Nokia and Vietnam Multimedia boost live DVB-H mobile TV

Details: Alec Barton; Category: Consumer Ecosystems; 21 September 2006; 15453 views

Mobile TV services will be rolled out in Vietnam by the end of this year...

Mobile TV services will be rolled out in

Vietnam

by the end of this year. Working with Nokia, Vietnam Multimedia Corporation (VTC) will use Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld (DVB-H) technology to deliver the service.

To begin with, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will be the two cities selected to receive commercial mobile broadcast TV. The agreement is Nokia's first commercial mobile TV service rollout in Asia-Pacific at a time when the company is rolling out other systems worldwide, and is supervising trials elsewhere in Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America .

VTC, a Vietnamese national broadcaster and operator in digital broadcasting, will ensure that subscribers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City will enjoy seven digital TV channels as well as a video-on-demand service from a catalogue of selected titles offered by VTC. The service is to be available on Nokia's Nseries DVB-H enabled multimedia devices. These latter will in turn be delivered by the Nokia N92 - set to make its debut in Vietnam for this very purpose.

Under the agreement, Nokia and VTC are committed to jointly propel the consumer adoption of mobile entertainment services in Vietnam . After making mobile TV services commercial in the two cities in 2006, VTC plans to extend coverage to a national level over a two-year period.

DVB-H is a broadcast-to-mobile technology which provides reception of ordinary television broadcasting in digital format on both mobile phones and on television screens which are mounted on board public and private means of transportation. DVB-H was chosen based on its merit and so as to support mobility, provide efficient power management, and deliver DVD quality audio and video services without disturbance.

DVB-H is promoted as providing superior end-user experience in the mobile environment with excellent picture and reduced battery consumption. Up to 50 TV channels can be delivered at low cost and over one network. With pilots of broadcast mobile TV currently taking place across the globe, the market for commercial broadcast services is expected to grow throughout 2006.

Users of mobile TV broadcasting can watch their favourite TV programmes such as dramas, news, music, sports and documentaries on their mobile device. The service works by receiving a digital TV broadcast signal optimised for mobile devices from the air in much the same way as televisions at home do. Channel guides will also be broadcast allowing users to keep abreast of the latest programmes on air.

Broadcast mobile TV is not the same as a streaming video service over 3G or GPRS where each recipient gets a separate copy of the programme stream. Rather, one simultaneous TV stream can be received at any time by any number of users enjoying high picture-quality and low battery-power consumption.

In Asia-Pacific, Nokia has spearheaded mobile TV technology showcases in countries such as Singapore (with Mediacorp and M1) and Malaysia (Astro and Maxis), as well as in India and Taiwan . Nokia also participated in many industry-wide events demonstrating simulcast mobile TV content together with players in the media and entertainment industries.