The $99 Tivizen Mobile DTV receiver will be available in June for Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Mobile DTV will be front and center at CES 2011 in Las Vegas this week as broadcasters anticipate an action-packed year of service rollouts and product debuts.
The Open Mobile Video Coalition, a consortium of more than 900 TV stations tasked with promoting the broadcast Mobile DTV service in the U.S. (known as ATSC-MH), announced plans in advance of the annual Las Vegas consumer electronics show for 2011 launches as well as a plethora of new Mobile DTV devices. Currently nearly 70 stations nationwide are broadcasting Mobile DTV, (a list is available on a signal map on the OMVC Website). Several Mobile DTV promotional organizations, including the Mobile Content Venture and the Mobile500 Alliance will also demonstrate services and discuss 2011 launch plans.
New Mobile DTV products will be on display at the Mobile DTV TechZone in the Central Hall at CES, as well as at manufacturer’s booths, including RCA, Vizio, Siano, Audiovox and Hauppauge. The long awaited and new generation of the Tivizen Mobile DTV connector will be showcased. The device plugs directly into Apple products that utilize the Apple 30-pin connector, including the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch to receive Mobile DTV signals. While the first generation Tivizen utilized a Wi-Fi communication between a device and the receiver, the new generation product includes a flexible antenna and comes with a rechargeable battery with 2.5 hours of Mobile DTV playback. The Tivizen will be available in June for an MSRP of $99 and will require a free downloadable app from the Apple App store.
LG Electronics, a developer of the Mobile DTV standard, will showcase what it touts as the “world’s first Mobile DTV broadcast of 3DTV” to an LG handheld Mobile DTV, with no glasses required for 3D viewing. Antenna maker Winegard will debut its cioTV, with the industry’s largest display for cars. New USB receivers will be launched from DTVinteractive and Hauppauge Computer Works, as well as iPhone Mobile DTV reception and new tablets from Cydle and new Mobile DTV WiFi stations from iMovee and Crestech.
The OMVC also announced this week that it was opening its membership to non-broadcast entities. The “Open Mobile DTV Forum” will include prominent electronics manufacturers Dell, Harris, LG Electronics and Samsung Mobile as charter members. The new members will have direct access to the OMVC’s Technical Advisory Group and will work closely with the OMVC board of directors. The OMVC is soliciting additional members from OEMs, as well as software, service and content providers.
"It is fitting that, as the Mobile DTV industry evolves from the experimental stage into active business planning, our organization expands its membership," said Vince Sadusky, president and CEO of LIN Media and president of the OMVC. "The charter members we are announcing today have been with Mobile DTV from its earliest days, including the just-completed Consumer Showcase in Washington, which demonstrated the capabilities and viewer appeal of Mobile DTV. By expanding our membership beyond broadcast companies, we hope to bring greater resources to the task of perfecting the Mobile DTV consumer experience, while bringing an exciting new class of digital mobile devices to the American public."
