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DVB-H trial in Sydney – photos

July 22, 2005
Ok, I’ve taken some better res photos with a Nokia 6680 of some of the screens today. Still having some issues with the device not focusing correctly, but I think it’s the nut on the end of it……..
 
Supposedly they are running the digital broadcast streams at around 212Kbits/s which, at that rate, will give them the ability to do a total of 30 streams.
 
They can change the bit rate of each stream, so therefore reduce some broadcasts that don’t have as much movement in them and increase the number of channels to a maximum of around 50.
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from → 3G, IPTV

Up close and personal with DVB-H in Sydney

July 22, 2005
I was @ The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) convention and exhibition yesterday in Sydney. Low and behold, Bridge Networks had a stand showing off DVB-H with the Nokia 7710’s that are being used in the Sydney DVB-H trial with Telstra. There will be approximately 500 devices in the ongoing trial that has been running for 1 month. They are broadcasting the signal out of one POP at Gore hill (Northern Sydney area).
 
There are 14 channels with some of the free to air channels represented, Nine, ABC2 & SBS. The quality of the video is exceptional. Although I was in the same place using the device, it would be interesting to see how movement in a vehicle would effect the reception.
 
The Nokia 7710 is a 2.5G device only, but the wide screen form factor is a delight to use. Nokia’s software for accessing the channel information is very easy to use and up to the usual Nokia interface standard, very slick indeed.
 
The system seems to be ready to utilise Datacasting in that each of the channels displayed included the channel’s logo in an area to the left of the image.
 
The switching from channel to channel is not TV like, but more like switching off an Internet video stream then reconnecting to another, Although this is still fairly quick. The Nokia 7710 is using a version of the Real Player to view the broadcasts too.
 
The exciting part of this technology is what is going to happen with converged media & information. The service is digital TV and can utilise Datacasting. In conjunction with the usual 3G content services this is going to change the way people interact with mass media.
 
Of course the evolution of the DVB-H technology gives the broadcaster a powerful back channel that can create a conversation in real time. During a broadcast people can submit questions, answer polls, communicate with their social digital networks about what they are watching and even go to the next level of community journalism and add their eyewitness reports, with pictures & videos that could be utilised on the same broadcast.
 
Imagine live broadcasts changing real time to the demands and interactions of their audience……
I’ve included some fuzzy pictures from my Motorola A1000 (It’s not quite designed for close ups)
 
UPDATED 13:42: Corrected some of the facts orginally stated about channels used and duration of trial.
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from → 3G

DVB-H Trials in Sydney

July 20, 2005
The Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld (DVB-H) is getting a work out In Sydney at the moment with the widescreen Nokia 7710 device and is attracting attention of many people including our cabbies!
 
The service allows users to use their mobile device as a mobile digital TV receiver. The user can switch through various channels just like their home TV. The trial in play utilises the exisiting cable TV content from the Foxtel cable TV network.
 
The sad part is that spokespeople are pitching this against 3G and even getting their facts screwed up like this one from Bridge Networks’ managing director Darren Kirsop-Frearson,

"If there is one [TV] channel and 10 people are accessing it through 3G, the quality goes down, but DVB-H is like a TV set so it doesn’t matter how many users you have got"

No, Mr Kirsop-Frearson you are wrong, the quality does not go down in 3G with increased users. Haven’t you heard of technologies such as multicasting?

DVB-H will be an exciting addition to mobile technologies as it gives live access to digital broadcasts. This type of service will be exceptional for breaking news events were users can view live feeds from cable channels.

I’ve heard many people in telcos & industry events say "People don’t want TV on their mobile", but frankly they are out of touch with customers and out of touch with were the devices are heading.

Widescreen devices such as the Nokia 7710 and the Sony PSP are enabling viewing of rich media content in mobile environments and giving customers the ability to watch what they want, when they want.

The recent London bombings bring this to clarity, that when people are mobile they need access to live information. Whether they are in the vacinity of the event or anywhere else in the world.

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from → 3G

MyChinaNumber.com

July 20, 2005
A good friend of mine, Brenton Perry, has launched an interesting service that turn VOIP technologies into a clever ubiquitous service.
 
Brenton’s new business venture is called MyChinaNumber.com. The concept is very cool in that you sign up to the service and you get a local Beijing telephone number that is routed to your US or Canada number (more countries to be added soon).  The person in China can then call you at a local fixed line rate.
 
This is a great service for those companies dealing with Chinese customers, but don’t have a local presence.

 

Costs: US$19.99 setup fee + US$19.99 per month & US$.14 per minute.
 
MyChinaNumber.com is using VOIP services that hook into the Beijing PSTN system and redirect to servers in the USA, that then redirect the call to PSTN or mobile numbers in the USA or Canada.
 
This is a very clever use of the technology and it will be fascinating to see how the service is enhanced further.
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from → Technology

A world embracing Potter.

July 19, 2005
Holy Feathery Flying Griffons Hagrid!
 
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince sold 9 Million copies in the first 24 hours of sale in UK & USA alone
 
Also…. JK Rowling earn’t a reported 24 Million Stirling Pounds in that 24 hour period.
 
And…. "Half-Blood Prince” easily generated more than $100 million in revenue, making the book the richest opening in publishing history
 
 
No wonder the Catholic church hates it so much……
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from → Books

The Roman Catholic Church is doomed

July 15, 2005
Seriously, this is why the Roman Catholic church is doomed.
 
 
I’m a Christian, & I think the Harry Potter serries of books are some of the most impressive, innovative, & imaginative (and all other great “i” words) works of fantasy ever written.
 
Anyone who says they are evil are utterly out of touch with reality.
Waiting patiently for the pre-ordered copy of The Half-Blood Prince to arrive on my door step! 🙂
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from → News and politics

AFTRS Interactive Program invites students to come and play

July 13, 2005
The Australian Film Television & Radio School (AFTRS) has implemented a new programme for graduate degrees in Emerging Media & Interactive Design.
 
Under the playful gaze of senior AFTRS lecturer Mark Pesce, the new programme, "was casting it’s sights beyond traditional film and TV professionals to people who had produced games, Macromedia Flash movies & toys."
 
They have setup a new webiste at interactive.edu.au, where they will showcase the accepted applicants.
 
The closing date for applications to the MA in Emerging Media & Interactive Design is September 5, 2005.
For further details infonsw@aftrs.edu.au or call the Student Centre on +61 2 9805 6444.
 
I just don’t know how Mark puts up with his dreary job……
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from → Technology

David Koretz, founder of BlueTie joins the Blogosphere.

July 13, 2005

I’ve met David a couple of times on his trips down under and he is an impressive innovator & entrepreneur. David started business young by collecting sea-shells and selling them at the age of 7. He has had quite a few successful companies since then and his current venture is BlueTie.

BlueTie is a great web based business e-mail service that centralises a companies messaging system. It effectively replaces the need for any costly server based system with a monthly subscribed service. The company has done some great work on their product including the ability to access BlueTie through the standard Microsoft Outlook client.

David leads an interesting life, and he presents regularly on his business and industry trends. I look forward to the intriguing conversations on his new Blog.

Welcome to the Blogosphere David.

www.DavidKoretz.com

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from → Blogosphere

Global mobile Suppliers Association stats on UMTS (WCDMA)

July 13, 2005
The Global mobile Suppliers Association (GSA) has posted some updated global statistics on UMTS/WCDMA & EDGE usage.
  • 78 WCDMA networks launched in 36 countries
  • 28.34 million WCDMA subscribers globally at 30 June 2005; 11.46 million (68%) increase since end 2004
  • 179 WCDMA devices launched; 4-fold increase in 12 months; 71 launched 1H 2005
  • 147 network operators rolling out EDGE in 81 countries; 89 networks launched
  • 126 GSM/EDGE-enabled devices announced; 70 models in 1H 2005
  • 44 operators deploying combined WCDMA and EDGE networks
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from → 3G

mo:life’s new website is up.

July 12, 2005
John Pace & Sam de Silva over @ mo:life have redone their website and they now have all the recent Q&As they’ve done with industry people, including a little session with me!
 
Nicely done guys!
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from → 3G
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