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Sony Ericsson and Nokia to co-operate on DVB-H interoperability

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Sony Ericsson and Nokia to co-operate on DVB-H interoperability

Interoperability crucial to opening up the mass market for broadcast mobile TV

February 13 2006, 3GSM World Congress, Barcelona - Sony Ericsson and Nokia today announced their intention to co-operate to achieve interoperability in DVB-H-enabled devices and secure multivendor mobile TV services and pilots from 2006 onwards.
[DVB-H ~ Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld]

There are going to be a multitude of technologies that will enable consumers to access different types of content over mobile phones. Sony Ericsson and Nokia recognize DVB-H as the preferred technology for terrestrial digital broadcast mobile TV, with both parties being active in ongoing standardisation and technology development to enable an improved mobile TV experience for the consumers.

To secure interoperability in multi-vendor mobile TV service pilots, the Open Air Interface implementation guidelines, publicly available on the web (http://www.nokia.com/mobiletv), will be used. Current and future technologies within related standardisation bodies, will be reflected in future releases of the OAI implementation guidelines and compatible products.

"Sony Ericsson believes that mobile TV will be a key growth area for the mobile phone industry in terms of handsets, applications, content and services. With our unique background in telecommunications and audio visual technology, we are ideally positioned to take advantage of these new exciting business opportunities" said Mats Lindof, Chief Technology Officier, Sony Ericsson. “We are pleased to announce this co-operation with Nokia on developing DVB-H inter-operability as we believe this will be one of the key technologies driving the mobile TV market in the future.”

"Availability of interoperable DVB-H enabled mobile devices is crucial in opening up the mass market for broadcast mobile TV,” says Ilkka Raiskinen, Senior Vice President, Multimedia Experiences, Nokia. "We are delighted to see that the Open Air Interface (OAI) implementation guidelines which we published in August 2005 can serve as a concrete starting point for interoperability. We are confident that DVB-H will be the technology that enables the best broadcast TV experience on mobile devices."

DVB-H technology complements exisiting operator networks, optimizing capacity and quality. It offers consumers the chance to enjoy high quality terrestrial digital broadcasts along with voice telephony and internet access all in a single device. Broadcast mobile TV will offer new business opportunities for mobile service providers, content and broadcast companies, infrastructure and handset manufacturers as well as technology providers.

The feedback from different mobile TV pilots has been promising. The recent interim results from the Oxford Mobile TV Trial showed that there is clear consumer demand for the service and that 83% of the pilot participants are satisfied with the end-to-end service provided.

More about DVB-H
DVB-H technology enables the TV service you are familiar with at home to be broadcast to your mobile device. DVB-H provides the best user experience in the mobile environment with excellent picture and reduced battery consumption. Up to 50 TV channels can be delivered with low cost, over one network. With extensive pilots of broadcast mobile TV currently taking place across the globe, involving leading broadcasters, mobile operators, broadcast network operators and handset manufacturers, the market for commercial broadcast services is expected to spread during 2006.

The Open Air Interface (OAI) 1.0 implementation guidelines which Nokia published in August 2005 are available at http://www.nokia.com/mobiletv. The Open Air Interface is based on existing DVB-H standards and specifies how mobile TV devices connect with the DVB-H network and the servers of the overall mobile TV service infrastructure. The OAI specification was published to enable multivendor interoperability in the mobile TV industry.

About SonyEricsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories, PC-cards and M2M solutions. Established as a joint venture by Sony and Ericsson in 2001, with global corporate functions located in London, the company employs approximately 5,000 people worldwide, including R&D sites in Europe, Japan, China and America. Sony Ericsson is the global title sponsor of the Women's Tennis Association, and works with the Association to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in over 80 cities during the year. For more information on Sony Ericsson, please visit http://www.sonyericsson.com

About Nokia
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications, driving the growth and sustainability of the broader mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and innovative products like mobile phones, devices and solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia provides equipment, solutions and services for network operators and corporations. http://www.nokia.com

HEXUS Forums :: 6 Comments

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Posted by Funkstar - Mon 13 Feb 2006 18:05
Excellent.

So is DVB-H network independant? I'm hoping it will be much like DTV in the UK with Freeview type services (free to air) and the posability for premium content/channels like you have at home.
Posted by Bob Crabtree - Mon 13 Feb 2006 19:31
Funkstar
Excellent.

So is DVB-H network independant? I'm hoping it will be much like DTV in the UK with Freeview type services (free to air) and the posability for premium content/channels like you have at home.

I don't see how it can be.

There is no network of BBC transmitters to put it out - so the TV reception you get, I think you'll find, will be specific to your phone provider.

And can YOU see the mobile phone operators absorbing all the bandwidth costs and giving you free telly on the move?

The only way that would be possible, I presume, is if they could secure some very cute advertising deals.

Bob
Posted by Funkstar - Mon 13 Feb 2006 20:40
I was hoping they would be able to mix the DVB-H broadcasts in amongst the DVB-T channels making it a true broadcast as opposed to being another data service over the mobile networks.

But then, they have to do something to pay for the 3G licenses that cost them all so much a few years ago :)

I'm looking forward to this, although it does depend on how you are going to be billed for it (monthly subscription or per minute of viewing). Would be handy for those time i'm waiting to meet people in town etc.
Posted by Bob Crabtree - Mon 13 Feb 2006 22:21
Check out this PDF - I think it bears out what I say but I certainly DON'T consider myself expert in it.

Yet.

:rolleyes:
Posted by autopilot - Mon 13 Feb 2006 22:45
I'm no expert, but I was sure it is network independant. I thought that was the whole point of using that standard. Delivering it over the actuall mobile data networks would have been virtually imposible as demand got higher, it would have been crippling - even for 3G networks. It's live transmissions, not ‘on demand’ content is it not?

Basically it's piggybacking or very simular to DAB, which is posible because the low resolution and smaller data requirement etc than standard TV could be squeezed into the narrower bandwidth digital radio uses (more or less).

But again i am no expert either and probably wrong. I was just going on what i read a while back in a PC mag about all the different standards, pros and cons of each and what countries are using what.

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