HDTV Almanac - A Better Mobile TV

[alfredpoor]

I’ve written about the Mobile Digital Television (Mobile DTV) that is currently undergoing a trial roll-out in the Washington DC market, with eight area stations broadcasting 23 different channels showing the same content as is broadcast on the stations’ regular broadcast channels. My reservations still hold; I don’t think consumers will want to have to [...]

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[ralph43]

I still want to see mobile tv make a good showing. I like the idea of free tv even with commercials. I do use a dvr for almost all of my viewing at home but I would be able to put up with commercials versus another monthly 10.00. I would only want to watch the local news on the go and live sports while sitting in a stadium or when I can not get to another set. I also like to download from the internet and watch some media on my smartphone. Ralph43

[ccclvib]

If and when WiMax is "universally" available, the whole thing is then a question of what the consumer wants. WiMax will allow watching anything the Internet has to offer - including "On-Demand" - while Mobile TV can still go right along offering the standard broadcast TV for whomever wants it. Don't know what that will do to the audience for either, but that's the chance you take.

[alfredpoor]

Good points, Mike, but there are some complications in this.

First, WiMax alone is not the solution. I have not tried watching Hulu on a smartphone yet (my Android Incredible is due to arrive in a week or so), but I'll be amazed if it works. Not all Web sites work well -- or at all -- on the small screen. The BitBop content will be optimized for mobile displays, which could make a big difference.

As for the Mobile DTV approach, the question is whether or not that spectrum can be put to better use or not. Right now, broadcasters are fighting to justify all the spectrum that the FCC gave them in the digital transition. The FCC currently recognizes Mobile DTV as an established application so it's not in immediate jeopardy, but what if the audience turns out to be tiny? Would you rather have this service available "for free" (though I wonder how long will advertisers support it if there's no audience?) than have better WiMax coverage?

The only thing I'm sure of is that this whole situation is in a great state of flux, and it's going to get a lot more complicated before it settles out.

Alfred

[lmarks]

Umm, unless someone has an early unlimited iPhone contract with AT&T, using a 3G connection is likely to consume a lot of costly packets.

[alfredpoor]

As I understand it, the Verizon data plans are truly "unlimited". Maybe they'll follow suit with AT&T, but I suspect that Verizon has a larger backhaul capacity and thus is not as concerned about usage.

Alfred

[Shane]

I checked each major provider this past week and the only one to offer "Unlimited" data on new activations is Sprint ... and that's only for 4G service, which is only in a handful of cities at present. All others are limited to 5GB at most ... after that the costs skyrocket.

Luckily, I am grandfathered into an Unlimited plan with AT&T, I use about 30-35GB per month. Under their current tiered data costs it would cost me about $1500 monthly ... ouch.

While we're on the topic, I'd also like to throw out that AT&T's Tethering option is a joke! You pay an extra $20 monthly to be able to tether your phone to your laptop, etc ... and you know how much additional data allowance you get for that $20? NONE! Zip, Zilch, Nada.

Can't wait until there's another option (I'm an iPhone user).

- Shane

[ccclvib]

As I understand it, the Verizon data plans are truly "unlimited".

I just read Verizon is going the same way as AT&T - and soon...

And as far as WiMax vs. Mobile, I really doubt Mobile will ever amount to much. If there were a market, I would think there'd be lots of folks asking about it. Most people I know don't even know what it is. Rather have a solid WiMax coverage everywhere I go than keep changing channels on Mobile TV as I travel.

Oh, and glad to see you're not another Apple slave.