[opendtv] A television in every pocket? Mobile content resonates at NAB
- From: "Manfredi, Albert E" <albert.e.manfredi@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 3 May 2006 11:27:34 -0400
I think Laurie Sullivan means "broadcast TV signals," not multicast, in
the second paragraph.
Also, "'Music videos will work because music is secondary and audio is
primary,' said Saul Berman, partner at Global and Americas Business
Strategy leader, ..."
Music videos might work because music is PRIMARY, and VIDEO is
secondary, I would think. (And people on the go can listen to audio, but
not always concentrate on the video.)
This reiterates that TV to handheld devices has to be specially
formulated for these devices, which only reinforces the idea that the
channels used for this service have to be dedicated regardless.
I think the type of content that might work for these devices is the
type of content one sees in airport TV screens. Not so much the
convoluted plots of full length Law & Order episodes, for example.
Bert
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http://www.digitaltvdesignline.com/products/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=3D=
187001518
April 27, 2006
A television in every pocket? Mobile content resonates at NAB
By Laurie Sullivan
Video and television on mobile devices are pushing into the consumer
market, but putting a television in every pocket won't happen overnight.
A panel of industry experts examined the complexities at the iHollywood
Forum during the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2006
conference earlier this week in Las Vegas.
Issues range from content size and audio quality to video depth for
full-length movies and digital rights management (DRM). Don't forget
about variations in phones built on opposing standards, MediaFLO and
DVB-H. The cellular phone handsets require chips that enable carriers to
deliver multicast TV signals, rather than point to point. The content
designed for large high-definition screen differs from that required on
a mobile phone. Even if it's the same movie or video game, on HDTV the
camera shots are wide. Handsets require tighter angles.
But problems aren't limited to size and shots, said Bob Zitter, HBO
executive vice president and chief technology officer. "HBO programming
has a wide range of dark to light images, and that doesn't translate
well to a portable environment," he said. "We ran a test version of
'Deadwood' on a cell phone, a scene where everyone was sitting around a
campfire. All you could see is a little flicker of light."
Audio presents challenges, too. Naysayers believe audio, rather than
video, will drive cellular phone content. "Music videos will work
because music is secondary and audio is primary," said Saul Berman,
partner at Global and Americas Business Strategy leader, IBM Business
Consulting Services, in an internet with TechWeb. "Sports highlights,
not the game, will work because if I can get the play-by-play that's
probably enough."
HBO runs a dynamic range of sound, which doesn't play-out well on
cellular phone, panelist agreed. Resolving the problem could lie in
redesigning the handset. The lively discussion prompted Zitter to turn
toward Nokia's Bob Shallow sitting next to him to offer advice. "It's
not good to have the video coming out the front and audio out the back
of the handset," Zitter said. Shallow, Nokia's North America head of
music and rich media business unit, laughed and said, "We'll have that
fixed before the end of the conference."
Perhaps not, but Nokia's N92 cellular phone, the first integrated DVB-H
mobile device in the Nokia N series for watching broadcast TV programs,
begins shipping to U.S. markets in November as carriers bring up G3
networks. The phone began shipping in Europe last year.
Other problems exist. Most media content still doesn't adapt easily to
the mobile-phone formats. The dilemma just presents an opportunity to
deliver movies, clips, cartons and music videos from artists that have
been shutout by major theaters, telecommunication carriers and
providers. Alain Fernando-Santana, chief marketing officer at Envivio
Inc., believes content delivery on mobile devices will create a new
business model and avenue to generate revenue for independent movie
makers, content creators and Internet service providers.
This high-tech audience relates well to technology and more tolerable
when it comes to dealing with a mobile environment that often means
dropped calls and some initial technical glitches, said
Fernando-Santana.
The stakes are high. If all goes well, 15 million U.S. consumers will
watch TV programming on their mobile phones by 2009, up from 3 million
this year, estimates eMarketer Inc. The research firm forecasts more
than 100 million worldwide users of paid or sponsored mobile broadcast
video services by the end of 2009.
Verizon Wireless associate director of entertainment programming Robin
Chan thinks customers are ready. The carrier pushed 20 minute clips to
subscribers, only to have consumers gobble-up the content. Tests by
Verizon also demonstrate consumers will watch hour-long movies on
cellular phones. Chan said it's about content, and whether the
subscribers stands waiting for a flight in an airport or sitting on the
subway or the bus traveling to work.
Yes, agreed Mark Thame, media operations engineer at Winston & Strawn
LLP, an international law firm. Thame, who stood in the NVIDIA Corp.
booth later in the day, said he may not watch a full-length movie, but
would want to get sports highlights or news updates. "It would depend on
how bored I am," he said, looking on as a full-length movie saved on a 2
gigabit NVIDIA graphics card played out an MPEG-4 file on both Sony
Ericcson and Motorola Razor cellular phones, neither available today in
the United States.
Panasonic, Matsushita Electronic and IBM on Wednesday jointly launched a
"download to burn" entertainment model that enable consumers to burn
digital audio and video content from the Internet onto SD Memory Cards
and play them on devices, such as cellular phones.
All material on this site Copyright 2006 CMP Media LLC. All rights
reserved
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