Yep, the Open Mobile Video Coalition wants the Advanced Television Systems Committee to explore three technologies we've maybe only talked in passing before:
• LG/Harris' MPH (Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld)
• Samsung/Rohde & Schwarz's A-VSB
• Thomson/Micronas' variant of the European standard DVB-Handheld

So yes, if the plan is implemented, it means we will someday catch up to where Korea and Europe already are. Since big CE players are already involved in these technologies elsewhere, it wouldn't be costly for them to add the functionality to US product lines—a premium of around $10 per device.

For broadcasters already dealing with the digital switchover, adding $100K in hardware to their terrestrial broadcasting stations wouldn't be such a big deal, especially since it would help them tap into potentially $2 billion in ad revenue. (Unlike cable, local broadcasters are dealing with big revenue falls every quarter, including a 17% dip at the end of 2007.)

The question is, would you watch the stuff even if it were free? Qualcomm's MediaFLO is already an option with Verizon and AT&T, but I don't know many (any?) people who sign up for it. Also, who relies on local TV anymore? Gone are the days when Ron Burgundy and the KVWN Channel Four News Team reigned supreme. [AP]

Giant mobile and electronics empires Nokia and Samsung have decided that it's best to work together in mobile TV. They want to accelerate the adoption of the technology, all after realizing that past collaborations often brought great benefits to famous former enemies. You know, like funky policemen Starsky and Hutch, great superheroes Superman and Batman or failed comedians Adolf and Josef.

Both will now work on compatibility among their respective DVB-H mobile devices, with Samsung adopting the Open Mobile Alliance BCAST standard in addition to their current CBMS OSF. What does this mean to consumers? Hopefully, that compatible mobile TV services will be available all over the world from different operators. Sadly, OMA BCAST has it's own DRM, which leaves us pretty much OMFG STFU and learn the lesson already. – Jesus Diaz

Samsung and Nokia to Cooperate on Mobile TV Interoperability [PR Newswire]

So how does the "VIP beta" stack up to the competition? Gallery (from the party since my camera died after I got home) and rundown below.

We've run down the phone specs before, so I'm not going to rehash them, other than to note that it's running Windows Mobile 5. It feels rugged with the rubber backing and is a good size to slip into my pockets. I'm not too big on the orange though. Using the TV service destroys the battery life as well.

Service Impressions
Of course, this is what really matters. Does Modeo deliver? If you're satisfied with just a few channels (for now, Fox News, Fox Sports, MSNBC CNBC, E! and Discovery, though they're obviously working on getting more content providers) then overall, yes. The live feed is a few seconds behind what's on my actual TV, but who's counting? For the most part, the picture quality is solid. All text is clear and readable. CNBC is the exception for some reason—every time I've turned to it, it's heavily artifacted and skips. Anything that moves too quickly on any channel also seems to play hell with the service, throwing it into a fit of artifacting.

While at the event a number of executives emphasized that only "some content" really needs to be streamed live—like news, which is true to the extent that you probably don't need to see Everybody Loves Raymond live (or ever)—I'm guessing part of the reason it's news-heavy is that talking heads don't move a whole lot.

Startup is also jittery and slower than I would like, taking as long 10 seconds to switch into TV mode, and then another 5-10 to steady out skipping frames and audio. Changing channels takes another 5-7 seconds—you get the Modeo logo, followed by a black screen with skipping audio and then the video feed gets going. Once it's going though, generally it's smooth and clear, with solid audio to boot (though you have to turn it up all the way to hear it, which can be annoying if you don't want a loud ringer, so I've set the ring to vibrate).

Speaking of audio there are also 8 "Music Choice" radio channels, which, with more channels, could turn into a strong feature for the service, particularly as it makes its way to other devices (more on that later). The sound quality through the phone's speakers is better than say, standard radio, but nothing mind-blowing. Obviously, bass with its speakers leaves something to be desired, which is readily apparent on the Rob Zombie track its playing right now. It improves a fair bit if you use headphones, naturally, but still not amazing.

Coverage throughout last night and today have been excellent, as I've trekked from midtown Manhattan to downtown, and from the East Village to the West Village. The only place it let something to be desired was on the 8th of the Fairchild where the daily paper I write for is located. Even there, though, aside from a couple of dropped frames, everything came through and was definitely watchable. I could go into detail about the number of transmitters they're using (65) and where they're located (like on top of the Met Life building) and such, but it seems beside the point: Coverage (in Manhattan) is great—since the beta only covers NYC and a bit of the surrounding metro area, it had better be.

The Future and Final Thoughts
Many of the problems I have with the service—slow channel-changing and start up time—will be addressed before the public release. (They're aiming for a sub-2 second channel change time.) So when's the public release, you ask? They wouldn't give a date. Or a price point. And with big cell phone companies launching their own mobile TV networks, a future cozying up to Verizon, for instance, probably isn't in the cards. Which is why they're aiming to bring the service to devices other than cell phones, like cars, portable media players, etc. For instance, you can plug in an SD card attachment to just about anything with an SDIO port and pick up the service. (Pictured in gallery.)

I'm not totally sold on Mobile TV, especially after they emphasized the ability to deliver personalized ads to phones during the event. More than that, though when I've been out or waiting in line somewhere, I've had to actively think about using it. I'm not sure how useful it is in transit—it's hard to watch while walking, and obviously more so while driving. It won't work in the subway or on an airplane. Its coming DVR capabilities mitigate this to an extent, however. Whether not all content providers will allow recording is another question. I'm going to keep using it during the beta, but for now, consider me unsold on the concept. – Matt Buchanan

Product Page [Modeo]

Nokia launches N77, 6110 Navigator, and 3110 Classic [Pocket-lint.co.uk]

Modeo Unveils TV Phone for US [Techeblog]

Props for the Mobile DTV alliance, formed by bigwigs including Nokia, Intel Corp., Motorola, Texas Instruments and Modeo. Looks like we won't have to wait as long as we may have thought for good DVB-H, mobile TV technology in the states. I know I've been experiencing some TV envy lately after watching Europe and Asia get cool shows on their cellphones, so this alliance is aiming at creating open standards for TV broadcasts to mobiles, focusing on the North American market. The alliance is looking to have a DVB-H infrastructure ready for use by 2007. That's only a year away! Great, now I can throw away all those lame books I own and stick strictly to TV.

Nokia, Motorola, Intel form alliance for mobile TV [Reuters]

Yeah, I know it's not a gadget, but with all the next-gen products being announced at CES, it's good to know that somebody is thinking about the software. Like Crown Castle International, which claims it can deliver live TV (DVB-H), video and audio services to all kinds of shit—from cellphones to PMPs to cars. By 2007, the company's newly-named mobile TV subsidiary Modeo LLC will deliver about 10 video channels and at least 24 audio channels to 30 U.S. markets covering about half the population. And of course, this includes content for the video-enabled iPod. Looks like costs will be about $15 to $20 a month for video and $7 to $9 for separate audio subscriptions. So get ready to put your hand BACK in your wallet, please. Nokia, LG, and Samsung have all announced support for DVB-H in Europe, Asia and yes, even here in the US.

Crown Castle Reveals DVB-H Plans, Pricing [Phonescoop]

Get The Picture

Lots of mobile operators and content providers are convinced that mobile television is the next big thing for cell phones. While the phone isn't likely to dislodge the plasma screen as anyone's TV set of choice soon, the anytime, anywhere access mobile television promises has a lot of people excited. And while there are already early efforts to broadcast programming to mobile phones, a number of issues—both in terms of content and technology—still need to be worked out.

A company called MobiTV made some of the furtive first steps toward mobile TV when it launched on Sprint nearly two years ago, with about a dozen channels at a pretty low frame rate. It's just recently launched the second version of its product, and now has about 25 channels available on Sprint and Cingular in the US, and a number of other carriers around the world—at rates as high as 15-20 frames per second.

The channels MobiTV offers are a mix of live simulcasts of networks like MSNBC and CNBC, as well as others with prerecorded video, and still more with mobile-specific content. Ben Feinman, MobiTV's director of product management, says some of its most popular content is 3-5 minute videos of things like cartoons, comedy clips or music videos—bite-sized content.

The content mix is something mobile TV providers are trying to figure out, as they realize people don't watch TV on their mobiles the same way they do at home. "Our average session is five to ten minutes," Feinman says, adding that users tend to turn to the service to fill a few spare minutes in their day, rather than sit and watch for an hour. As content providers better understand this, "the application of this medium will evolve like any other," he says. He points out how NBC now has a crew dedicated to creating short news updates specifically for mobile users.

With the rise of DVRs and 500-channel TV services, people don't necessarily watch TV like they used to, falling at the mercy of whatever happens to be on. It's the same with mobile—people want control over what they're watching. Feinman says that MobiTV sees peak usage during breaking news events, and that live sports "is at the top of the list" of what users are asking for. He adds, though, that content tastes are as varied as the audience, and it's getting harder and harder to develop a basic package of channels that caters to everyone. So, just like you might add HBO to your existing cable package, MobiTV now also features niche premium channels.

Of course, there has to be some technology to make all of this possible. Current mobile TV providers in the US and Europe stream their content, typically over high-speed WCDMA or EV-DO networks (though some also work on GPRS and 1xRTT networks at lower quality). Streaming video over mobile networks follows essentially the same model as on the Internet, using unicast technology, meaning every subscriber gets a dedicated stream. This isn't a problem for operators right now, while their 3G networks are new and fairly empty. But as the networks become more popular and fill with traffic, streaming could become a problem since bandwidth is a much more finite resource on mobile networks than on wired ones.

To this end, there are a few different broadcast technologies that are being implemented. In South Korea, operators are using satellite digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB) to transmit 11 video and 25 audio channels to mobile phones, while in several European locations, systems using the digital video broadcasting-handhelds (DVB-H) standard are being tested. Crown Castle, which owns a network of cellular base station sites in the US, has plans to build a DVB-H network here, and is currently testing it in Pittsburgh.

Both DMB and DVB-H do essentially the same thing—broadcast video to receivers in mobile phones—and both are variants on digital TV technologies being implemented for standard broadcasts. And what would anything in electronics be without a standards battle? Given its support from Western vendors, DVB-H will likely come in to use in Europe and the US—although American users might find themselves using a third type of network, Qualcomm's MediaFLO. It's a proprietary system that, again, does basically the same thing, but Qualcomm has bought wireless licenses in the US so it can operate the MediaFLO network as well as sell the technology.

There's a big trade-off between broadcast and unicast systems, though, where interactivity and personalization are traded out for spectral efficiency. When programming is being streamed to individuals, that stream can be personalized for each user. When it's broadcasted, everyone receives the same content. People are so used to being able to customize their viewing experience at home, whether it's just being able to flip through 300 channels, or skipping ads with their TiVo that they won't expect much less from the mobile TV experience. This means providers will probably have to call on a mixture of both broadcast and streaming technologies to provide both technically feasible access to the most popular channels, but also the personalized experience users want.

The pipe dream? The ultimate personalization—being able to access the content of your TiVo from your phone, so you can watch just the programs you want, exactly when and where you want. The sticking point isn't the technology, Feinman says, with MobiTV looking at a few different implementations, whether it's accessing TiVo content, having the ability to select and record programs on the phone, or to simply cache a day's worth of content on the device.

"It's not a lot of bits," he says. "It's a question of working through it with the content providers." Rights issues holding back technology? That's almost as surprising as standards battles.

Carlo Longino is a writer and analyst that follows the mobile industry. He's co-editor of MobHappy, and also an analyst for Techdirt. He can be reached at carlo@mobhappy.com.

Read more Airtime. The column appears every Tuesday on Gizmodo.