CES 2010: Mobile Digital Television Innovations Win Industry Recognition

Digital News - Hundreds of broadcasters, cable and television executives, retailers, and government officials saw broadcaster innovation and collaboration for themselves in Las Vegas, with Mobile Digital TV emerging as one of the most talked-about new technologies of CES 2010.

With the collaboration of broadcasters, programmers, and technology companies, the Open Mobile Video Coalition sponsored a special TechZone at CES 2010 where a dozen companies introduced more than 20 new Mobile DTV products that they plan to roll out in the coming year.

Technologies on display at CES included netbooks equipped with Mobile DTV; battery-operated Portable Mobile TV Sets; Mobile DTV USB Receivers for Laptop computers; the award-winning Tivit -- a unique Wi-Fi Access Point for Mobile DTV Reception; prototype cell phones with Mobile DTV; demonstrations of Electronic Service Guides and Interactivity (Voting, Polling, Web access); and displays of transmission and test equipment for broadcasters.

Companies exhibiting in the 2010 CES Mobile DTV TechZone include consumer device manufacturers DTVinteractive, iMovee Corporation, LG Electronics, PIXTREE, Samsung, Valups, and WITHUS/Crestech; broadcast equipment suppliers Axcera, Lumantek, Rohde & Schwarz, Sarnoff Corporation, and middleware companies Expway and Roundbox.

Unlike current mobile TV offerings that are subscription-only and largely offer only pre-recorded shows, Mobile Digital TV from local broadcasters offers real-time coverage of local breaking news, local weather, and local emergency alerts in addition to favorite network programs shows that consumers really want to watch. With some 30 stations already on the air, broadcasters are now upgrading their transmission systems to offer a variety of Mobile DTV channels

With development partially funded by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a voluntary association of television broadcasters that has 29 members owning and operating 450 commercial television, the “Tivit” from Valups won three awards for innovation at CES. Tivit is a small Mobile DTV receiver that beams TV signals via Wi-Fi to an iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, or laptop. The Tivit is one of several devices that will be part of the OMVC’s upcoming consumer showcase in Washington, D.C. that is designed to gauge consumer interest in Mobile Digital Television.

The Dell Inspiron Mini 10, a new mini netbook computer, the Samsung Moment™ mobile phone, LG Mobile Digital Television and the Tivit are among the Mobile DTV-enabled devices that will be made available to showcase participants in the nation’s ninth-largest media market. Local and national programming from familiar network broadcasters will be available in the event organized by the OMVC.