The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), an industry association
representing over 850 commercial and public TV stations in advancing
mobile digital broadcast technology, announced today that it has
concluded technical trials and evaluations. The Independent
Demonstration of Viability (IDOV) trials for proposed digital
Mobile/Handheld (M/H) technologies were conducted in close cooperation
with engineering experts from the Association for Maximum Service
Television (MSTV).
Responding to a request for a broadcast industry perspective, the OMVC
Technical Advisory Group, led by Sterling Davis of Cox Broadcasting, has
submitted an extensive report to the Advanced Television Systems
Committee (ATSC) for its M/H digital television (DTV) standard-setting
process. The IDOV trials and the OMVC recommendation are crucial
milestones in enabling mobile DTV as a major consumer benefit of next
year’s digital broadcast transition. OMVC
recommends that ATSC maintain momentum by quickly setting an open mobile
DTV standard in time for the federally mandated digital broadcast
transition in February 2009.
“Growing collaboration on the mobile broadcast
TV vision promises further consumer value from the transition to digital
broadcast television,” said Brandon Burgess,
President of the OMVC and CEO of ION Media Networks. “In
only nine months, we have facilitated broad-based industry
collaboration, putting us on track for a mobile ATSC DTV standard in
time for the February 2009 digital transition.”
OMVC applauds this week’s agreement between LG
Electronics and Samsung Electronics, the providers of the two leading
ATSC-compliant mobile DTV systems submitted for the IDOV trials. Based
on the technical results, the OMVC believes the LG-Samsung joint
approach points to a standard centered on LG’s “Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld”
(MPH™) transmission technology as the
baseline of the “physical layer”
platform, augmented with features from Samsung’s
“Advanced VSB”
(A-VSB) technology. Such an approach should find broad support from
participants, as well as third-party manufacturers and content providers
interested in a single open mobile digital U.S. broadcast standard.
“Agreement on a standard takes our industry
to the next level in the development and rollout of products and
services, and the OMVC remains fully committed to the ATSC’s
current planned schedule of adopting a final standard by July of 2009,”
said Anne Schelle, Executive Director of the OMVC. “Next
we’ll be focused on consumer trials with the
goal of realizing mobile DTV for consumers as soon as possible.”
The OMVC initiated the IDOV trials at ATSC’s
request to assist with the technical information needed to adopt a
standard for mobile broadcast technology. ATSC is the recognized
standard-setting body for this technology. Laboratory and field trials
were conducted during February, March and April of 2008 in the San
Francisco Bay area and Las Vegas. OMVC worked with MSTV to conduct the
trials, and participating television broadcasters volunteered the use of
their facilities. More than 140 hours and 1,000 miles of mobile data
were collected across the two trial areas.
“We are very grateful to our partners without
whom the technical trials would not have been possible," added Mr.
Burgess. “On behalf of OMVC’s
members, we would especially like to thank NAB’s
David Rehr, MSTV’s David Donovan, APTS’s
Mark Erstling, as well as the ATSC for their support and hard work. We
also want to recognize Dr. Woo Paik of LG and Dr. J.W. Park of Samsung
for their commitment to jointly advancing the consumer value and reach
of U.S. digital TV broadcasting through mobility.”
The OMVC report concludes that mobility for digital broadcasting in
compliance with existing ATSC DTV standards is viable. The IDOV trials
demonstrated full-motion mobile DTV at pedestrian and highway speeds;
they also showed that mobile reception can be achieved as much as 40
miles from the transmitter, and that mobile DTV does not interfere with
the regular FCC-compliant primary digital television broadcasts.
As ATSC moves toward finalizing technical specifications this summer,
the OMVC will continue to assist with incorporating broadcasting
industry considerations into the technical framework. In addition, the
group will conduct consumer trials later this year in an integrated
collaboration among OMVC, LG and Samsung. Further details on these
trials will be announced in coming months.
After the ATSC Candidate Standard is approved in October, the group will
work toward pursuing full standardization and product development to
reach the ultimate goal of introducing commercial mobile DTV services to
the consumer marketplace in 2009. Bringing products and services to
market in this timeframe will enable broadcasters to meet consumer
demand for mobile DTV and improve utilization of their digital TV
infrastructure investment.
About the Open Mobile Video Coalition
The Open Mobile Video Coalition is a voluntary association of television
broadcasters whose mission is to accelerate the development of mobile
digital video in the United States. The OMVC is composed of twenty
members that own and operate over 450 commercial television stations, as
well as the Association of Public Television Stations, which represents
an additional 360 public television stations. Membership in the OMVC is
open to all U.S.-based television broadcasters. Members are committed to
fostering open competition in the development of products and services
related to television. For more information, please visit http://www.omvc.org.
