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/ 04.08.2010 2:00PM
Mobile DTV Devices Reviewed
NEW YORK: Mobile over-the-air TV got props in a review by
John Quain for PC World. Quain tested
three mobile DTV receivers in New York recently. He noted that the service was
free compared to Qualcomm’s Flo TV, which he referred to as MDTV’s “main
rival.” Subscriptions will be around $10 to $14 a month for fewer than 20
channels, only in metro areas, he said. Quain also said MDTV tuners were cheap
to integrate into handsets and other receiving devices. He took two such
devices by LG and another from Valups for road tests, and “was impressed by the
technology's video quality, plus its versatility in integrating with a wide
array of devices,” he said.
New York City’s maze of skyscraper slot canyons creates one of the most
challenging environments for DTV reception. Quain said the $250 LG Mobile DTV
with DVD player gave good picture, but “was usually the first device to lose
the broadcast.” LG’s KB770 handset beat out mobile satellite systems, he said.
The tricked-out smartphone remains a prototype in the United States; no carrier
has been announced, so price is unavailable. A DVB-T model has been released in
Europe.
Finally, Quain tested the $99 Valups WiFi-enabled, mobile DTV peripheral
receiver, rolled out at the Consumer Electronics show as the “Tivit.” It works
with iPads, iPhones, iPods, BlackBerrys or Android-enabled handsets. Couple
with an iPod, the device pulled mobile DTV signals into environs where the
others did not. Quain did say he had to occasionally restart the device
software, “but otherwise the unit worked without a hitch.”
His complete review is available at
PC
World
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Sunday 12:00AM
EBU Pushes Hybrid Broadcast/Broadband TV
“Underlying this co-operation is the shared conviction that... only a flexible, cross-border approach will make it happen quickly.” ~ Ingrid Deltenre