USA - mobile television

ATSC to Develop Standard for Mobile and Handheld Services
ATSC-M/H to be optimized for use in broadcast channels

Washington, D.C., April 9, 2007 –The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) has launched the process to develop a standard that will enable broadcasters to deliver television content and data to mobile and handheld devices via their DTV broadcast signal.

“The ATSC-M/H Standard will facilitate broadcasters’ use of their DTV broadcast channels to provide new services directly to small hand-held receivers, laptop computers and vehicles moving at a high rate of speed,” said ATSC President Mark Richer. “ATSC-M/H will be backwards compatible, allowing operation of existing ATSC services in the same RF channel without an adverse impact on existing receiving equipment.” Broadcasters will be able to allocate a portion of their 19.39 Mbps/8-VSB signal to mobile and handheld while continuing to transmit services such as HDTV.

“Development of a standard for mobile and handheld services is a major priority of the ATSC’s strategic plan,” said Glenn Reitmeier, Chair of the ATSC Board of Directors and VP, Technology Standards, Policy & Strategy, NBC. “We encourage participation in our standards development process and welcome technical proposals for consideration by our Technology and Standards Group (TSG)."

ATSC-M/H will be developed to support a variety of services including free (advertiser-supported) television and interactive services delivered in real-time, subscription-based TV, and Non-real-time content download for playback at a later time. It may also be used for transmission of new data broadcasting services such as real-time navigation data for in-vehicle use.

From ATSC