ATSC ratifies mobile DTV standard

The Advanced Television Systems Committee has approved a new mobile digital TV standard that will allow digital TV broadcasters to deliver content to a broad variety of mobile devices. The A/153 ATSC Mobile DTV Standard. Targeted devices include not only mobile phones, but also other handheld devices and in-vehicle entertainment systems. The standard is the culmination of a development process that took about two and a half years.

The Open Mobile Video Coalition, which released its own Mobile Use Cases document earlier this month, applauded the move, and also led a demonstration of broadcaster-powered mobile DTV for federal legislators in Washington, D.C.

Some forms of mobile TV and video services have been available for a while now, but the new standard is inspiring some observers to believe that mobile TV may really take off in 2010. Will mobile TV screens eventually surpass living room screens? That's a question asked by Broadcast Engineering magazine. It's hard to imagine that happening, but perhaps mobile TV's big break will alter our perceptions.

For more:
- Digital Home has this post
- Broadcast Engineering has this report
- TV Technology has more on the OMVC document
- read the release

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