AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 92 - (Page 19)

Payback Time for UMTS Telecom operators are anxious that their UMTS networks will be utilized more for audio and video content, especially since many paid vast sums a few years back for the G3 licences. The challenge is that the mobile network is not scaleable for ‘real-time broadcast’ use, especially in times of a crisis. Unlike broadcast systems, mobile networks get overloaded when too many people want to access the same content at the same moment. The US-company Qualcomm was in Amsterdam to explain its MediaFLO distribution concept. They are trying to shift the focus away from live video streams to providing users with topical media and, at the same time, minimizing the cost of content delivery. To do this, the delivery system requires the broadcaster to schedule most of the popular multimedia content to utilize off-peak capacity. Content, such as video clips, is ‘trickle charged’ over the network and stored on the handset. The user is presented with an interface that feels like a real-time system but is in fact, a background delivery service. This is fine for most music based content, says Qualcomm. The user gets a daily package of multimedia content. The network load is redistributed across offpeak hours to provide the network operator a more manageable and scalable service. Digital Broadcast Alternatives Outside of the UK and Denmark, Digital Audio Broadcasting has been slow to get going. Indeed, some countries like Finland and Sweden have even closed their DAB networks down for a re-think. A growing number of broadcasters believe that the robust broadcast delivery system would be better utilized for multimedia content, rather than predominantly audio. There are two broadcast variations. included in their package. Unlike MediaFLO, BT believes the biggest demand for content on phones will be for live TV, especially when a major news story breaks. Users have the possibility to interact ordering concert tickets for instance through a ‘red button’ function and there is a SD memory card slot for PVR time-shifting at some point in the future. Comparisons at IBC revealed that the BT IP-DAB solution for video uses much less bandwidth than the T-DMB standard which the South Koreans have developed. This second variation on the DAB theme has been confined to TV enabled phones so far. But now, the Korean manufacturer of iRiver, best known for its MP3 players, previewed a DMB mini video receiver. This ‘DMB telly’ will go on sale around Christmas for 99 Euros in selected regions where commercial DMB services are being rolled out. However, the tiny TV’s on the stand in the IBC Mobile Zone were all exhibiting considerable blocking and freeze-frame problems. This was explained away as ‘low signal strength’ from the IBC DMB transmitter, but it raised the question of how much transmitter power is really needed for robust, trouble free coverage. In the UK, trials have shown that the original estimates of power were much too low, especially since the arrival of all kinds of devices in the home and office that emit their own levels of interference. Interestingly, iRiver is betting on other horses. It claims to have receivers capable forthcoming Nokia 92 handset was being shown at IBC to demonstrate the capabilities. DVB-H trials are going on in several European countries, with public broadcaster RAI of Italy explaining at IBC why they were rolling out a DVB-H service by the end of the year. Italy will join Finland and Vietnam where DVB-H rollout has also been announced. Do we care who wins? Wading through the PR hype surrounding mobile content is still a challenge. In the IBC conference sessions, some realistic figures emerged. Stella Creasey has been driving several new media trials at the BBC. In her keynote at IBC, she remarked that it is still early days in understanding what drives the mobile space. During the recent 13 week series of Dr Who in the UK, special ‘Tardisodes” were heavily promoted on regular TV and radio channels. Named after the ‘police box time machine’ in the series, 2.6 million downloads were recorded via the web, against just 40 thousand mobile downloads. Creasey believes this has to do with greater speeds and lower user costs for the PC market. As far as take up of TVmobile content is concerned, whereas the industry PR machine is talking about 40% take up, 10-15% in the coming years is probably a more realistic figure. Leif Lonsmann, Radio Director at the Danish Broadcasting Corporation and vicechairman of the WorldDAB forum, says he’s not worried about a mobile platform battle. “In the end, it is all about content. When people discover content they want, they will select the right technology to get it. Content, combined with convenience, is the winning combination. If both platforms come out with great content, then future mobile TV devices will contain DVB-H and DAB/DMB chips. It is that simple. Variations on the DAB theme. The first is being pioneered by BT Movio and its launch partner Virgin Mobile. After a trial involving one thousand users in London, commercial roll out of what’s been nicknamed a ‘Tellyphone’ commenced in October 2006. UK consumers using a specially designed handheld, the Lobster 700, can access live feeds of BBC1, ITV 1, and E4 and a ‘made for mobile’ version of Channel 4. Martin Coggin from BT Wholesale said there are various ways customers can access the service. “One option being offered by Virgin Mobile gives you the DAB-IP enabled handset and 90 days free access to all the TV channels. Thereafter, pre-paid customers need to pay as they watch. Those with a subscription get the mobile for free and the TV service About the author With an award winning background in audio, video and new media production, Jonathan Marks is a media detective , taking critical distance on new and existing projects and finding new ways to share ideas with the world. As well as producing and presenting an awardwinning media show for Radio Netherlands Media Network, he held various production and senior management posts with organizations such as BBC, Austrian Radio ORF and Radio Netherlands. of receiving the rival DVB-H mobile TV system as well. Nokia has been the main driving forces behind DVB-H, dismissing DMB for several reasons. They have just partnered with Motorola to push their standard into North America. Nokia says they’ve gone for DVB-H because if offers higher service quality, low battery consumption and the ability for operators to get accurate viewing statistics. The 19

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 92

Larger than life
Mediatech Aftrica shines bright in local market
HD camcorder runs with the wild dogs
Divers Down pursues tapeless workflow
Broadcast industy feedback

AV Specialist - Africa Edition Vol 92