MUNICH (July 5, 2006) Mobile sports fans around the globe are experiencing the first major international sporting event being broadcast live to mobile phones worldwide, from Europe to South Africa to North America, in the palms of their hands. Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE: TXN) hosted a July 4 press event on the potential of mobile digital TV in the FC Bayern Insider restaurant at the Bayern Muenchen headquarters in Munich, Germany.
Today there are approximately 16 countries with DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcast-Handheld) mobile TV networks in place. DVB-H is an open standard developed by the DVB Project with broad industry support among hundreds of companies worldwide. The advantages of DVB-H compared to other mobile TV standards were addressed in a panel discussion led by David McQueen, principal analyst for Informa Telecoms & Media, with representatives from TI and Nokia. The panel also discussed the potential of the emerging mobile Digital TV (DTV) market with on-the-go consumers who are hungry for content to fit their interests. Following the panel, attendees were able to experience how sports fans lives are changing with mobile TV from demonstrations of TIs Hollywood DVB-H single chip and Nokias N92 mobile device.
2006 is the year the mobile DTV picture will start to become clear with strong industry traction and international sporting events serving as the catalyst for mobile DTV growth, said McQueen. In fact, Informa expects $300 million in operator revenue to come just from users accessing streaming and broadcast services in June and early July to watch their favorite team play in international competition.
In order for mobile DTV handsets to be embraced by the mass market, the service and the technology must be affordable. At Nokia we firmly believe mobile DTV will deploy beyond the initial uptake the market is currently experiencing, said Harri Männistö, Director, Multimedia, Nokia. From the numerous consumer pilots in which Nokia has been involved, it has become clear that mobile TV is a very exciting and interesting mobile service which consumers are ready to pay for.
Christian Dupont, European director for TIs Wireless Terminals Business Unit, indicated that while the markets real growth will take place in the next five years, major international sporting events are sparking shorter term development. This year we expect a substantial increase in consumer awareness for mobile broadcast TV that will in turn drive broader adoption of mobile DTV with DVB-H, he said. We are seeing the impact the first live mobile TV broadcast of a major global sporting event is having which is evidence that the entire ecosystem has taken a major step together to bring mobile TV to consumers worldwide outside of initial trials.
At every level of the mobile DTV value-chain, carriers, handset providers, infrastructure owners, content providers, broadcasters and semiconductor suppliers are putting increased efforts behind their mobile DTV plans supporting DVB-H. Informa believes for good reason they predict 210 million mobile TV subscribers by 2011 and that by then ten percent of all mobile handsets sold will have a broadcast receiver, with DVB-H accounting for 63 percent of broadcast receiver sales.
Demonstrations shown at the press event included:
- Nokia showcased live broadcasts on its innovative Nokia N92 mobile device, the first DVB-H enabled device in the Nokia Nseries portfolio
- TI demonstrated its Hollywood technology the industrys first single-chip mobile DTV solution on the market and its high performance OMAP2420 processor to provide a crisp, clear viewing experience. This demonstration was displayed using a DLP® Pocket Projector linked to a demonstration unit and used technology from TIs partners PacketVideo and Silicon & Software Systems Ltd. (S3).
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Texas Instruments Making Wireless
TI is the leading manufacturer of wireless semiconductors, delivering the heart of today's wireless technology and building solutions for tomorrow. TI provides a breadth of silicon and software and over 15 years of wireless systems expertise that spans handsets and base stations for all communications standards, wireless LAN, Bluetooth, A-GPS, mobile TV and Ultra Wideband. TI offers custom to turn-key solutions, including complete chipsets and reference designs, OMAP application processors, as well as core digital signal processor and analog technologies built on advanced semiconductor processes. Please visit www.ti.com/wirelesspressroom for additional information.
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