The Broadcast Australia mobile TV trial using H.264/MPEG-4 Part 10 AVC encoding and DVB-H transmission, has entered a new phase, deploying Thomson encoders and the SmartVision Service Platform to evaluate commercial services.
The five-channel service across the greater Sydney area can be received on any DVB-H-capable mobile device equipped with decoding technology from Irdeto, with whom Thomson is working to deliver the service.
"The Thomson DVB-H encoding platform is able to offer scrambling capabilities, multi-MNO services, and statistical encoding" said Martin Farrimond, Broadcast Australia's general manager for mobile television. "The platform is pre-integrated with Irdeto conditional access. This is a further phase of Australian mobile TV trials, and is designed to ensure that a well-informed decision is made regarding selection of the best solution for the eventual commercial mobile TV service".
There are five channels in the trial service at present, including CNN and children's service Boomerang as well as three national channels ABC, ABC2, and SBS. Other channels may be added later. They are encoded using the Thomson Mobile TV encoder, developed specially for Mobile TV applications.
The statistical encoding capabilities of the Mobile TV encoder are also used in conjunction with Thomson's Opal statistical time slicing. The other critical part of the trial system is the Thomson SmartVision Mobile TV service platform, which manages subscriber, services and system configuration and also provides a live and automatic electronic service guide (ESG).
