revenue opportunities for Mobile TV operators, offering interactive capabilities such as advertising, click-on-banners, video and music clips datacasting, voting, betting and advanced features not unlike what digital cable, satellite and IPTV consumers experience at home. Visitors to the stand can control the Expway FastESG™ to navigate program listings on mobile receivers and learn about search functions, real-time schedule updates and other features.


"Harris is pleased to collaborate with Expway, Envivio, and UDCast at IBC, and to announce an official technology alliance with Expway as we continue to grow and refine our range of DVB-H transmission solutions for Mobile TV," said Tim Thorsteinson, president of Harris Broadcast Communications. "The European Commission’s recent endorsement of DVB-H as the preferred standard for Mobile TV delivery in Europe has accelerated the decision making process for telcos, broadcasters and other service providers who plan to roll out Mobile TV services in the coming months and years. We expect to continue our collaborative efforts with these technology leaders moving forward."

The Atlas™ DVB-H transmitter is part of the transmission offerings in the Harris Broadcast Communications ONE initiative to deliver interoperable workflow solutions that span the entire broadcast delivery chain. The unique Harris approach brings together highly integrated and cost-effective products that are ideal for emerging media business models and for customers upgrading media operations to digital and high-definition services.

Expway's software for TV over mobile deployed in more than 1 million mobile devices

Amsterdam (Netherlands), September 11, 2007 - Expway, the leading provider of Electronic Service Guides for Mobile TV, today announced that its FastESG™client software has been deployed in more than one million DVB-H mobile telephones and portable media players worldwide.

FastESG™ is an IPDC-compliant and OMA-compliant technology solution that enables subscribers to access, watch and interact with Mobile TV content. "The one-million mobile device mark is an achievement which demonstrates that operators worldwide are trusting Expway’s software solutions to deliver the best mobile TV services to their customers," states Expway Sales Director Nicolas Andrieu. "The fact that the one million device mark has been passed in just one year shows the strength of the emerging DVB-H mobile TV
market."

Expway is the first company worldwide to have deployed an endto-end Electronic Service Guide compliant with DVB-IPDC for a commercial TV over mobile service. Since its 2006 pioneering launch in Italy, Expway has actively participated in the deployment of Mobile TV worldwide by supporting interoperability initiatives in the BMCO forum and the OMA test camps. Its customers include H3G Italia Vodafone Italia, Telecom Italia and PMSI.

Spanish DVB-H timed for Q2 08

Spain’s DVB-H network will be ready in the second quarter of 2008, the general manager of DTT network provider Abertis Telecom assured delegates to IBC over the weekend.

Tobías Martínez said the deployment of the DVB-H network was a "great" opportunity for Spain's broadcasters and mobile operators in order for them to give a "convergent" service where the same content is offered at the same time to users.

Martínez identified three pilars of Spain's future DTT: mobile DTT, HDTV and DTT on the internet. As for interactive services, Martínez mentioned the initiatives called TDT 2.0 and TDT 3.0. The first will allow the citizen easy and secure access to the Information Society's services while TDT 3.0 will centre its efforts on the development of the HDTV concept in order to profit by the new technologies of the future TV sets.

Although the Spanish DTT market is not successful with DTT PVRs or MHP receivers or even with HDTV such as France for example, the speed at which the DTT receivers penetration go is the highest in Europe. Martínez said Spain had a market of 3.4 million DTT receivers eight months ago in comparison to France which had 4.8 million terminals. "This difference is very small taking account France's objective is to reach 6 million homes more", he declared. France launched DTT later than Spain but the platform is more interesting in terms of content and services.

Sidsa Launching DVB-H Trial In Iran

[09/07/07 - Satellite Today] Sidsa is working with the Islamic Republic of Iran to distribute satellite television to handheld mobile phones, the company announced Sept. 7.

Sidsa will distribute 16 TV channels through its Polar Plus headend, broadcasting the channels from Intelsat and Eutelsat satellites to Sagem Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) equipped mobile phones.

Sidsa is working with the Iranian National Radio and TV Network (IRIB) to broadcast the channels, including IRIB Quran and Press TV from Eutelsat and IRIB Amouzesh TV and Azarbayejan TV from Intelsat satellites. This is the third international DVB-H trial led by Sidsa.

The company has also launched services in the Russian Federation and the south of Spain.

Samsung Demonstrates The Future Of Mobile TV

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, is once again breaking new ground. At the IFA in Berlin (August 31 through September 5, 2007) and at the IBC broadcasting trade show in Amsterdam (September 7 through 11, 2007), the world's leading provider of mobile phones and telecommunication systems will treat visitors to a peek into the future of interactive mobile TV in Germany.

For the first time, Samsung mobiles now also support the reliable, open OMA BCAST standard. In Berlin, live demonstrations of TV broadcasts using the new DVB-H-based standard will be staged on Samsung's own booth and on the booth of T Systems .

Mobile phone manufacturers and telecoms carriers alike see TV offerings as value-added services that will generate substantial revenue streams. A recent "Screen Digest" study, for example, predicts a bright future for mobile TV. According to this study, the sale of mobile TV offerings should be netting global revenues of EUR 4.7 billion as early as 2011.

Since DVB-H was recommended as the standard for television services on mobile phones, interactive TV on the move has begun to roll up the German market too. Handset manufacturers such as Samsung are supporting this development to ensure that customers can take advantage of offerings provided on the basis of DVB-H BCAST.

The new standard enables interactive elements that facilitate direct product purchases or participation in fee-paying surveys and competitions, for example, to be built into mobile TV and video-on-demand offerings. BCAST works as a kind of "add-on" and can 'like DVB-H' be used with any and every IP-based transmission technology.

"We are working flat out to enable mobile TV offerings that comply with the DVB-H-based BCAST standard to be rolled out in Germany. We are aligning our handsets with the needs of this market," stresses Dr. Anthony Park, Director Business Development, Samsung Telecommunication Europe. "Samsung mobiles will also support all other relevant standards, such as DVB-H CBMS in Italy, T-DMB in Germany, MediaFlo in the USA and T/S-DMB in South Korea."