Watching TV on your cellular phones

How real is TV on cellular phones? Well, one might not choose to watch Bajaj Bajuri on the tiny screen that the cellular phones or the smartphones have.

You cannot really see the ecstasy and agony in Yusuf's face as he faces the reality of his life, or the seducing smile of Hindun. You will need a larger screen to see all of this.

Yet, TV on cellular phones is as real as terrorism and a lot more fun. On the CDMA side, the video broadcast of football matches during the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea was the hallmark of the 3G technology marvel. However, it was not really a live TV broadcast, it was simply video streaming.

Last year, when I visited the 3G World Congress 2003 in Bangkok, I had the chance to see a TV program being screened on a Siemens handset.

Nokia demonstrated it in Singapore during the Nokia Connection event in June this year. It was also one of the applications showcased at Nortel Network's booth during the recent 3G World Congress in Hong Kong. So, TV on our cellular phones is a reality, and there are more than one approach to making it happen.

There is a simple way of adding a TV function on a cellular phone. Just add a tiny, analog TV tuner, similar to what can be installed in desktop PCs. However, this will inevitably make the cellular phone larger. In addition, it will have to be equipped with an extra antenna to pick up TV signals. And then there is the problem of signal strength. Boosting an antenna may be easy in automotive applications, but it is not the preferred solution for cellular phones that are supposed to be space savers.

A better alternative, is a standard called Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H), which is currently being finalized. It will be the standard for mobile TV in Europe and probably in other regions as well. DVB-H will allow the simultaneous transmissions of more than one TV, radio and video signal to the mobile devices.

DVB-H is gaining momentum. Sharp Microelectronic Europe is supporting the standard. The Japan-based company announced early last month that it had the core tuner chip for mobile devices based on the DVB-H standard. One key feature of this chip is low- power consumption, which is a challenge to conventional mobile TV sets.

The standard is being developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), while test projects are already completed or still underway in Finland, Germany and the U.S.

Now, if you cannot fully enjoy soap operas on mobile TV, why do these people think there is a promising market for the service and therefore work hard on the standard? Like the broadband technology, the biggest demand will be likely to come from those who need security and safety. Besides, with the TV program on your cellular phone, you can continue to get breaking news, expert analysis of the stock market, etc., while you are on the move. And, there are always those who will rather starve than miss their favorite soap operas, and they are willing to pay a premium for the service.

More importantly, this technology will open up yet another unlimited opportunity for the creative, media content entrepreneurs. Look at the 2006 time frame if you want to capitalize on the technology to launch your own service.

--Zatni Arbi

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