The New York Times recently reported on a trend, Local TV for Devices
on the Move. “Beginning in
April, eight television stations in Washington, D.C., will broadcast a signal
for a new class of devices that can show programming, even in a car at high
speed. In all, 30 stations in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle and
Washington have installed the necessary equipment, at a cost of $75,000 to
$150,000.”
This is different than Web TV on mobile devices. This is broadcast TV
on a mobile device. The
device is currently, for lack of a more marketable name, as “ATSC Mobile DTV
Standard.” The Timnes writes that first devices will become available in April.
They will include a $249 TV-DVD player from LG. There is also a $120 device cigarette
box size device from Valups, a Korean set-top box maker, that retransmits a
mobile signal to an iPhone, iPod or BlackBerry over Wi-Fi. There is also PC
dongles and set-top boxes for automobiles from iMovee and a $149 iPhone/iPod
mobile TV cradle from Cydle. The race is on.
The Mobile DTV standard also provides two-way communication. When
viewing an ad, you can push a button to see more information or have it sent by
e-mail. The system can also be used for voting, polling and audience
measurement. Mobile TV devices with GPS function could also feed location-specific
ads so that, for example, an ad for a restaurant would appear only to someone
nearby.
Things are moving quickly in this niche.
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