Axel Technologies, Siano Mobile Silicon develop DVB-H terminal platform

Axel Technologies and Siano Mobile Silicon have announced a new platform for DVB-H terminals, which, according to the companies, features a channel-switching time of less than two seconds. The companies demonstrated the platform at the Informa DVB-H conference in London last month.

The platform comprises a DVB-H solution (compliant with the MBRAI 2.0 specifications) based on Siano's SMS1010 integrated mobile TV receiver chip, and Axel's Salmonstream DVB-H middleware. The solution is targeted at DVB-H-enabled mobile phones, smartphones, laptops, PDAs, pocket TVs, PMPs and GPS systems.

In creating the platform, Siano and Axel were looking for a way to remove one of the primary obstacles to the commercial success of DVB-H — slow channel switching time. According to the companies, they have managed to solve this by allowing mobile TV viewers to switch between channels in less than two seconds.

DVB-H is already commercially deployed in Italy and is expected to be further deployed in additional countries within the next nine to 12 months, including Germany, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine and more. The European Commission now officially endorses the mobile TV standard.

For more information, visit www.axel.fi and www.siano-ms.com.