ATSC requests proposals for mobile and handheld specifications

The ATSC Technology and Standards Group (TSG) issued a request for proposals to identify potential specifications to be used for its mobile and handheld standard (ATSC-M/H).

The ATSC-M/H standard was conceived to enable delivery of television content and data to mobile and handheld devices via broadcast DTV signals. Services based on ATSC-M/H will not preclude or prevent operation of current ATSC services or have any adverse impact on legacy receiving equipment.

ATSC-M/H supports a variety of services, including advertiser-supported television content and other services delivered in real time, mobile and handheld subscription-based TV, and non-real-time content that is downloaded to play back later. It also can support datacasting, interactive television and real-time navigation data for in-vehicle use.

The request for proposal is available at www.atsc.org. Preliminary responses, including an overview of the proposal, are due on June 21, 2007. Detailed descriptions of the proposal are due on July 6, 2007.