OMVC Spotlights Mobile DTV’s Non-Real-Time Apps

By Doug Lung
published

The Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC) publicly released its OMVC Non-real Time Mobile DTV Use Cases document this week. The Use Cases were prepared by the OMVC Technology Advisory Group (OTAG) Ad Hoc Group on NRT Use Cases. They describe device requirements to support non-real time (NRT) applications of Mobile DTV. NRT content is distributed to compatible receivers and stored on the receiver for later use.

ATSC adopted a standard for non-real-time digital content over conventional ATSC TV in May. See ATSC Standard A/103.

One of the obvious uses for NRT is clipcasting--sending short video and audio clips to a device for later viewing or listening by a consumer. Clip content can be automatically refreshed and deleted if it isn't used, or when a newer version becomes available. One example would be a TV station clipcasting local news, weather, sports and traffic information to handheld receivers. Consumers would be able to immediately access the content without waiting for it to download over the Internet. Have you ever been frustrated while watching a crawl of weather related closings waiting for the event or school you are interested in to show up? This type of data could easily be transmitted as an HTML file viewers could access and scroll through as needed. Purchased content (music or video-on-demand) could also be delivered this way.

Some of the more interesting use cases involve machine-to-machine type applications. There are many cases where providing two-way Internet connectivity is overkill. Mobile DTV NRT provides a much lower cost, more efficient way to do things such as controlling utility loads, traffic lights, public facility lighting and electronic signs.

Perhaps the most compelling use case is for Mobile EAS (M-EAS). The non-real time component could provide additional data in the form of images, video clips or HTML pages. These could contain evacuation maps and routes, radar images, maps showing a tornado's path, or the picture of a missing person.

Mobile DTV can do more than live TV. See the illustrated OMVC Non-real Time Mobile DTV Use Cases document for more examples.

Doug Lung
Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.