AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 91 - (Page 10)

Warning : session_start : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : session_start : Cannot send session cache limiter - headers already sent output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 9 Warning : Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by output started at /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php:9 in /mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 Mobile TV set to challenge viewing habits in Africa Here’s a quick test. How many screens have you got in your house? Two … three …? If you actually count the total number of screens, and not just TV sets, you will need to include computer monitors and cellphone displays. In most households that’s at least twice as many screens as TVs, if not more, and now the systems are available which will allow not just broadcasters, but network and cell phone operators to pump content onto those screens. Christo Doherty explores the phenomenon of mobile TV onvergence has been the buzz word of the last few years, with the associated mantra of ‘produce once for multiple platforms’. The idea was to make traditional TV programmes and then reformat them for online distribution. But online broadcasting is highly dependent on the extent of the broadband connectivity in the target country, and has been severely limited in South Africa by the cost of broadband connections available to consumers. The most successful local service to date is KuduClub, M-Net’s broadband service which uses the cheap and large pipes available in the USA to deliver packaged prime programmes such as Currie Cup rugby, Egoli and Carte Blanche to a small market of nostalgic South African expats. The new buzz word is mobile and now that the technologies to make this possible are maturing, video can be delivered to everything from cellphones to wireless PDAs. Now the big question is what business models are the most appropriate for this brave new world of mobile broadcasting. C strategies, admits “that nobody knows anything yet - we’re all trying things out.” Locally, satellite TV operator MultiChoice has been conducting technical trials of a mobile broadcast format called DVB-H; but, according to Linda Vermaas, CEO of M-Mobile, “we’re still trying to get our heads around a commercial model”. Two choices for video content At the technical level, there are two approaches to the challenge of delivering video content to mobile handsets. Both have reached a level of maturity. Broadcasters tend to favour DBV-H, a derivative of the established terrestrial digital transmission, DVB. Cell phone operators tend to favour varieties of 3G, or third generation cellular telephony. Both have their strengths and their disadvantages. DBV-H allows high quality broadcast channels; up to 23 separate channels; and relatively low cost. The limitation is that it is a linear transmission and doesn’t allow the interactivity which is central to 3G, which is a two-way communication. It also requires terrestrial According to Simon Guild, CEO of MTV Networks in Europe, the industry is still searching for a business strategy that will embrace cross-platform broadcasting. “Nobody knows anything yet,” he says. “We’re all trying things out.” The truth is that nobody knows what will work. Simon Guild, who as CEO at MTV Networks Europe has successfully introduced a number of innovative mobile TV programmes and cross-platform 10 Warning : Unknown : The session id contains invalid characters, valid characters are only a-z, A-Z and 0-9 in Unknown on line 0 Warning : Unknown : Failed to write session data files . Please verify that the current setting of session.save_path is correct /var/lib/php/session in Unknown on line 0

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 91

Table of Contents
Mobile TV set to challenge viewing habits
Planning for the multimedia church
Is Jesus the next killer app?
Will sports on mobile TV compete with the big screen?
IBC Awards for Innovation
SA doccie scoops Emmy

AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 91