Elanso

LG and Samsung are teaming up to propose their jointly developed technology as the North American technology standard for mobile DTV.

Two Korean giants are proposing a system that will "reflect the findings of the IDOV (Independent Demonstration of Viability) conducted by the Association of Maximum Service Television (MSTV) on behalf of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC)." Apparently, their mobile DTV solution uses the existing terrestrial digital TV broadcast bandwidth, with no impact on existing digital TV and with minimum broadcasting equipment investment.

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) is expected to adopt the mobile/handheld DTV standard for the North American market in early 2009 following trials of the technology by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a group of leading U.S. broadcasters who are vigorously promoting the development and early deployment of mobile DTV.

The problem is Qualcomm, which MediaFLO standard is at the moment dominating the North American mobile TV market. However, according to study commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters, with the adoption of a single ATSC mobile/handheld DTV standard, the U.S. market for mobile DTV phones will reach 130 million units by the end of 2012, with the market for portable media device mobile DTV receivers growing to include an additional 25 million units.

Who will win this standards war? In Europe, EC said let's get this over with, it's the DVB-H we're going to use. In the U.S. lobbying to ATSC has just got a new dimension. We'll watch this space closely…

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