What’s on

Edi t ion No.14 June 2005

The Standard for the Digital World

This issue’s highlights

> HDTV Format Wars

> PVR Update

> Home Networking

> Portable Content Format

> Analysis: Japan DTT Roll Out

> MHP In Austria

> Market Watch

1414141414

DVB - S

CENE

Tune in to Digital C

onvergence

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CONTENTS:4 Scientific-Atlanta’s Bernd Reul explains the challenges of adding

HD to the broadcaster’s portfolio6 PVR Update7 The progress of Home Networks within DVB8 Using portable content format for delivery of interactive services9 Analysis: Japan’s DTT roll out

10 Singapore gears up to become a global media city11 CompoTech’s Trevor Huang contemplates if mobile TV makes

sense for China & Taiwan12 Setting the stage for DVB-H deployments in Asia-Pacific13 The !TV4GRAZ MHP Project in Austria14 MARKET WATCH - A look at DVB product launches

• Elti d.o.o.• Himax Technologies, Inc.• Silicon Image• Sony Ericsson Mobile Comm. AB• Streamezzo• TrueSpan Inc.• UDcast

The views expressed in this newsletter are

those of the individual DVB members or

guests and are not necessarily the views

of the DVB Project Office or Steering

Board.

Published by the DVB Project Office,

c/o European Broadcasting Union,

17a Ancienne Route,

CH-1218 Grand Saconnex, Switzerland.

www.dvb.org & www.mhp.org

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Editors: William Daly, Harold Bergin

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be reproduced without prior consent of the

publisher. All content correct at time of printing.

(c) DVB-SCENE 2005. DVB an MHP are

registered trademarks of the DVB Project. Certain

other product names, brand names and company

names may be trademarks or designations of their

respective owners.

NEWMEMBERS

DVB-SCENE welcomes readers old andnew to the 14th issue. Many of you willhave noticed that we try to bring younews on key DVB technologicaldevelopments and news from those whohave to deploy them in the market.You’ll find this issue no different witharticles on many topical issues such as720p HDTV, PVRs, portable contentformats and home networking amongstmany others. We’re even bringing youinformation on DTV in Japan and mobileTV broadcasting in Singapore, Chinaand Taiwan.

One of the major DVB work items atpresent is that of portable contentformat (PCF). Bringing together experts

from surprisingly diverse areas, PCF isan effort to define a common set ofprinciples associated with authoringcontent for different iTV platforms. Thebroadcasting industry is currently facedwith authoring iTV content for differentinteractive television platforms. Thesituation is no more complex than in UK,with one standardised platform andthree proprietary platforms widelydeployed. PCF aims to facilitate theprocess of authoring content in thismulti-platform world. It comes from amature set of requirementsacknowledging that MHP is not going tobe the only iTV platform in the marketfor some time.

Again with taking a look into the DVBconnected home of the future, there’s agrowing realisation that homenetworking - particularly wireless - playsa pivotal role in the converged home.DVB doesn’t plan to develop its owntechnology in this area per se, rather toobserve work going on in other fora likeDLNA and the DSL Forum with a view toincorporating this into a set of guidelines

for DVB services. We tried this before -but could not get consensus on a singlesolution for DVB, and thereforesuspended the efforts pendingsubstantial developments elsewhere.Things are now very much on the move,with 802.X based technologies in poleposition to form the backbone of anyDVB wireless networking solution.Thorsten Herfet (Intel) deals with someof the issues and where DVB plans toadd value to the efforts of others.

PVRs are also a central part of theconverged home, and are alreadyforcing change in the way broadcastersthink. DVB World in Dublin heard thatBSkyB’s HDTV set-top box will include aPVR suggesting the importance thisdevice has gained since large harddisks became affordable. The challengefor standardisation is to keep up. DVBhas just finalised a set of MHP PVRspecifications updates. This milestoneeffort has been achieved thanks to closecooperation with our CableLabscolleagues in the US.

TOPICAL ISSUESPeter MacAvock, Executive Director

A word from the DVB Project Office

A man walked into an art dealer, andasked for an evaluation.”The goodnews” the dealer said, “is that it is agenuine Leonardo”. “The bad news isthat it is Leonardo the plumber”. Thingsare not always what they seem.

In HDTV, the format label ‘1080i/25’sounds better than ‘720p/50’. After all -it is a bigger number. So, why doorganisations like the EBU and BSkyBargue that for digital HDTVbroadcasting, 720p/50 has theadvantage over 1080i/25? Why would720 line pictures look better than 1080line pictures?

The answer is a combination ofreasons, linked to the ‘footprint’ that the‘interlace’ process leaves on a televisionpicture. Interlace is a 70 year oldbandwidth compression system thatworks by reducing vertical resolutionwhen objects move. So, the first reasonfor the preference is that for materialwhere there is a lot of movement it’sbetter not to have the interlacing. Thisapplies to sports, and this is thematerial which many believe is the ‘killercontent’ for HDTV broadcasting.

The second reason is that interlacedmaterial is more difficult to compressthan non-interlaced material, so the720p/50 format compresses to about20% less bit rate than 1080i/25 forabout the same quality - ‘bits arebucks’. Interlacing was great value formoney in the analogue days - but lessso in a digital world when we havecontent adaptive digital compression.

The third reason - and probably themost important - is that all HDTV setssold in Europe will be inherentlyprogressively scanned, so broadcastingprogressive scanning avoids having touse (forgive me EICTA) cheap andcheerful interlace to progressivescanning conversion in the homereceiver.

HD receivers in Europe will be largely‘WideXGA’ flat panel displays -progressively scanned with 768 lines by1366 elements across. Germanbroadcaster ZDF recently made aseries of picture quality evaluations ofthe same material shot in 720p/50 and1080i/50 on a WideXGA display. For allthe scenes, the 720p quality seen washigher than the 1080i. BSkyB , theBBC, and SVT have found the same.

Having said 720p/50 is preferabledoesn’t mean 1080i/25 should not beused. It is certainly included in the DVB-AVC documents. Broadcasters mayhave other reasons for makingprogrammes in 1080i and broadcastingthem that way. They are quite free to doso, and indeed all receivers sold inEurope will cope with both 1080i and720p.The differences are much smallerthan differences between standarddefinition and high definition. You payyour money and you make yourchoice...

1080i/25 has its supporters, includingthe ‘founding father’ of European HDTV,HD1, which was formerly the Euro1080channel, broadcasting some hours eachday in HDTV since the beginning of theyear, and TPS.

In future, displays in Europe should usean ‘HD ready’ label.This means thedisplays will reproduce at least 720 linesresolution, and have appropriate

David W

ood,H

ead of New

Technology, EBU

physical interfaces for HDTV. This willbe a real help to consumers - nowbuying flat panel displays in droves. InSwitzerland, where the DVB office islocated, half the TV displays sold arenow said to be flat panels. The label hasnot come too soon.

Four PayTV operators - BSkyB,Premiere, Canal+, and TPS - haveannounced their intention to start HDTVbroadcast services in the next year.

Finally, HDTV is here - and the evidenceis that the public will get the best dealwith the HD ready label and 720p/50broadcasts where possible, but 1080ibroadcasts will be very good too.

Episode II: A New Understanding

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HDTV FORMAHDTV FORMAHDTV FORMAHDTV FORMAHDTV FORMAT T T T T WARSWARSWARSWARSWARS

HDTV CHALLENGEBernd Reul, Director of Marketing and Business Development,Scientific-Atlanta Europe NV

The appeal of HDTV amongst Europe’sbroadcasters and operators is growing.Organisations are reassessing theirbusiness models and are looking athow HDTV can increase ARPU(average revenue per unit). Thepopularity for the technology has beenfuelled by the success of high definitionbroadcasts for movies and events, bothin the US and in parts of Asia coupledwith the steady reduction in the price ofplasma and LCD TVs. However,operators and broadcasters are likely toface content production and logisticalchallenges. There are several optionsfor the distribution of HD contentbetween studios and event sites. Ifreal-time transmission is needed, forexample a sporting event, some signalcompression should be applied and thesystems must support the existing telcoor satellite infrastructure. Usingmoderate DPCM (Differential Pulse-Coded Modulation) compression, twoHDTV signals can be transported on anSTM-16 (2.4Gbit/s) link. This howeveris still expensive and HDTV SDTI(270Mtbi/s) is an alternative.Increasingly studio equipment such ascameras and tape recorders supportvarious HDTV compression formatsenabling the transport of HDTV on anSDTI link, which can be transportedcost effectively via 2 STM-1 links.

The most cost effective bandwidthsolution is MPEG-based and can bescaled for any network, covering anydistance using DVB-ASI interconnectsfor satellite or terrestrial networks. While this offers a slightly lower videoquality than uncompressed(mezzanine) HD solutions such as HD-

SDTI, it is widely accepted to providesufficient quality for one-time ‘event’broadcasts. The distribution of HDpresents an equal challenge for allbroadcasters and service operators,whether over cable, satellite, terrestrialor telco networks such as xDSL andFTTx.

While networks such as cable andsatellite lend themselves more easily toHDTV, new developments in advancedvideo compression technologies likeH.264 make it possible to broadcasthigh definition content over DVB-T andover next generation DSLnetworks. However, the physical lack ofterrestrial spectrum would only allow fora few HDTV channels on DVB-T whichin return also would reduce the numberof SDTV channels. For xDSL networksproviding HDTV will pose a challengewhen providing more than one channelper home in addition to simultaneoushigh speed Internet connection evenwhen new technologies like ADSL2+are used.

Today’s digital distribution systems caneasily carry HDTV (given there issufficient bandwidth available) and onlyneed a suitable encoder and set-topbox. The step from digital SDTV todigital HDTV will be smaller than theswitch from analogue TV to digitalSDTV in terms of the distributionsystems - to the end user the switchwill seem remarkable. H.264 promisesup to 40-50 percent better bandwidthefficiency than advanced MPEG-2compression and ensures that picturequality is retained even at low bit rateslike 7-8Mbit/s. Retaining picture qualityis vital - any significant picture

degradation during broadcast woulddefeat the point of offering it.

Most broadcasters and operators willneed the assurance of an increase inARPU to offer HD content. HDTV willbe an expensive addition for free-to-airbroadcasters who don’t have pay-TVmodels and for some pay-per-viewoperators offering HD will still bebandwidth usage versus revenues.High definition broadcasts over cablewill, in most cases, override the costdisincentives of higher operationalexpenses - due to high bandwidthavailable on many cable networks andownership of networks. Offering HDcontent will also be in synergy withexisting on-demand and pay-TVcontent models.

For CPE equipment, it will be difficult tomake the case for offering orsubsidising a brand new box supportingonly HDTV. However, a new boxcapable of both DVR and HDTV is notmuch more expensive than a DVR onlybox. Therefore, attractiveness of DVRcan be used to drive the deployment ofnew boxes and HDTV can ride on thiswave.

The 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germanywill be shot in HDTV and every matchwill be available in both HD and SD. Itwill likely be used by the ConsumerElectronics Industry as the impetus fortake up of large flat screen sales andthus HDTV in Europe. Not only will thisprovide broadcasters with an insightinto the true potential of high definitiontelevision but it will also show howHDTV content can be broadcast to awide range of audiences.

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creation • management • delivery...

IBC Aldwych House 81 Aldwych London WC2B 4EL United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7611 7500 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7611 7530 Email: show@ibc.org

Exhibition 9 - 13 SeptemberConference 8 - 12 SeptemberRAI Amsterdam

See state-of-the-art technology from 1,000exhibitors.Network with more than 40,000 key players fromEurope and 120 countries.Take part in the world's best opinion formingconference.Take advantage of IBC's free visitor attractionsincluding the Training, Displays and Content forMobiles Zones.Be guided to hot topics and products by expertsin our free ‘what caught my eye’ sessions.

www.ibc.org

the world of content

make sure you adapt and develop by visiting IBC2005

is evolving fast

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The Sub-Saharan pay-TV operator MultiChoice has recently launched Southern Africa’s first DTT service in Namibia.The service based on the 8K format, transmits six encrypted services to approximately 3000 subscribers inNamibia’s capital, Windhoek. The design was developed based on the lessons learnt elsewhere coupled with alittle bit of over engineering. The previous analogue system transmitted 20 watt and it was decided to go against whattheory dictates and increase the power to 60 watt, up by 4.5 dBs! The higher power and a 2/3 FEC makes this a veryrugged robust system to cater for possible inferior quality home antenna installations. This system was used as the idealtest bed for possible future projects. The 3000 analogue subscribers were more than happy to participate in the projectand now enjoy the benefit of improved picture and sound quality from the digital signal.

The encryption is done at the head-end in Johannesburg, South Africa and the EMM’s (Entitlement ManagementMessages) and ECM’s (Entitlement Control Message) along with the services are sent via satellite to Namibia. Thesame ‘old’ antennas system consisting of a four tier, four panel Kathrein system was used and only the antenna splitterhad to be upgraded to cater for the higher powered digital carrier.

The biggest challenge was to find a transmitter manufacturer willing to customise their product to the odd frequency wehad to use i.e. channel 13. Because of the lack of spare frequencies, there was no ‘dual illumination’ period, and it hadto be a switch-off, switch-on approach. The decoders were pre-loaded with the default parameter settings which madethe process much easier, very much plug-and-play.

Martin Ungerer, Engineering Group Manager,MultiChoice AfricaON IN AFRICA

Overviewof DVB PDRprocess asdefined inTS 102 323

A lot has happened in the year since Ilast wrote about progress in the DVB-PVR space. In the market, PVRshipments have continued theirsteady progress, roughly tripling lastyear to around 11 million units andexpected to triple again in 2005. Bothvertical and horizontal markets arebenefiting from PVR deployments,with many DVD/PVR combinationproducts available in retail.

Within DVB, the TM-GBS (GenericData Broadcasting & ServiceInformation Protocols) group hasreleased TS-102-323, specifying howto carry TV-Anytime scheduleinformation in DVB streams, finallyallowing broadcasters to have analternative solution to EIT (EventInformation Table) schedule, which, asmany have pointed out, is not themost bandwidth-efficient formatavailable. This new specificationcontinues the DVB toolbox tradition,by allowing a broadcaster to replaceEIT schedule with TV-Anytime or haveboth at the same time. This even goesas far as having part of the sameschedule information carried in EITschedule and part in TV-Anytime,maintaining backwards compatibilityfor the installed base of equipment.

The TM-AVC (Audio-visual CodingFormats) group has released theguidelines for use of H.264 content,including the necessaryrecommendations for theconfiguration of H.264 video encodersfor supporting PVRs. HD supportusing either MPEG-2 or H.264 is noproblem, either for MHP or non-interactive PVRs.

In the MHP world, the release of theMHP-PDR (Personal Digital Recorder)

specifications by TM-TAM (TechnicalAspects of MHP) is allowingbroadcasters to get on with interactivePVR-aware applications, as Idescribed in DVB-SCENE issue 10.Because of the commercial demandfor access to these specifications, theyhave been released as DVB Bluebooks in advance of their ETSIspecification release. You will find twodocuments, A088 for the GEMCommon Core DVR APIs (created withCableLabs and also forming part of theOCAP DVR specification) and A087 forthe MHP specific parts, on the DVBwebsite. Implementation of these twospecifications, along with either MHP1.0.3 or the recently released MHP1.1.2, is necessary to create acompliant MHP-PDR product.

Speaking of MHP 1.1.2, this version ofMHP includes support for storedapplications which makes a great deal

PVR UPDATE Paul Bristow, Chairman, DVB-PVR Group

of sense in a PVR which hasGigabytes of disk space. Using storedapplications can significantly enhanceiTV capabilities and performance,while dramatically saving bandwidth.

The first products based on MHP-PDRhave already been announced, andare expected to be deployed withinmonths. The first applications are verylikely to be that broadcaster favourite,Electronic Programme Guides, butnow, finally on MHP, with the ‘record’feature. Probably telescopedadvertising will be one of the very nextapplications. There is now evidencethat interactive telescopingadvertisements – where pressing abutton pauses live TV, and takes youto a longer video brochure for theproduct or service you are interestedin – are more effective than repeatedviewings of normal adverts, andrequire an interactive PVRenvironment like MHP-PDR.

What’s next? DVB is currently workingon standardised solutions in homenetworking allowing networked PVRsolutions in the home leading to myfavourite feature: pause the moviedownstairs, go upstairs and resume itin the comfort of your bedroom. Allusing standards from the DVB toolbox.

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Although it’s been on the DVB agendafor some time and having a broadbase of interest, with severalspecifications produced, homenetworking within DVB has not been agreat success story. But things arechanging.

Problem one was with infrastructure.DVB transmission specifications forsatellite, cable and terrestrial, as wellas DVB’s interaction channels exploitexisting analogue and digitalinfrastructures. You could say thatDVB builds luxury, high-tech cars thatare able to drive on these existingroads. Within the consumer’s home,however, this infrastructure had notbeen available in a predictable orharmonised manner as required forDVB to act on.

Recent changes were brought aboutby the Digital Living Network Alliance(DNLA) when it published its HomeNetwork Guidelines V1.0; a protocoland certification suite that relies on IPversion 4, Universal Plug and Play,Universal Plug and Play Audio Visualand HTTP transport protocols anddefines an interoperability frameworkfor media including still images, audioand video. They have now built theroad that DVB’s cars can drive on.

The second problem had to do witharchitecture. While service providersand content owners tend to interpretthe home network as being the lastsegment of the delivery chain, enddevice and network equipmentmanufacturers favour viewing thehome network as the local distributionbehind the content acquisition point.Whereas the first model splits theantenna cable, the second onedisperses the set-top box.

We have witnessed the rapid

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thorsten Herfet of Intel and Chairman of TM-AHG on Wireless In-Home Networks

penetration of LANs in today’s homes,which has been motivated byconnecting multiple PCs and sharingbroadband Internet access. Thedistribution of private audio visualcontent is a well perceived co-product.Fast, IP-based networks in the wired(Ethernet, 802.3u) and wireless(WLAN, 802.11abg) domains are stateof the art. The customer is beginningto disperse the set-top box!

Content Management / CopyProtection (CPCM) is the thirdproblem. Digital Home Networks mustnot unintentionally enable illegitimateuse of copyrighted content. The factthat no trusted CPCM solution is inplace has delayed the advent of medianetworks significantly.

While the digital output of copyrightedcontent is accepted and specified forseveral domains already (e.g. for 5C-protected 1394 outputs of DVD playersor for ‘HD ready’ displays) and digitalrights management (DRM) protectedcontent (Windows Media DRM, iTunesDRM or other) can be distributed inthe home already (but of course onlyplayed on licensed devices), moresophisticated CPCM systems areunder development in DVB and theDLNA envisage solutions within thetime frame of a year.

These are big changes compared tothe situation of DVB home networkingof several years ago. Consequentlyone can now observe a new push tomake the reality of digital televisionpart of the networked era.

The DVB Commercial Module’s AdHoc Group on Home Networks isfinalising commercial requirementsand has unanimously agreed onmaking IP and DLNA the baselinearchitecture, the DVB Technical

Module Ad Hoc Group on InternetProtocol Infrastructures is planning itsPhase II that includes local distributionthat will exploit the service protectionand discovery, as well as IPI’stransport mechanisms in the homenetwork, DVB-CPCM is designing atoolbox for content management andprotection and DVB-WIN (wireless in-home networks) is evaluating a restartgiven the opportunities that fastwireless LANs now offer for unwireddigital TV consumption in the home.There’s a lot to contribute and DVB isready and willing to do it!

HOME NETWORKS

Thorsten Herfet is Intel’s ConsumerElectronic Standards Representativeand holds a Professorship onTelecommunications at SaarlandUniversity. Prior to this he wasresponsible for advancedevelopment within Grundig,Germany and participated andchaired several collaborative R&Dprojects in the area of homenetworks.

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PORTABLECONTENTFORMATToday’s digital television platforms offera wide variety of interactive services. Tothe casual observer, this mayappear the result of mature productionprocesses across the industry.However, the reality is that the majorityof interactive content is developed innon-portable ways, specifically targetingindividual platforms. The resulting highproduction costs mean that interactivecontent is often limited to high profileprogramming and revenue generatingpropositions.

The DVB’s portable content format(PCF) will create a host of newopportunities for the creation anddelivery of interactive services, byincreasing service portability and so

reducing production costs. With thePCF, interactive content can beauthored and deployed withoutknowledge of a viewer’s interactivetechnology. A service description can beinterchanged business-to-business in aconsistent way, whether it is anenhanced TV proposition, such as foran entertainment programme or anadvert, or providing t-commerce/e-government services.

The PCF is a high level model for thedescription of a service author’sintended viewer experience. It can beused for business-to-businessinterchange of service descriptionsbetween both:

content providers & content providers; content providers & platform operators.

The portability of the PCF acrossinteractive TV technologies is analogousto the portability of Adobe’s PortableDocument Format (PDF) acrosscomputers. Rather than representingprinted documents, the PCF describesinteractive services that can be renderedas a viewer experience on interactivetelevision receivers.

DVB members with significantexperience of deploying interactiveservices and technologies, including theBBC, BSkyB, NDS, OpenTV, Liberateand NTL, are developing the PCF. Theinitial version of specification will beready for submission to the DVBtechnical module by late summer 2005and the first tools are expected insummer 2006.

Why are we developing an interactiveTV specific content format? In thecurrent marketplace, platform operatorsare more likely to choose an interactivetechnology based on wider commercialfactors, rather than the availability ofinteractive content. As a result, manydifferent interactive technologies aredeployed globally. These technologiesare not interoperable. Even where twoplatforms deploy the same underlyingtechnology, network variations canintroduce incompatibilities, e.g. theavailability of a return path. This means

that service distribution beyond acontent provider’s primary market oftenrequires significant re-authoring,becoming un-economical.DVB has taken two differentapproaches to addressing this issue:

Within the platform by developing astandard interactive technology to bedeployed everywhere, the MultimediaHome Platform (MHP). Despite anincreasing number of deployments ofMHP, the majority of interactive TVreceivers deployed today do not supportMHP. Nor do they have a hardwarefootprint that would allow them to beupgraded to support MHP.

Upstream of the platform byestablishing a standard for interchangeof interactive TV content that has thepotential to make this as portable asdigital video and audio. This is the aim ofthe PCF.

The PCF is being developed to enableautomatic translation into platformspecific formats, leading to a significantreduction in cross platform costs. Thismeans that services developed for non-MHP platforms can more easily bedeployed into MHP platforms, even if

this was not the original intention of thecontent provider. In this way, the PCF isnot an alternative to MHP, it is acomplementary technology.

The DVB’s PCF will:

enable much wider interchange ofinteroperable interactive servicedescriptions;

be capable of representing 80 percentof existing services with benefits to theother 20 percent.

stimulate new interactive televisionbusiness applications;

be complementary to existingtechnologies, including MHP.

From L-R: Richard Cartwright, Jeff Hunter, Toby Steele, Johann Rosser.

The authors of this article all work for the BBC’s R&D department. Theyrepresent the BBC at the DVB-PCF Technical Module Subgroup and have beendeveloping cross platform authoring technologies for the BBC for five years. AtIBC 2003, the team demonstrated a cross-platform system that could publish aportable interactive service description to platforms including: MHP, MHEG-5,OpenTV and Liberate.

“...developed to enable automatic translation into platform specific formats...”

PCF

Authoring Tools Platforms

API x

MHP

API yPCF

PCF

Japanese DTT Roll out plan

Source:D-pa

In Operation by December 2004

Will start by June 2005

Will start by December 2005

Will start by June 2006

Will start by December 2006

1 Estimate based on JEITA data. Cable boxes excluded.2 Licensed bandwidth is split into 13 segments, one dedicated to mobile phone or other portable device reception. For HDTV, the rest of thesegments are used for one programme with some room for datacasting. During the SDTV window 2 - 3 programmes available. 480i, 480p,1080i, 720p are allowed.

Japan is leading the way for DTT inAsia. But now, over a full year afterlaunch, how is the platform doing andwhat are its prospects?

DTT started in the urban areas of Tokyo,Nagoya and Osaka in December 2003,with public broadcaster NHK, fivenational commercial networks, and 11regional broadcasters offering freedigital channels alongside analoguesimulcast. Coverage is expected to behalf of national households by the end ofthis year. By the end of next year allstations are required to launch DTT andswitch-off is planned in 2011.

However, at the start of 2005,cumulative sales of DTT-ready TV setsand set-top boxes was 2.23 million1, wellunder 5% penetration of total TVhouseholds. Many believe that the highcost of household HDTV equipment andconsumer confusion have dampenedmore widespread acceptance.

Although the service model is mixed(see chart) DTT is very much HDTVfocused as in the United States eventhough Japan has chosen a moreEuropean, COFDM-based standard: itsown ISDB-T. The frequency usage plan2

gives broadcasters some flexibility butmost have chosen to maximize 1080iformat exploitation. Operators tend touse HDTV for the prime time andmultichannel SDTV service at othertimes.High network investmentsWhile expensive equipment ishampering growth on the consumerside, tremendous infrastructureinvestment is slowing development formany broadcasters and networkoperators. The estimated combined

investment of all broadcasters for thefull conversion is estimated at over $9billion. Public broadcaster, NHK,estimates its own capital spendingrequirements at over $3 billion, well overhalf of its gross annual revenue fromlicence fees. The financial burden maybe especially troublesome for theregional broadcasters. Fortunately, thegovernment has acknowledged theissue and indicated that it wouldamend legislation to offer tax breaksand other incentives.Too many thingshappening at once?As broadcasters are busy maintaininganalogue broadcasts while windowingtheir SD and HD digital broadcasts, theyare also keen on diversifying theirtransmission portfolios into contentdelivery to mobile phones, laptopcomputers, and PDAs. Digitalbroadcasting for car navigation systemsand car televisions is also on theagenda. Additionally, datacasting has

figured prominently in companyannouncements but with few details on

actual services so far.

If that wasn’t enough, film productionhas become a strategic priority for mostmajor networks - Fuji TV, TokyoBroadcasting System and NipponTelevision Network have all increasedtheir stakes in this business sector,consequently putting more pressure onfinancial resources.

Mobile servicesDTT licences were granted on the basisof existing network ownership with eachbroadcaster retaining the right to use theallocated licensed spectrum. Moreover,these licences cover all televisionservices which effectively excludestelecom and mobile operators fromindependently launching services. Bythe end of this year severalbroadcasters will launch the 1-segmentbroadcast in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya.It will be a free service at the initialstage, and the broadcast content will bea simulcast of the DTT channels withsome data services. Broadcasters hopeto develop a commercial market initiallythrough data/interactive services.OutlookGovernment and industry planners haveset a challenging timetable for DTT inJapan: 10 million households in 2006;24 million households by the BeijingOlympics in 2008; and 48 million TVhouseholds by 2011. Although earlybenchmarks seem to indicate progressif off pace, the government has alreadysignalled its willingness to act, not onlyby taking financial measures but also byintervening with regulatory andderegulatory steps. Japan mastered theart of industrial policy during the lastcentury and there is reason to believethat with that legacy and with a nationalcommitment, its goals can still be met.

ANALYSIS: JAPJAPJAPJAPJAPANANANANANAlexander Shulzycki, Senior Media Analyst, EBU

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Example of service and receiver formats

Source: NHK

Pictures courtesy of Scrawl Studios Pte Ltd, AgogoCorporation Hong Kong Ltd, and Big Communications, FluxAnimation.

In July 2003, Singapore announced its Media 21 blueprintfor the development of the media industry here. Theblueprint positions Singapore as a Global Media City, aninternational centre for the creation, trade and distributionof media services and projects. Though a relatively youngshoot, the Media 21 vision is starting to bear fruit – theindustry’s contribution to the country’s GDP in 2004 was1.7 per cent, an increase from the 1.56 per centcontribution in 2003 when the Media 21 blueprint waslaunched.

The Media 21 development strategy adopts a holisticapproach to developing Singapore’s nascent mediaindustry via five routes – developing the country into amedia business exchange, exporting ‘Made-by-Singapore’content, internationalising Singapore media enterprisesand augmenting media talent.

Within the Media 21 masterplan, a key area that Singaporehas targeted for attention is digital media. Specifically, thecountry’s plan to become a digital media hubencompasses animation, gaming and digital technology.The arrival of international big names like Lucasfilm, BKNInternational and Koei Animation thus far attest toSingapore’s competitiveness as an international digitalmedia centre in the making, thanks to the country’svigorous intellectual property regime, strong infrastructureand pro business environment.

Already, the country is a test bed for new digitaltechnologies. For instance, Singapore’s Media Corporationof Singapore Pte Ltd (MediaCorp) was the first terrestrialbroadcaster in Asia to launch the pilot DTV service,MDigital, and mobile DTV service, TVMobile, in 2000 and2001 respectively.

TVMobile Pte Ltd, a subsidiary of MediaCorp, was the firstbroadcaster in the world to offer commercial mobile DTVservices on public buses, providing commuters with on-board, real time entertainment en route to their

destinations. This service was extended to taxis whenSmart Automobile fitted its fleet of taxis with TVMobile.

Additionally, local cable operator StarHub Cable Visionlaunched its digital cable pay-TV service in May 2004. Theservice changed consumers’ viewing habits from passiveto active viewing, and provided viewers with programmeinformation like cast lists and synopses without disruptionto the channel currently being watched, as well as quickvisual searches of programmes being aired.

To spur the digital media industry’s growth overall, theMedia Development Authority (MDA) has set aside S$12.5million to support digital content and digital technologydevelopment. The MDA recently announced an initiativewith StarHub to support companies seeking to bring digitalapplications they have developed to the market.

Under this Digital TV Applications Initiative, the MDA will beproviding funding support through its Digital TechnologyDevelopment Scheme while StarHub will provide a digitalcable platform for applicants to showcase their products.

Many dreams often come and go but the vision to developSingapore into a Global Media City is not one that can beeasily forgotten. With the industry and government workingtogether to make greater waves in the international mediascene and closer ties being established around the world,the island state looks set to making big leaps in the world’smedia industry. So keep a lookout for the day where theword media becomes synonymous with Singapore.

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DIGITAL DREAMSContributed by the Media Development Authority, Singapore

The first DVB-H trial in Asia is going tokick off in Taiwan this summer. How willconsumers here in Taiwan and Chinathink about the coming mobile TV? Ihave done some studies about thisissue, and this article is going to talkabout what I found.

Price, Price, Price!

Just like the Taiwanese electronicsindustry, which is always sensitiveabout cost issues, when I asked myinterviewees what they thought aboutwatching TV on their mobile phones,they often answered with anotherquestion: What about the price?

This may indicate that they would like amobile TV device, but are not preparedto pay a lot for it. Most of myinterviewees told me that they wouldlike to purchase one if the device didn’tcost more than 500 USD. On the otherhand, those who have a regular jobwould be prepared to pay more moneyfor it – around 650 USD.

But, the broadcasters and networkoperators may not be able to usemobile TV as a new window to gainmore income. Consumers consider thebill they might receive each month as agreater priority issue than the price ofthe devices. Most of the people I spoketo would like to be able to watch TV ontheir mobile phone for free but if forcedto pay for it they would not be willing tospend more than 5 USD per month.What is even more considerable, is a

certain portion of them stated that theywould not want to subscribe if theywere asked to pay an additional feeevery month. This figure is close to 30percent.

The sample consisted of students,lawyers, engineers, and news reportersand most of them are under thirty yearsold. They have relatively high incomesand are willing to be early adaptors ofnew technologies. My survey shows

that they do appreciate the idea, butthey still want to enjoy it at a very lowprice.

Bigger screen, more integration

Apart from the price issue, I also asked

them what kind of features or specswould make a mobile TV device moreattractive to them. Mostly the answer isa bigger screen, whilst some of theminsist that mobile TV devices shouldhave a screen equal to or larger than aPDA. Like the service fee per month, ifmobile TV devices do not have a biggerscreen, some of them are adamant thatthey would not be interested in mobileTV. As well as a bigger screen, a few

of them think that a mobile TV devicesshould certainly offer stereo audio asan optional feature enhancement.Some go as far as wanting morefunction integration with MP3 playback, digital video recording and amegapixel still camera, etc.

What a challenge!

It seems consumers here won’t payvery much money for mobile TVdevices and services. How do youimplement this complex technologywithout boosting cost? What businessmodel could be profitable for operatorsand content providers and still providea free service? I think we need to findthe answers to these questions.

Trevor Huang is the Reporting Editor for CompoTech Asia, the monthlymagazine published by LOOK Publication Inc, which focuses onsemiconductor devices and market trends in the electronics industry in Asiaand Greater China. He was born in Taipei City in 1980, and graduated fromthe Department of Philosophy, National Cheng Chi University with aBachelor degree.Founded in 1999, CompoTech Asia is mainly published in Taiwan, theleading ODM/OEM center and since 2002 has published a China edition,CompoTech China. Further information on CompoTech Asia can be foundon their website: www. compotechasia.com.

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In My Opinion - Trevor Huang

DOES MOBILE TVMAKE SENSE?

“...have relatively high incomes and are willing tobe early adaptors of new technologies.”

ie, © Twentieth Century Fox

Mobile TV is the true convergence ofthe cellular and the broadcastingdomains. With the possibilities of 30 to50 TV channels on the mobile device,mobile TV in fact, brings the broadcastworld to the mobile generation!

With lifestyles getting more fast paced,the mobile phone is one’s companionthroughout the rushed and the quietermoments of the day. It is difficult toimagine leaving home without yourmobile phone today. In addition tobeing an enhanced productivity tooland a lifestyle statement, today’sfeature rich mobile devices are alsogood entertainment devices on the go.Today, the mobile device more thanever, is slowly integrating intoeveryday life as an ‘idle-moments’killer. It is not an uncommon sightanymore to see people well engrossedwith their devices while commuting oreven waiting for someone.

With TV switching on in the mobiledevices, new possibilities andopportunities arise. New viewing timesand reaching out to a new set ofaudience for broadcasters are acertainty. In addition to broadcasting tohouseholds, the opportunity willincrease with broadcasting to

handhelds!

Mobile TV will enable interactivity via areturn channel using the cellularnetworks. Interactivity, whichessentially is a personal experience,will enable the broadcasters andmobile operators to engage more withthe audience and at a relevantinstance on their personal handhelddevices. A richer end-user experiencefollows with broadcast providing thetriggers for increased cellular trafficand usage.

The Asia-Pacific region has a strongmobile services culture. Many Asianconglomerates also have theadvantage of a good understanding ofboth the media andtelecommunications businesses byvirtue of their business interests. Mostof the content is local, which alsohelps in content rights negotiation. Allthese factors combined are conduciveto bringing mobile TV offerings to themarket faster. Needless to say theright regulatory framework has to be inplace.

The DVB-H standard, which mobile TVis based upon, is a subset of thecurrent DVB-T open standard that hasbeen implemented or chosen by many

countries within the Asia-Pacificregion. China, Australia and Singaporehave already deployed commercialservices on DVB-T. In fact the publictransport system in Singapore andmajor cities in China like Beijing,Shanghai and Guangzhou areequipped with DVB-T services.Countries like India, Vietnam, Brunei,New Zealand and Thailand are ineither test or pilot phase. Recently,The Bridge Networks Pty Ltdannounced their intention to trialmobile TV over DVB-H in Sydneyaround mid 2005.

In this convergent environment, thesuccess of mobile TV does not rest onany one party alone. It requires thecooperation of broadcasters and mobileoperators working together in the rightregulatory environment to make the mostof this exciting opportunity.

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With the support of Taiwan’s government authority, CMC Magneticstogether with technology partner Nokia, local Taiwan TV broadcasters, radiostations and mobile operators have announced the formation of the MobileTV Strategic Alliance. The Alliance aims to create a mobile TV ecosystembased on DVB-H technology to enable a true digital mobile lifestyle inTaiwan. The initiative will enable mobile devices to receive broadcast digitalTV directly and conduct interactive communications via mobile networks.The Mobile TV Strategic Alliance’s first task is to develop a commercial trialin mid 2005 which will lead to a commercial service launch in 2006.“Mobile TV is bringing together the telecom and broadcast industries toexpedite the convergence of telecommunications, Internet and digitalbroadcast networks,” said Bob Wong, Chairman of CMC (left). “With thearrival of the new digital entertainment era, people will be able to accessentertainment and receive information anytime, anywhere”.

STRATEGICALLIANCE

MOBILE ASIAMauro Montanaro, Vice-President, Sales and Channel Management, NokiaMultimedia, Asia-Pacific

Setting the stage for DVB-H deployments in Asia-Pacific

March 2004 witnessed the introductionof digital terrestrial TV in Austria.Within the framework of the ‘!TV4GRAZ’Project, 150 households in Austria’ssecond largest city were equipped withMHP set-top boxes in order to testaudience acceptance of added valueapplications based on the MHPstandard. The project’s special featureswere the large scale integration of thereturn channel and the use of what iscalled an Interactive Application Centre(IAC) to enable both interactive TV andnew business models.

Under the auspices of the RTR(Austria’s regulatory body), an SFNnetwork was built in Austria´s secondlargest city, Graz, the capital of Styriato supply its citizens with digitalterrestrial TV. This was the first step in

line with Austrian planning,according to which terrestrialbroadcasting should become fullydigital by 2010.

While elsewhere TV viewers beingoffered DVB-T, the advantages wereincreased portability and a broaderrange of programmes, the main addedvalue in Austria was – right from thestart – interactive MHP applications,which also include the active use of areturn channel.

In addition to TV channels ORF1,ORF2, and ATV+, which are alreadybeing offered on a terrestrial basisthroughout the country, a fourthchannel was set up and other

broadcasters, such as Pro7 Austria,Sat1 Österreich, goTV, Steiermark 1,Aichfeld TV and TW1, were invited tojoin the pilot project with theirprogrammes. The key condition forbecoming part of channel 4, which wasalso called !TV4GRAZ, was to makeattractive MHP applicationsavailable to complement theprogrammes.

The majority of programme providersrelied on the portal applicationdeveloped by Siemens. Givenadequate content management, it ispossible to supply the MHP

application. This is specially brandedfor the particular broadcastingcompany, with contents andfunctionalities such as voting orordering available at suitable points ina flexible manner. Programmeproviders can offer their viewers analways-up-to-date platform from wherethey can retrieve news or situationalinformation in a similar way to anInternet website. The big advantagefor consumers is that the MHPapplication is so easy to use – all theyneed is their familiar remote control.Therefore, MHP makes an importantcontribution towards reducing thedigital divide by giving non-Internet-

literate segments of the population anattractive means of access toelectronic information.

All the user-initiated return channelactivities via the Internet have to beterminated in the network and also beinstantly confirmed in some cases.That is why it makes sense to speakof an interaction channel that needs tobe established between a set-top boxand a specific data centre. In the!TV4GRAZ Project, Siemenssuccessfully deployed its own datacentre, the Interactive ApplicationCentre, and ensured that the

interactive TV circuit was closed viaMHP set-top boxes. As a clearingcentre for data from variousapplications, the IAC features flexibleinterfaces and a high performancedatabase to enable information to beedited, stored and passed on to therespective partners. Having registeredonce, TV viewers then no longer needto repeatedly enter their authenticationcredentials. Broadcasting companiesprofit from the central service centrefunctions. They can set up theirservices (e.g., voting) in next to notime, getting the results suppliedautomatically via the ContentManagement System.

The return channel furnishes the idealbasis for promising new businessmodels, not least in view of thedevelopments brought about by PVRs.The fact that numerous TV formats arealready successfully relying oninteractive features such as valueadded SMS or call centres todayshould encourage broadcastingcompanies to increasingly offer MHPservices. Providing interfaces to billingcentres, the IAC makes sure thatusers will be adequately charged forthe services they use.

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!TV4GRAZ

© Pro7Austria 2004

© ÖSW 2004

Wolfgang Rittsteiger & RudolfNorth, Siemens projectmanagement team !TV4GRAZ

“...numerous TV formats are already successfully relying on interactive features...”

Neotion has introduced its latest chip,NP4, using its N-Hub co-processor,which enables current DTT decodersto be made compatible with theMPEG-4 standard. The patentedsilicon NP4 combines real timeMPEG-4 decoding, MPEG-4 MPEG-2transcoding, and additional operator’sessential features such as securityand copy protection. The NP4 istargeted to consumer’s DTVreceivers, iDTV, IP Boxes, PC andModules.

Neotion Processor 4

MARKET

Humax has launched for the UKmarket a digital/analogue LCD TV(iDTV) with a built-in PVR for digitaltapeless recording. The LGB32-TPVR’s twin Freeview tuner allows theuser to record while watching anotherprogramme. The 40gb internal harddisk drive allows for up to 30 hours ofrecord time.

Humax LGB32-TPVR

Fraunhofer IMK has debuted its allnew OCAP version of JAME Author,the latest member of IMK’s JAMEproduct family for iTV services. JAMEAuthor is an advanced MHP/OCAPauthoring system for thestraightforward creation of

Fraunhofer IMK’s JAMEAuthor OCAP version

SCM Microsystems has launched theSDI 010 reader, a secure dualinterface reader that combines contactand contactless interface capabilitiesto support the growing demand forbadging and other personalidentification applications utilisingcontactless smart cards. The readerswork with a broad range of 13.56 MHzcontactless smart cards and passportsincluding: Philips; MIFARE; DESFire;MIFARE ProX; ATMEL and SHARP.The combination of contact andcontactless technologies in one readermakes it possible to integrate anumber of conventional single purposecard applications onto one card.

SCM Microsystems SDI 010 reader

WATCH

Rohde & Schwarz has unveiled itscompact R&S FSH3-TV spectrumanalyser. The handheld TV analysercan process both analogue and digitalTV signals. Due to its portability it isespecially useful for servicing newinstallations and maintaining orrepairing TV cable network ortransmitter components. The R&SFSH3-TV combines the functions andcharacteristics of a full featuredspectrum analyser with thefunctionalities of a TV test receiver. Allmeasurements essential in field usecan thus be performed with only oneinstrument. In addition, the R&SFSH3-TV is very robust andweatherproof and can be poweredfrom its NiMH battery.

sophisticated, well designed iTVservices. By combining the efficiency,reliability and flexibility of JAME withthe advantages of an easy-to-usegraphical authoring tool, JAME Authoraddresses the needs of iTV designers,editors and many other mediaprofessionals. An assortment offeatures well known from populargraphics tools and special TV/MHPrelated functions, such as a built-inemulator, ease and accelerate thisprocess. This makes JAME Author avaluable tool for drafting first ideasand creating complete services. Byhaving a customised OCAP version ofJAME Author, Fraunhofer IMKintroduces its successful JAME iTVauthoring and production system inthe US market.

R&S FSH3-TV Spectrum Analyser

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Advanced Digital Broadcast isclaiming to have developed the world’sfirst set-top box featuring on board arevolutionary single chip solution tosupport Advanced Video Coding. TheSTB offers TV viewers a singleplatform for the reception of bothstandard definition and high definitionTV signals through DVB cable,satellite or terrestrial broadcast inaddition to Internet Protocol Televisionaudio-video streaming. The single chipsolution is based on the STi710x state-of-the-art processor fromSTMicroelectronics. The set-top boxincludes a wealth of new servicessuch as digital video recording andaccess to online gaming, e-mail and t-commerce. Interactivity is supportedby MHP middleware from Osmosys.Delivery of this product is set to beginin the second half of 2005.

ADB 7800

In March 2005, for the fifth year runningDublin played host to the DVB Worldconference. Snows and strikes acrossEurope contrived to delay the arrival of ahandful of delegates (including thechairs of the first two sessions!), but thatdidn’t stop the event from getting off to astrong start with a thought provokingopening address from the BBC Directorof Regions and Nations, Pat Loughrey.The keynote address was delivered byRichard Freudenstein, COO of BSkyB(above), who chose the occasion toreveal further details of the satellitebroadcaster’s plans for their upcomingHDTV launch.

DDDDDVB VB VB VB VB WORLD 2005WORLD 2005WORLD 2005WORLD 2005WORLD 2005Attendees greatly enjoyed the openingnight’s trip to Howth Yacht Club, wherecopious amounts of food and drinkwere accompanied by the lively musicof well-known Irish cabaret act, ThePaddy Cole All Stars. Nevertheless afull conference room was up andready to hear session chair UlrichReimers open Thursday’s session onHDTV. And a lively session it was too,with people left in no doubt that thetime has come for HDTV in Europe -finally! An afternoon session focussingon the important but rather complextopic of rights and content held theattention of well over 100 delegates,many of whom then ventured out tosample the delights of Dublin citycentre’s nightlife.

Friday morning’s final session was, formany, the real draw of the event withan opportunity to hear reports fromDVB-H trials around the world.Delegates had been able to see thelive reception of DVB-H signals onhandheld receivers throughout theshow with representatives from Nokia

on hand to take them through thedemonstration. As is often the case,time caught up on a rather populouspanel, and the conference wasbrought to a close by the EBU’s DavidWood. George Waters, president ofthe organisers IAB, had kept awatchful eye throughout the event anddeclared himself delighted with theproceedings. There were close to 250participants at the event, an increase ofabout 16% on the previous year. Nextyear’s event will take place once againin Dublin from 1 – 3 March.

Sofia Digital has launched acrossmedia platform for multiplayer TVgames which allows the same game tobe played from several terminals(above right). The company believesthe system will open new businessmodel scenarios for broadcasters,operators and content providers as it

The Tektronix MTS400’s innovativeCaptureVu feature allows the user todefine trigger conditions for fastdetection, analysis and correction offault conditions. Its programme-centricuser interface also ensures ease ofuse for less technical operators. Multi-standard support including MPEG-2,H.264 and VC-1 PLUS real time videoover IP analysis is also available.

Scopus UID-2902 Universal IPDecoder

Scopus Network Technologies haslaunched its dense IP decoder UID-2900 product family with theintroduction of the UID-2902 UniversalIP Decoder. The UID-2902 isdescribed as a cost effective platformthat enables migration from analogueto all-digital distribution networks. Thenew device features concurrent two-channel MPEG decoding; dual MPEGover IP inputs supporting IGMPv2(IGMPv3 ready); simultaneous twovideo stream and four audio streamsupport; and both link and logicalredundancy. Management and controlof the UID-2902 are easily achievedvia an easy-to-use graphical frontpanel, a simple network managementprotocol (SNMP) or Web-basedmanagement.

allows for the usage of different waysof billing the customer. These methodsinclude: mobile phone using textmessages (SMS) or WAP, telephoneusing IVR, smartphone with Symbianor Java capabilities using a clientapplication for easy gaming,interactive set-top box with an API,such as MHP, OCAP or HTML, using aclient application for easy gaming.Games can be offered by differentpayment and subscriptionmechanisms and pricing can be setindependently by the service provider.

Tektronix MTS400

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Nokia is making mobile TV a reality today. Imagine being able to watch your favorite TV show,tune into news as it happens, or catch the latest sport events on your mobile phone. What wasa dream in the past is now fast becoming a reality. The latest DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld), an open standard which has been adopted for handheld devices by most countries,heralds an entirely new chapter in the history of broadcasting. It’s a great convergence ofbroadcasting and mobile telecommunications and it’s going to create exciting opportunitiesfor mobile and network operators, content providers and broadcasters. Come witness theexcitement at the DVB Pavilion, Singapore Expo Hall 2 at 2E2-07 at BroadCast Asia today.

www.nokia.com/mobiletv

TV Goes Mobile