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Mobile Television
Chirag UnadkatCommunications Convergence: Wireless Communication in
Today’s AgeIndian Merchants’ Chamber
March 07, 2008
Convergence
• Meeting or converging of different technologies
• Computing, telecommunications, media / entertainment
• Computing, telecommunications, finance / banking
• Computing, telecommunications, ???
Computing
• Brings interactivity to convergence• Contributes file formats, protocols, software
(such as media players)• Allows for easy manipulation (such as
copying, back-up, editing, renaming)• Facilitates different types of usages –
intermittent, low or high quality, normal or high speed, etc.
Telecommunications
• Tele Distance
• Communications Transfer of data / signals
• In convergence, telecommunications help bridge the distance between the service provide and the end-users
Media / Entertainment
• Content
• Films, television, music, news, chat or discussions, etc.
• Various physical forms – print / text, voice, images / graphics, video, simulations
Convergence
Use of telecommunication to deliver media / entertainment content to end-users for use
with computing technologies
Mobile Television
• A prime example of convergence
• Use of telecommunications to deliver television (media / entertainment) to a mobile phone using computing technologies and providing computer-like features such as interactivity, selection, etc.
The Mobile Television Route
The Mobile Television Route
The Mobile Television Route
The Mobile Television Route
The Mobile Television Route
The Mobile Television Route
The Mobile Television Route
Different Ways of Getting Television on your Mobile
• Using GPRS / 3G (Unicast / Multicast)
• Using broadcast technologies
Bandwidth Requirements forMobile TV
• Depends upon– Screen size / resolution– Color depth– Frame Rate– Compression
Screen Size
• Most commercial phones would be in the CIF – VGA range
Practical Mobile TV
• Screen size of around CIF – a little more than 100,000 pixels per frame
• Color depth of 24 bits per pixel
• Frame rate of around 24 fps
• Total bandwidth without compression = 100,000 pixels X 24 bits per pixel X 24 frames per second = 57.6 Mbps
Compression
• Compression depends upon desired quality, type of images and compression technique
• Static shots are better compressed than action shots
• H.264 can give a compression as high as 40 – 70
Bottom Line
• Required bandwidth = 57.6 Mbps without compression
• Compression in the region of 50
• Actual bandwidth needed = 57.6 / 50 = 1.152 Mbps. Say, around 1.2 Mbps
GPRS
• Also often referred to as 2.5G
• Bandwidth ranges from 56 kbps to 114 kbs
• Not adequate for professional quality entertainment content like television (needs at least 1.2 Mbps)
3G
• High bandwidth data transfer techniques for mobile phones
• Current 3G BTS offers bandwidth of 2.5 Mbps• Since each TV subscriber would need 1.2 Mbps, a
single 3G BTS would be able to service 2 TV customers
• No subscriber will be able to use the BTS for anything else during this time – no phone calls.
• Network Busy!
The Opportunity Cost
• Each voice call is between 8 and 16 kbps. World-wide, mobile calls are generally at 12.2 kbps
• At around 12 kbps per call, a single BTS can handle more than 200 simultaneous calls
• At an average of Re. 1 / minute of calling, each BTS has the potential of earning a revenue of Rs. 200 per minute
• If 2 subscribers watch TV using this BTS, then the telco loses almost Rs. 200 per minute by way of call revenues
• If telco tries to recover this from the TV viewers, each viewer will have to pay Rs. 100 per minute of TV viewing
Using unicast techniques like GPRS / 3G are therefore not
feasible for a mobile TV application
Broadcast
• Broadcast means that one set of signals is transmitted out
• Outbound bandwidth is consumed only once
• Signals are in such a format that anyone can receive
• Radio and broadcast television use this technique
Broadcast to Mobiles
• Current GSM / GPRS / 3G technologies are built for one-to-one communications and not for many-to-one communications such as broadcast
• Different technologies have to evolve to broadcast to mobile phones
Problems with Broadcast to Mobiles
• Reception at high speeds
• Antenna size
• Power requirements
Solutions
• Terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcast (T-DMB)
• Integrated Services Digital Broadcast – Handhelds (ISDB-H)
• Chinese Multimedia Broadcast (CMMB)• Media Forward Link Only (MediaFLO)• Digital Video Broadcast – Handhelds (DVB-H)• ……..
How They All Work
• Transmitters on tall towers• Broadcast of signals• Special mobile phones enabled for mobile TV• Switch phone to TV mode and select the channel
to view from amongst available channels• Take a call in the middle of a TV program• Broadcasting does not use the BTS at all.
Transmitters are similar to the terrestrial transmitters used by Doordarshan. BTS bandwidth is irrelevant
How They Differ
• Type of signals
• Bandwidth in MHz per channel
• Bandwidth in Mbps per channel
• Distance from transmitters
Technical Comparison
DVB-H Market Share
The Indian Scene
• DVB-H is expected to be largely through terrestrial transmissions
• Currently, only Doordarshan can transmit terrestrially in India
• Doordarshan has started DVB-H trials in Delhi
• Results of the trial will determine commercial launch by Doordarshan
Before That
• Who is the regulator? The Communications regulator or the broadcast regulator?
• Who are the service providers? Telcos or broadcast companies?
• How will terrestrial spectrum be allocated?
The Way Forward
• Release terrestrial broadcast spectrum – stopping one DD channel can facilitate as many as 20 – 30 channels of mobile television
• Choose service providers in a transparent manner• Let the service provider choose the technology• Let there be multiple service providers and,
hopefully, multiple technologies initially• May the best man win!
What The Indian Consumers Want
• Survey conducted across 10 cities of India• 448 respondents• Respondents expected to watch 75 minutes of
mobile TV per day – as much TV as they watch right now.
• Respondents willing to pay a as much for mobile TV as they pay for cable. The actual cost to service providers is around Re. 1 per month per channel!
Expected Consumption Pattern in India
Content Preference
Willingness to Buy TV Capable Instruments
In most countries, mobile TV is expected to be broadcaster lead,
with telecommunication companies playing a supporting
role.
The Role of Telecom Companies
• Can provide billing support• Return channel for interactivity and value
addition• Precise data on viewing patterns and
consumer preferences• Logistic support – instrument and service
support, changes in subscription parameters, etc.
Conclusions
• Mobile TV broadcasts are feasible – technologies exist and have been successful in other parts of the world
• Indian consumers are willing to invest (instruments) and spend (subscriptions) for mobile TV
• Indian consumers expect to see a lot of mobile TV• There is a market for varied content in the mobile
TV market
