Posted on Tuesday, September 12 2006 @ 1:55 CEST by Thomas De Maesschalck
DVB-H, or Digital Video Broadcasting for handheld devices, delivers digital broadcast quality TV to your mobile phone. NVIDIA GoForce handheld GPUs provide hardware acceleration for Mobile TV, delivering higher quality visuals than devices using only software, and with less drain on the battery thanks to innovative power saving technologies employed by the GPU.
The first of these devices to launch were the Samsung P910 and P920 in Italy, and soon to be available in the US is the Forseer device, designed and manufactured by HTC, and coming to market with Modeo, a subsidiary of Crown Castle International.
Launched first in Italy shortly before the commencement of the 2006 World Cup, 3G operators ‘3’ and TIM, rolled out the Samsung P910 and Samsung P920 respectively. Based on the same core technology and both incorporating the NVIDIA GoForce 5500 handheld GPU, the handsets resemble clamshell designs, however once opened, the screens can be rotated 90 degrees to allow for a more natural angle for television viewing.
During 2005, Modeo successfully piloted its DVB-H mobile broadcast network in Pittsburgh. Modeo plans to launch completed DVB-H networks during 2006 in select major US markets, including New York City. Modeo is currently working on a nationwide deployment of its network to the top 30 US markets, with launches targeted throughout 2007.
IDC has predicted that around 24 million US mobile users will be paying for some form of TV/Video content and services on their mobile devices by 2010, up from 7 million this year.
"Although our research found penetration of these services isn't likely to exceed 10% of all subscribers by 2010, video/TV services are poised to become a significant contributor to carrier data ARPU while emerging as a hotbed for community-oriented interaction and interesting advertising experiments," said Lewis Ward, research manager in IDC's Wireless and Mobile Communications program.
"The successful roll out of DVB-H in Italy illustrated a strong demand for mobile TV and video services, and these early indicators suggest that these high levels of adoption and usage will be reflected in many other markets around the world," said Michael Rayfield, general manager of the handheld business unit at NVIDIA. "Many of our customers are seeing the significant benefits of using a hardware accelerated solution to drive DVB-H content on devices, and our successful deployment of GoForce technology into these roll-outs is testament to that."
