| Consumption of media has grown rapidly in the previous decade due to advances in digital technology. In recent years, the wireless industry has seen explosive growth in device capability. Everincreasing computing power, memory, and high-end graphic functionalities have accelerated the development of new and exciting wireless services. Personal video recorders, video on demand, multiplication of program offerings, interactivity, mobile telephony, and media streaming have enabled viewers to personalize the content they want to watch and express their preferences to broadcasters. Viewers can now watch television at home or in a vehicle during transit using various kinds of handheld terminals, including mobile phones, laptops computers, and in-car devices. The concept of providing television-like services on a handheld device has generated much enthusiasm. Mobile telecom operators are already providing video-streaming services using their third-generation cellular networks. Simultaneous delivery of large amounts of consumer multimedia content to vast numbers of wireless devices is technically feasible over today’s existing networks, such as third-generation (3G) networks.
National governments are encouraging an all-digital broadcast environment. As conventional analog television services end, broadcasters will exploit the capacity and flexibility offered by digital systems. Broadcasters will provide quality improvements, such as high-definition television (HDTV), which offer many more interactive features and permit robust reception to receivers on the move in vehicles and portable handhelds.
Mobile TV systems deliver a rich variety of content choice to consumers while efficiently utilizing spectrum as well as effectively managing capital and operating expenses for the service provider. Mobile TV standards support efficient and economical distribution of the same multimedia content to millions of wireless subscribers simultaneously. Mobile TV standards reduce the cost of delivering multimedia content and enhance the user experience, allowing consumers to surf channels of content on a mobile receiver. Mobile TV standards address key challenges involved in the wireless delivery of multimedia content to mass consumers and offer better performance for mobility and spectral efficiency with minimal power consumption. |