Mobile EAS, Cost, Quality Give Mobile DTV ‘Significant Advantage’ Over Aereo, Stakeholders Say
The comparatively low cost of mobile DTV will give terrestrial broadcasters a “significant advantage” over streaming TV services like Aereo, stakeholders said Thursday at the Advanced TV Systems Committee annual meeting. Representatives from mobile DTV providers Dyle and Mobile 500 Alliance said mobile TV technology’s comparatively low cost and reliable coverage was one of several advantages that would keep broadcasters competitive with wireless carriers.
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Dyle Chief Technology Officer Rajan Mehta said Aereo is “not legal,” but it is an option for consumers in some markets. But streaming services like Aereo don’t provide content at qualities as high as mobile DTV and can’t provide content that doesn’t require data, he said. “Mobile DTV is an integral part of providing both the best available network on which to receive signal in terms of the scalability and quality it will provide, and that will reach screens as well,” he said. Sam Matheny, a member of the Mobile 500 Alliance, agreed the cost would substantially advantage the broadcast product. “One of the true powers of mobile DTV is that for either no cost or one fixed cost, you can get unlimited content,” without going against the balance of your data plan,” he said.
Matheny said the “real jewel” of mobile DTV is the Mobile Emergency Alert System currently in development. The system was designed to function on broadcast networks that can remain functional even as wireless and cellular carriers lose operability, said Jay Adrick, chair of the ATSC M-EAS Implementation Team, at the event. MEAS integrates “seamlessly” with the existing Common Alerting Protocol, but can provide rich-text information like localized maps, road closures, and insurance information to consumers, Adrick said. Matheny said the program could be revolutionary not just for broadcasters, but for the public as well. “To be able to have a totally separate system that is going to be able to deliver not just 90 characters of text, but as [Adrick] said, to take that and be able to extend it into really actionable information that people can use, whether that is a map, whether that is a VOD file stored on a device, or text info on exactly what is going on in your area -- to have that targeted to you is really, really vital,” he said. “I can’t say enough how strongly I endorse MEAS.”
Matheny and Mehta also said Dyle and Mobile 500 are engaged in a “conversation” about merging their competing mobile DTV groups. “The differences that have abounded are more around business philosophies and those are things I certainly hope we will come together and get worked out,” Matheny said. “There is conversation in that regards. I don’t want to hazard a guess as to when something like that might happen. If and when it does we'll be in a great position to offer a truly comprehensive and unique service.”
Broadcasters have expressed concerns about implementing mobile broadcasting while there are two technologies in the marketplace (CD Jan 1 2012 p3). But Matheny and Mehta said since the underlying technology is the same, broadcasters should not hesitate to broadcast by mobile. Consumers using one company’s application can still access TV stations sponsored by the other company, Matheny said. “Don’t let anything we are or aren’t doing prevent you from getting your stations on the air,” he said. “You can get on board and rest assured that if and when we do come together, you're going to be in a very good position.” Mehta said stations launching mobile is a “critical” part of the industry working out those differences.
Both Mehta and Matheny also said even those cell phones and other devices sponsored by wireless carriers would begin to adopt the technology as consumers demanded it. “Over time,” Matheny said, “including a mobile DTV receiver will be viewed the same way Wi-Fi was.” Carriers first worried Wi-Fi would hurt their bottom line, until they realized it would increase consumers’ data usage and make their phones competitive, he said. “With time, hopefully, we can have the viewpoint of the benefits of having a mobile tuner in the device not be something that’s antagonistic but be something that’s complimentary,” Matheny said.
Both Mehta and Matheny said they were encouraged by how quickly consumers had reacted positively to the technology. Mehta said Dyle will announce more station expansions this year and launch several accessories, including a Belkin iOS accessory and an Android accessory before the end of 2013. They will also have an RCA “TV tablet” with digital streaming technologies as well as a tablet with a mobile DTV tuner. Mobile 500 continues to test its services in new markets, Matheny said, and will roll out ten more stations soon.