The Concept of Mobile TV - Assignment Example

The Concept of Mobile TV Introduction With the continuous advances that are taking place in technology experts are asking what the next big advancement in portability will be. Numerous technologies are being integrated into cell phones, smart phones, etc., however not all will be as acceptable and successful. The following sections will hope to uncover the reasons behind the unsuccessful idea of Mobile TV even though on paper it looks like a very attractive feature. The concept of Mobile TV seems extremely profitable as it combines the most mass medium, i.e. television and the most personal medium, i.e. cell phones. Both are extremely popular amongst the growing population and theoretically it allows people to gain the benefits of both mediums to be combined into an overall satisfaction of the customer. If one looks at the evolution of both devices, Mobile TV seems like the next logical step, mobiles were getting more advanced with the inclusion of GPRS, MMS, etc., whereas the mobility in Television viewing had started with analog receivers becoming smaller, battery powered, etc. The rate of development of all forms of technology offers good tools to realize Mobile TV. However, a new digital TV technology is needed to meet the special requirements of a small wireless device. Research Outcomes The British research firm Visiongain predicts the DTV handset market to grow to over 105 million units worldwide by 2009, from the expected five million units in 2005. Another research shows that the Asia-Pacific will be largest growing market for Mobile TV. “The Asia-Pacific region, as a whole, is expected to be the largest market for mobile broadcast television and is expected to account for 76 million mobile broadcast subscribers by 2012. This is roughly 49% of the total global market ...” The diagram shows how the rate of usage is bound to pick in the next few years. This should be an extremely profitable venture for any company involved in this business (Potter 2008). To understand the concept and potential of Mobile TV we must take a quick look at the different kinds delivery methods that can be used. All have their own benefits and costs and therefore, one must plan accordingly. Mobile Video content can be delivered in various ways: it can be pre-recorded on a disc or solid state memory, downloaded, or streamed as a file from the internet. However, when talking about Mobile-TV, we imply instant, live TV-content from multiple channels, available at the push of a button. Unicast Delivery over a 3G Network: this is offered by many mobile operators, as it runs on existing but under-utilized networks Multicast Delivery over a 3G Network: this method will solve some of the issues now encountered by Unicast networks, such as traffic congestion and limited number of users per cell Multicast Delivery over a Mobile Broadband Network: TV content can be delivered over the networks, built for delivering mobile broadband (Internet, VoIP) such as Wi-max networks Broadcast: all users receive the same broadcasted signal from a transmitter network, designed to guarantee good coverage over the service area Broadcast Mobile TV Networks will come in several options (standards, frequency bands, topologies). All these networks need primary distribution of the content streams to large numbers of transmitter, receiver and gap-filler sites. An initial study carried out in 2007 (FinPilot2 Final Report – User Acceptance of Mobile TV Services), found that “of the pilot participants surveyed, 58% thought that mobile TV will become popular in the future. Requirements for mobile TV adoption included handset usability and acceptance, technical performance and reliability, usability of mobile TV service and content that suits irregular and short viewing periods. 41% of the participants’ were potential buyers of future Mobile TV services”. Other notable outcomes of the study included: Live broadcasts of sports were watched anywhere if there was no conventional TV available Mobile TV was often viewed during the daytime, which differs from the peak viewing times of traditional television National channels were preferred due to the familiar content Battery life and size of the phone/device used also raised a few concerns. There were a few complaints that the resolution was not sufficient for fast sports programs or reading textual information on the broadcast. Starting the mobile TV application and updating the channel were slow. Problems were also faced in indoor coverage Films and drama series were found least suitable for mobile TV because visual experience suffered on the small screen Local content such as event information, local politics and information from authorities was found interesting. Personal information was found important (Orgad 2006) Additionally, many consumers feel that problems are faced in finding services that were available only during certain time slots as they were connected to certain radio programs. Problems in taking the add-on services into use were related to having the knowledge of the existence of those services Paying per viewing has been the most preferred manner of payment The users mostly preferred Mobile TV over radio and in most cases said that regional news and information would be most useful. However, the focus still remains on “mobility” and “flexibility”. The Problem But still Mobile TV is not up to the mark as initially predicted. One of the most common reasons that come to mind for this is the right content being available to the user. As network and handset technologies evolve – enabling the distribution of valuable, copyrighted content to mobile devices – Digital Rights Management (DRM) has emerged as a key concern hindering the development of sustainable business models for services such as digital mobile TV. There have been many responses to try and solve this issue, these include “trusted terminals” which would allow content to be shared, encrypted files that would allow a specific amount of viewing, a token-based consumption metering of protected content. Various organizations have been created to monitor the amount of files being shared and if any breaches are being made in digital rights. Successful implementation of such schemes could enable users to carry over ‘valid unused content rights’ between DRM-compliant devices in a user-friendly way. The second problem that is seen is that of compatibility. There are many standards operating in different parts of the world and hence the global reach is reduced. The diagram shows the different standards operating in these areas (a detailed look of these standards would be beyond the scope of the paper hence it is being ignored, it is only important to know that there are differences). Increased availability of bandwidth and improvements in video compression may mean more channels but it also means viewer fragmentation and decreased advertising revenues. Broadcasters are losing their monopoly over TV. Problems with mobile operators, mobile telephony is becoming heavily commoditized and markets are becoming increasingly saturated. In addition, the rate at which technological progresses, itself hold a very big obstacle. Newer emerging technologies, based on a digital broadcast model could make the existing technologies redundant and inefficient. By making use of a separate air interface to access the handset, these broadcast models make it possible for users to enjoy a wide variety of live television programming – news, traffic reports, sporting events, soap operas, sitcoms, movies and more – all with no impact on the cellular network’s ability to deliver traditional telephony services. Further, broadcast services are a highly efficient method of distribution, because they are not sensitive to the number of people receiving the content within the service area. Separate broadcast air interfaces for Mobile TV could also support a range of other broadcast applications in addition to live TV. The latest advancement that has taken place is the development and trail of DVB-H technology that can be used to provide Mobile TV. DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) is a further evolution of the popular DVB-T standard for digital-TV. This standard is on trial in Europe, Middle East and South East Asia, and first commercial deployments have started in Italy, Austria, Finland and Holland). A study of the trial of this technology in Hong Kong showed that, “DVB-H technology demonstrated its capability to provide mobile TV service in Hong Kong environment employing a configuration with rooftop transmitters. However, it is expected that both hill top and rooftop sites will be crucial for territory-wide deployment. To achieve good coverage with adequate indoor reception, complementing hill top transmitters sites with low power transmitters or gap fillers on building rooftops is inevitable. Potential interference of rooftop transmitter to the nearby analogue TV systems is considered manageable by proper planning to achieve the required separation distance.” Mobile TV in the Future Media delivery networks today must be able to support each user downloading different content in different ways. This complex infrastructure must also deal with the fact that each user may now want to send back information to the server. The direct implication for a cellular provider is to be able to capture a large number of asynchronous content uploads from the numerous users and redistribute this content to their friends on the downlink. Mobile TV should offer the best of both “live” television events and scheduled programming (Ouellette 2002). It should be truly ubiquitous – addressing reception issues that would otherwise limit access to programming (e.g., “dead spots” in buildings, tunnels, etc.). It should be truly mobile – incorporating a handset solution that uses battery power efficiently enough to provide extended periods of TV viewing, while also meeting the end-user’s needs for other key functions (voice, data applications, etc.) A marriage of the two networks' (broadcast and cellular) capabilities will be ideal whereby a user can enjoy high bandwidth applications while at the same time have interactive personalized services. At present solutions come from 3 basic models, both have their unique characteristics and benefits. This is the only way where this industry can be regularized where all the participants involved may benefit in the long run. In the first option – a broadcaster-led approach – a broadcaster would partner with one or more mobile telecom operators to deliver services to end-users. Revenue opportunities in this model include access fees, subscription services and advertising – with both partners collecting payments from end-users In a second business model – with mobile telecom operators taking the lead – the cellular companies would retain the primary relationship with end-users, offering them packages of TV content provided through content aggregators. Telecom operators would collect fees for the services, and share the revenues with their partners – the content aggregators and broadcast network operators (Mahnke 2010). Advertising sold by the aggregators would provide an additional source of revenue for aggregators and content creators A third business model option – also led by mobile telecom operators – could involve the cellular companies contracting directly with content creators to obtain programming, and with broadcast network operators to deliver TV programming to end users. In this model, the mobile operators would collect fees from their end-users, and potentially from advertisers, and then split those revenues with other partners in the value chain The Symbian operating system can provide a software platform and common execution environment for the various applications required in a mobile DTV handset. New mobile broadcast applications would be needed for a specific set of functions, such as service discovery, for using the broadcast services and managing the selection, purchase, consumption and storage of broadcasted content (Jones 2008). The antenna must be small (preferably integrated into the terminal itself) in order to meet the end-user’s design expectations – and its design must anticipate that the user’s body could act as an absorber or reflector of the DVB signal. Any future potential solution must involve three aspects: Storage: At present all consumers want to hold large amounts of information. If they are not provided with the storage that they need, the venture will not be successful Compression: Although the limits of compression have been pushed to the limits, we must still make improvements Bandwidth: This is the primary area of concern, and within it remains the cure for revitalizing Mobile TV. The key difference with bandwidth availability is that it is no longer hindered by technological constraints — there are in fact new network technologies that guarantee much faster fixed-line and wireless access that will fulfill the Stack model and make TV truly global Other promising mobile TV distribution technologies are being developed as well – and will demonstrate their own advantages as distribution options. Once these technologies are published and become commercially viable, they should also be carefully considered for deployment. Conclusion At this point Mobile TV still has a long way to go. Many advancements/improvements have to be made in infrastructure and technologies being used. Once the changes are made, Mobile TV is bound to pick up and be extremely popular among the masses. There is little doubt that service bundling and expanded product portfolios are essential for survival in an increasingly crowded and aggressive marketplace. While this issue is important, it is equally as crucial to ensure content itself is used as a source for differentiation. Media phones provide good platforms for this kind of service development. The potential of the mobile phone should be utilized to provide the users with still more topical, still more local and still more personal content. Bibliography Jones, A. (2008). TV on Tap: AT&T Mobile TV set to launch… finally. Black Enterprise, Vol. 38, June Mahnke, V. (2010). Consumer Behavior and Mobile TV Services: Do men differ from Women in their Adoption Intentions? Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, Vol. 11 Ouellette, L. (2002). Viewers like you? How Public TV failed the people. Columbia University Press Orgad, S. (2006). This box was made for walking: how will Mobile TV transform viewers’ experience and change advertising? Nokia Mobile TV Report Potter, D. (2008). On the Go: What’s the Outlook for Mobile TV News? American Journalism Review, Vol. 30, August Read More