CONTENT FOR MOBILE TV NETWORKS
Mobile TV is not TV on mobile. It became evident quite early in the mobile TV era that programs have to be specially produced for mobiles.
15.1 INTRODUCTION: THE NEW INTERACTIVE MEDIA OPPORTUNITY
In the previous chapter we saw the dimensions of multimedia, mobile TV, and associated revenue elements. 3G mobile networks and their evolutions have the capability to deliver a very wide range of services, which includes mobile Podcasting, VoIP, MMS, video calling, instant messaging, presence, etc., and the ARPUs for the networks that have harnessed such technologies effectively for use through multimedia delivery platforms can be significantly higher than those of others depending mainly on voice revenues. In this chapter we focus on the content for mobile TV and its delivery platforms.
Mobile TV is slated to be the killer application of the 21st century and the pace of the initial developments in the year 2006 and moving into 2007 seems to confirm this belief. According to Credit Suisse First Boston, the global investment bank, the market for mobile broadcasting phones will reach 10 million units in 2006 before exploding to 40 million in 2007, 90 million in 2008, and 150 million in 2009. Viewed from another angle, there are over 2 billion mobile users worldwide. With the advancements of networks and lowering of costs, more and more people would be potential users of multimedia and mobile TV on the handsets. People in today’s world are on the move for business or pleasure and need to use whatever time they have to be on top of news, stock quotes, and weather information and to enjoy sports, music, and videos.
While there appear to be compelling reasons for customers to use video services, it is clear that the programs for home televisions or large screens do not immediately fit the bill for the mobile environment. Neither do the graphics and presentation tools designed for desktops, where space is not at a premium. Mobile TVs are characterized by small screens of 2–3 in. and limited viewing times due to technology and short durations, when the users can snatch time to view. The content has to be of immediate interest or compelling. It has to be created specially for the mobile environment. The essence of mobile content was captured quite aptly by the NY Times Magazine, which described MTV’s approach to mobile TV by the headlines of the article itself: “The Shorter, Faster, Cruder, Tinier TV Show.”
It is now becoming evident that many of the channels may become available free to air, e.g., from public broadcasters. Hence for those intending to derive revenues from the sale of services, the content and its delivery media will be of prime focus. The opportunity for mobile TV is important for content providers as well as operators. For the content providers, it provides an opportunity to capture audience beyond the prime time and target individual- or group-specific advertising and to generate orders using interactivity.
Content for mobile TV can in general be of the following categories:
Real-time content:
• real-time broadcast/multicast to mobile terminal
• live TV and mobile specialty channels;
• sports;
• events such as concerts, speeches, ceremonies, natural calamities;
• live music;
• information (news, traffic);
• Web cams;
• multiplayer gaming;
• emergency messages.
• video on demand (news, weather, cartoons, headlines, stock news, etc.);
• music on demand;
• Webcasting (news and events);
• Web browsing (information, shopping);
• personalized content;
• video games.
It became evident quite early in the mobile TV era that programs have to be specifically produced for mobile TV. They need to be based on short sequences, typically 1–15 min duration. As an example, Cingular Wireless’s cellular subscribers can view special shows made for mobiles (“Entourage”) as well as channels produced for mobile TV such as NBC Mobile, Disney Mobile, Fox Mobile, Cartoon Network Mobile, and HBO Mobile.
Operators recognized soon after live TV carriage became a reality that content for the networks would need to be targeted, created, and sourced separately from the regular TV channels. For this reason, they joined up with content aggregators who, in turn, had access to producers for specialized content (Fig. 15-1).
FIGURE 15-1 Content Flow Model for Mobile TV
However, getting the content right is only one part of the picture. It also needs to be presented for ease of use and intuitive access. The success of devices such as iPods and services such as I-mode of NTT DoCoMo has been primarily due to user appeal and ease of access in addition to the content (i.e., MP3 songs).
As far as the presentation for content other than mobile TV is concerned, this field has been in focus for a number of years. The presentation of content uses the underlying software available on the phones, such as Java and Flash, and applications are written to use the presentation capabilities to full advantage. This environment is similar to the Internet but there are major differences in the manner in which such content is created and displayed owing to the limited resources and small screen size of mobile devices.
In many instances the technology companies are themselves promoting companies specializing in mobile content, which in future can bring those technologies to fruition. An example is the Amp’D mobile virtual network operator, which is being promoted for production of mobile content for youth. The promoters are Intel Capital, Qualcomm, MTV, Universal Studios, and others. Amp’D will work with the mobile commerce platform provider “Obopay” for mobile pay solutions for content, games, downloads, etc.
In addition to the broadcast content there will be a lot of usergenerated content, which can potentially be exchanged by the 3G-based mobile TV services. We need to recognize that today 57% of American online teens create content, 22% have a personal Web page, and 19% have a blog. It is also estimated that with the wide availability of digital cameras, including those on mobiles, over 227 billion pictures are expected to be taken with mobile phones alone in 2009, and a large percentage of these will be exchanged (data based on Alcatel presentation “Death of Pure Play and Birth of Convergence Driven Transformation”).
It is not difficult to fathom that the next few years could lead the mobile TV to be the center of the online, collaborative, and messaging activity, weaning the users away from pure Internet. A mobile is much more personal, available everywhere, and intuitive to use and learn (Fig. 15-2).
FIGURE 15-2 Mobile as Center of Content
It is evident that content adoption strategies are necessary based on the requirement to support mobile phones characterized by:
• small screens,
• mobile phone application clients,
• content transducers,
• new content produced for mobile TV, and
• need for short form content.
When we talk of mobile TV content we need to understand that while the media industry has innovated the programming to bring forth content specially created for mobiles, the true dimensions of the power of the new medium are now beginning to be recognized. First of all the capability to deliver live TV, in itself a great achievement, is getting overshadowed by the fact that the users probably want greater control over this content than simply watching TV, some of the shows of which may be specially produced for the mobile. The users can now demand the programming to delivered in a time-shifted manner (i.e., delayed as per user need), a playlist of user-selected video and audio programming virtually creating a new channel and a mix of user-produced content. In addition they might like the new programming to charge their iPods or have voice calls via Skype. Some of the content may be purchased as VoD, while some may be free. Moreover, in multimode phones such content can come from multiple networks, e.g., DVB-H, 3G-HSDPA.
The above type of programming can be delivered particularly well in unicast networks such as those based on 3G technologies. This is well seen in the types of services offered by the 3G and mobile broadcast TV companies.
15.2.1 Customer-Generated Content
Mobile TV is a personal content medium and diverging from the pure broadcast networks provides opportunities for user-created content that can be shared globally or group content shared within groups. This implies virtual transportation of messenger and blogging services to the mobile environment.
As an example, Vodafone Netherlands launched a Kikj Mij TV (Look at Me TV) initiative by which the customers upload their own videos onto the network. The videos may contain the users’ own videos, funny or sexual scenes, or other types of information. The customer-created videos appear in one of the following categories:
• bizarre,
• erotica,
• stunts,
• holidays,
• “I Love ….”
The users get paid 10% of the revenues when their clips get downloaded.
Similarly, the United Kingdom’s mobile media company “3” supports user-uploaded content and the users get paid when the content is downloaded.
3G News Mobile Studio is a product that receives live video and audio content from a 3G handset, stores it on the server, and re-transmits it in the standard TV formats in real time. This enables customer-generated images to appear on TV in live shows. This also allows news content feed to be delivered through a mobile 3G phone and any person to act as a journalist. CREATECNA is a company producing 3G News Mobile Studios.
15.2.2 Video on Demand
Video on demand in mobile networks has emerged as one of the most important classes of content. It is difficult to forget how a simple application such as downloading of ring tones became a roaring success in many markets. Video on demand allows the users to get streamed or downloaded content of their choice, which can be watched at will. The video on demand services comprise selection of content from favorite TV channels, sports, news, weather, entertainment, and premium content in most implementations.
As an example, Cingular Wireless (3G network) offers the service Cingular Video in the United States. The service contains content including ESPN, FOX Sports, Fuel, Speed, local weather forecast in 100 cities, cartoons, content from Fox and HBO, news from CNN, NBC and Fox News, etc.
Video on demand delivery would in practice offer a VCR-like interface with fast forward, rewind, and pause functions.
15.2.3 Video Push Technology
In contrast to video on demand are the push technologies that deliver video clips to mobile phones, which can then be viewed by the users at will. Often the clips would be encrypted and viewing them would require a pay-per-view type of transaction. Push video uses forward error correction for delivering video in an error-free manner.
15.2.4 Adult Services
As a mobile TV is much more personal than a home TV can be and can be used at any location, it is no surprise that adult content has been one of the successful content types that have made a dent in the initial days of the mobile TV and streaming video industry.
As per a report from Juniper Research, the market for adult content will reach 2 billion euros by 2009.
As in the case of the pay-TV industry the adult content delivery (or access to such content) is subject to country-specific laws ensuring that the content is not delivered to minors and other laws. The most important technology for an operator in this field would be the age verification technology. Bodies such as Mobile Adult Congress (www.maccongress.com) have been reviewing the issues involved in delivering such content while complying with legal and regulatory guidelines. Voluntary codes of conduct for mobile operators have also been issued in various countries, such as in the United Kingdom by Mobile Entertainment Forum (http://www.m-e-f.org/), the Independent Mobile Classification Body, and mobile operators associations in Italy and Germany. Australia has banned X-rated content from being delivered to mobiles. The FCC has also asked the CTIA USA to ensure that children are shielded from adult content.
On the whole, adult content is seen as a strong driver for mobile TV and video in countries where it is permitted and the operators need to be able to deploy age verification and digital rights management (DRM) technologies to ensure that the content is delivered to the intended audience only and that it cannot be proliferated by copying or forwarding.
When we look at the interactive services in a mobile environment we are essentially looking at a complete user experience based on the graphics, charting, and visual animation tools that take raw data and present it in an attractive manner. A number of charting, graphics, and animation tools have been available in the industry, such as Macromedia Flash and Java, while others have recently become available, such as Adobe Go Live CS2, Flash Lite, and BREW. The Java-based handsets, which are compliant with the Java Technology for Wireless Industry and Mobile Service Architecture (MSA) specification covered by JSR 185 and JSR 248, can use the Java Micro Edition and Java Wireless Development Toolkit 2.x for CLDC.
Scalable vector graphics (SVG) mobile (or SVG-T) has been standardized by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) as a tool for animation and graphics on mobile phones. SVG release 1.2 provides powerful support for animations, video, and audio. Software tools such as Ikivo Animator, which can interface with J2ME or Adobe Go Live CS2, are being increasingly used to provide appealing presentation of information on mobile phones. Over 100 million SVG 1.2 players have been incorporated in mobile phones for supporting such interactivity.
All the tools have been modified for the small screen environment of mobile TV and are available as add-on versions to the basic application. It is evident that the charting and animation tools are dependent on the underlying software used by the service provider and that supported by the mobile phone itself. As examples:
• Verizon Wireless has adapted the use of Flash technology, which will enable its applications to be developed and enable the use of Flash-based mobile handsets.
• The i-mode mobile network of Japan, starting with its 505i series of phones, has selected to use Macromedia Flash Lite and FlashCast servers for delivery of applications.
• Sprint Nextel has focused on the use of the Java-based architecture for the delivery of multimedia information and interactive services. Sprint uses the MSA of Java to develop applications supported in the Java-enabled handsets and the content delivery center.
15.3.1 Weather
Weather information and traffic data updates form very compelling content, particularly with the mobile population constantly on the move. Weather information can be delivered by four techniques:
1. letting the users surf the net and access weather Web sites,
2. providing weather data in an interactive carousel that can be downloaded using a menu option,
3. providing a dedicated weather service application based on Java or FlashCast that is customized for a city or user, and
4. streaming data from sites dedicated to weather (such as rTV RealOne forecasts).
The model selected would depend upon operator preferences. In general a customized service would yield greater revenues than a monthly subscription channel, though a subscription channel may have a larger base. MobiTV, for example, offers all the models of weather data. It provides The Weather Channel along with news channels such as Fox Sports, Discovery, and ABC News Now. The service is available through various carriers in the United States such as Sprint PCS, Cingular, and Verizon Wireless. MobiTV also has an additional customized service from which 36 hours forecast can be obtained for $0.75 by sending an SMS to 4CAST. Internet weather data can also be downloaded by access to the Internet.
In addition, a user can stream weather forecasts from dedicated streaming sites such as rTV (a Real mobile Web site) available via the Sprint network. They can also be obtained on demand from GoTV, with rich animations (www.1ktv.com).
NTT DoCoMo provides detailed weather information via i-mode or a 24-hour weather channel. 3 Italia, which operates a 3G UMTS network in Italy, has launched a FlashCast-based Flash Lite interactive service using content from Weathernews (www.weathernews.com). As the application is a Flash Lite application the users can surf using the joystick provided on phones (such as the Sony Ericsson k608i) (Fig. 15-3).
15.3.2 News
News channels constitute an important content type that is viewed on the move by the mobile phone users. It is no surprise therefore that most of the mobile TV offerings include the major news and sports channels live. For example, MobiTV includes a number of news channels in its portfolio of channels. However, apart from live news, breaking news and headlines in the form of short bulletins are being produced for mobiles by major news broadcasters. Many of these offer specially produced channels for mobiles. As an example CNN and CNBC produce bulletins for mobile phones in many regions of the world. News bulletins produced for mobiles can be delivered as video on demand, generating additional revenues per download.
FIGURE 15-3 Weather Services on Mobile Phones
In Malaysia, where 3G networks have been in place since 2004, the 3G operators such as Maxis Communications, Cellcom, and others offer a number of live channels, including MyNewsNetwork, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, TV3, and NTV7. One of the operators, Digi.com, has launched a new channel for mobiles with continuously streaming content including news, sports, cartoons, and general entertainment.
15.3.3 Games
The positioning of mobile gaming was aptly described by Mr. David Gosen, CEO of I-Play, as follows: “Mobile gaming is a snack, console gaming is a 3-course meal. They are a different user experience.” The strengths of mobile gaming are its wide reach through over 2 billion mobile phones, ready accessibility, and ability to provide “anytime, anywhere entertainment.” The mobile gaming market has a history of over 10 years and has been evolving constantly.
New capabilities available in mobile handsets, which can show full motion video, and the 3G networks, which can provide fast connections and downloads, offer opportunities for a new generation of mobile games based on sports, TV shows, actors, soaps, competitions, and interactive video links. This means that real-life characters with high video quality can provide a life-like experience to the users and the high-power CPUs can now provide a new level of gaming experience. Better graphics and increased memory mean that animation and 3D rendering can be taken to new levels, while wireless connectivity implies multiplayer gaming. The mobile service operators like the games as a new opportunity to raise ARPUs through downloads, interactive data usage, and subscriptions. The new approach to gaming takes the scene away from “embedded games,” which come with the handsets, to downloadable and interactive games with video and music as add-ons.
The APIs for mobile 3D graphics used under the Java environment are JSR 184 (also called mobile 3G graphics API or M3G). Other alternatives include MascotCapsule API.
In response to the demand for gaming, mobile phones have started coming out with graphical processing units, which handle the rendering and animations.
Around the globe major players are offering a variety of games on their networks. In the United States operators such as Cingular, Verizon, Sprint, and Alltel offered between 300 and 400 games on their networks in 2006. Cingular Wireless USA and i-mode UK offer games from the RealNetwork’s RealArcade product suite.
15.3.4 Online Lotteries and Gambling
The online gambling market comprises three major segments—sports betting, mobile lotteries, and casino games. Online lotteries and gambling constitute an area subject to government regulation in most countries. For example in the United Kingdom the gambling services are restricted to those above 18 years of age. Compliance with the regulations is of paramount importance, as violation, even though not by knowledge of the carriers, can lead to closure of business. Hence it is necessary to verify the identity of the user online and verify the age. This is to be done while protecting the customer’s rights under the Data Protection Act of the United Kingdom. The same situation prevails in many countries where online lotteries or gambling are permitted.
In the United Kingdom, BT has an identity verification service called URU (You Are You), which validates identity using a number of parameters as independent datasets. One of the companies using the BT’s URU to verify identity and offer mobile lottery and games is the Probability Games Corporation.
The technologies for gambling services are complex, depending on the level and type of games involved, and can include identity verification, fraud prevention, and compliance with anti-money laundering provisions. Such regulations vary from country to country. In the European Union, mobile betting and gambling are permitted but online gambling is an offence in the United States.
Korea and Taiwan have been two of the largest online gambling areas in the world and the Asia-Pacific itself is a very large market for online and mobile gambling. Mobile gambling, small so far, is expected to see a major growth in the near future. Industry estimates put the value of the global gambling market at $19 billion by 2009, of which over $5 billion will come from the Asia-Pacific region alone. In countries where they are permitted, therefore, and subject to local regulations, online lotteries and online games with wagering (gambling) present a vast opportunity.
In the United States, some of the new technologies of online gambling were unveiled by the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas after the passage of Nevada Assembly Bill 471 in June 2005, which permits offering of wireless gaming on mobile devices in public areas of resorts. Cantor is a company that has obtained license for providing such gaming services.
One of the companies that provide a full platform and middleware for gambling and betting is 3United (a Verisign Company). The platform operates via game downloads as Java clients to mobile phones via WAP, Web, or even SMS. The games can operate reliably even in the mobile environment and be administered by the central engine provided by the company.
The real dimensions of the potential of mobile shopping are only now beginning to reveal themselves, though both online shopping and interactive shopping via SMSs, etc., have long been in vogue. Most of the online shopping sites such as eBAY had been WAP enabled for many years. However, with the new 3G technologies, fast access, better graphics and animations, and security, the scenario has changed dramatically. Mobiles present a personal and unique environment in which each user can be individually targeted. They provide anytime, anywhere access. As the location of the user is known, local content in TV programs and advertising can be greatly leveraged. Mobile devices along with targeted advertising present an area of impulsive purchase. Users are much more comfortable with mobiles than going online via desktops and placing orders via a potentially insecure medium. With personal identification and presence services, new payment mechanisms can be put in place that would make purchasing much simpler. In the future radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies will extend the freedom even further, as the identity of the user and mobile phone will be beyond doubt.
There are many technologies for providing mobile shopping platforms or superstores. The platforms can be operated by mobile operators or can be operator independent. One of the important issues is the presentation of content in an attractive form on the tiny screens of mobile phones. Java- or Flash-based clients can make this possible. An example is the Symbainstore On-Device Portal from Nokia. Companies either can have their own platforms for mobile shopping or can use mobile shopping ASP platforms.
The payment security is of a key concern to the customers as well as to platform operators. Visa has launched a secure payment service for mobile commerce in Europe that would give a boost to mobile commerce activities.
15.3.6 Music Downloads
Download of music and the use of the mobile phone as an iPod are one of the most popular applications on the mobile networks supporting multimedia. One of the providers of music platforms is Groove Mobile (www.groovemobile.net). The Groove Mobile platform consists of clients for the mobile phones (which can be preinstalled or be downloaded), a mobile music store for carriers (which is a turnkey mobile music store with over 100,000 titles), and a mobile music gateway, which enables the download or delivery of content. It also has mobile artist sites, which feature their content. Carriers such as Sprint in the United States (Sprint Music Store) and Orange in the United Kingdom (Orange Music Player) support the Groove Mobile content delivery suite for music. A range of handsets for 3G, 2.5G, and EV-DO support the Groove Mobile client (Fig. 15-4). Sprint PCS offers video and music services based on RealNetworks IMN TV (Independent Music Network).
FIGURE 15-4 Groove Music Services over Mobile Networks
15.4.1 Multicast and Unicast Platforms
It is easily evident that not all delivery platforms can be equally flexible with the content provided on the networks. Pure broadcast networks, which have limited interactivity (such as DVB-H or terrestrial digital multimedia broadcasting (T-DMB)), have a different potential content architecture than a service provided on 3G platforms with which the users can interact with one another by video conferencing, have group calls and group blogs, and share user-generated content.
3G platforms have great potential for video on demand and interactive services, as these are unicast in nature and each customer is served a video stream (or a download) individually. On the other hand pure broadcast networks provide only limited interactivity through data carousels or reverse path over 3G.
The new service of mobile TV made its advent in a large number of networks during 2006 and is expected to come into its own in the coming years. The mobile TV services in various networks range from simple streaming of video clips to live TV and moving on to video on demand. The technologies generally follow those of the underlying network and range for streaming (3G or CDMA) to broadcast TV using DMB or DVB-H. The range of available networks, 3G, dual band, WCDMA, CDMA2000, EDGE, and GPRS, has thrown down an interesting challenge for the integrated growth of mobile TV networks, as each technology has its own advantages and limitations.
15.4.2 Live TV vs Interactive Content
The second major attribute for a content delivery platform is its nature, i.e., whether it is meant for only live TV delivery (involving conditional access or rights management) or if it is also meant for rich interactive content comprising video on demand, music and video clip downloads, shopping, wagering, and mobile commerce. In the case of an interactive platform, it would be essential for the platform to adhere to the robust and secure industry wireless transaction standards and provide support for DRM.
15.4.3 Platforms for Developing and Delivering Content
A number of companies have started offering specialized platforms for developing and delivering content for mobile TV. The requirements of any content generation and delivery platforms are:
1. Optimize any type of content for any delivery platform and receiving device, maintaining the fidelity and integrity of the original asset.
2. Handle all types of content (video, audio, pictures, games, music, synthetic content, rich media).
3. Ensure accurate profiles of the receiving devices for content delivery and interactive sessions.
4. Target multimedia content for multiple network operators. The process may include handling content in various formats as well as transcoding of content.
5. Provide for security of content such as watermarking, DRM, and branding and manage copyrights of content delivered.
6. Be able to ingest and archive content with high-quality transcoding as per quality management parameters.
7. Permit multiple content providers, content resellers, and mobile operators to have access to content and manage content as per their requirements.
8. Facilitate the operators in using the content for revenue generation opportunities and value added services.
In general a content-handling platform would be always up to date with the latest developments in the 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards as well as the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and other standards bodies.
15.5 CONTENT FORMATS FOR MOBILE TV
The content formats for mobile TV involve the use of a number of different types of files for video and audio. This is despite significant standardization efforts to have greater interoperability in networks from the content standpoint. In particular the 3G networks handle the multimedia files in 3GPP (for GSM networks and WCDMA) and 3GPP2 for CDMA2000 and CDMA EV-DO networks. The 3GPP release 5 networks feature H.263, MPEG-4, AAC, and AMR, while the release 6 networks feature H.264 and aacPlus. In the case of networks that are DVB-H based, content in MPEG-4 or H.264 is commonly used, and DMB networks use H.264-encoded video. Mobile TV platforms based on IP casting of content may also have content in Windows Media audio and video. The Modeo DVB-H platform also has WMV9 and WMA9 as vide and audio coding standards.
The foregoing implies that content handling platforms should be able to receive and transcode content that has been generated in mobile phones and that may be based on certain specified file formats. These formats may be different from the other content sources of video and audio, which may provide files in .wmv or QuickTime (.qt) format.
FIGURE 15-5 Functionality of Content Platform for Mobile TV
Similarly, converters may be needed for format conversion of synthetically created content for display on the 3G networks. As an example, Macromedia Flash files in .swf format may be converted to 3GP format to play on the mobile phones (Fig. 15-5).
An example of a mobile multimedia and video-on-demand platform is Vidiator’s Mobile Video ASP platform, which is being used by ONSE Telecom in Korea (as well as a number of other carriers such as “3”, CAT Thailand, and Digi Malaysia) to provide content services to mobile operators. The FIFA World Cup 2006 supplied to 3G operators in Germany featured the use of this platform for mobile TV. The mobile ASP platform is based on Xenon mobile technology solutions, which comprise a series of functional blocks.
The Xenon streamer supports “media on demand,” live broadcasting, and mobile video. For the carriers, the device features streaming as per 3GPP release 6 (including H.264) and aacPlus audio and fully supports dynamic bit rate adaptation. This implies that all 3GP-compatible handsets can receive the highest quality of video services based on line conditions. It also supports 3GPP2 streaming including QCELP and EVRC. Specifications of the Xenon streamer are shown in Fig. 15-6.
The streamer is complemented by the Xenon media transcoder, which features the OMA Standard Transcoding Interface version 1.0. This features helps content transcoding (e.g., for MMS messages) for various networks and carrier types.
FIGURE 15-6 Specifications of the Xenon Streamer
RealNetwork’s Helix OnlineTV platform is a comprehensive ASP service for acquisition, management, and delivery of content. The platform is based on the use of RealVideo and RealAudio formats. Cingular Wireless’s 3G UMTS/HSDPA network in the United States uses the Helix platform. Sprint PCS provides a mobile TV service branded as Real-rTV. The platform is available for content delivery for various technologies, including DVB-H, 3G, DMB, FLO, and WiMAX.
The Helix online platform for mobile applications is an extension of Real’s expertise in service delivery platforms. It is estimated that RealPlayers are available in over 350 million PCs and 60 million mobile clients. The Helix platform is a portfolio of products for ingest, encoding, content management, streaming, and delivery technologies. Helix OnlineTV is a multistandard product and supports mobile industry standards of H.264/3GPP, Windows Media, RealVideo, and RealAudio. The Helix platform is available with industry standard APIs and can thus be easily integrated into the operator’s platforms.
FIGURE 15-7 Helix OnlineTV Platform
The platform supports live and streaming as well as on-demand and push video services.
The platform is complemented by the RealPlayer for mobile, which is available for installation on mobile phones. The customized RealPlayer software is designed to run on mobile phones, which have limitations on resources and battery power. It can handle the full range of content including 3GP, MP3, RealVideo, and RealAudio (Fig. 15-7).
The other components of the platform include:
• Helix Mobile Producer for content ingest and production,
• Helix Mobile Server for live and on-demand stream serving,
• Helix Mobile Gateway for interface to the mobile network and associated protocols, and
• Helix digital rights management.
A number of authoring tools for handling multimedia content that can be rendered for various applications such as Internet or mobile TV have emerged. These tools come from all the major product lines such as Adobe, Real, Apple, and Windows. All the tools provide authoring based on XHTML, SVG Tiny, SMIL, and other standards.
Adobe GoLive CS2 is a content-handling solution for MAC and Windows. It features a rendering engine, which allows content to be previewed in real time (including with small screen rendering) before being delivered as an application. The Go mobile feature of the Adobe CS2 is designed to manage multistandard video and audio, which is a common requirement in mobile TV and multimedia platforms based on different standards. By helping author standards-based code and preview through rendering for different environments, this feature can ensure compatibility across a variety of content acquisition and delivery platforms. The following are the key features of Adobe GoLive:
• MPEG4/3GPP interactive video development,
• visual MMS authoring,
• batch conversion of MMS content for deployment on a variety of networks and mobile devices,
• creation of MMS templates for slide shows,
• visual authoring tools for various types of content (NTT DoCoMo i-mode iconography, SMIL content),
• device emulation so that content can be previewed for rendering on various mobile devices (standards compliant), and
• designing of mobile scalable vector graphics (SVG-Tiny) or SVG-T content as per standards prescribed by the W3C (Adobe Illustrator CS2 (in collaboration with Ikivo Animator)).
Ikivo Animator is a powerful tool for animating graphics created as static SVG as per mobile SVG profile definitions (W3C SVG Mobile). The mobile SVG or SVG-T has been adapted as a standard for scalable vector graphics and animations in mobile phones by the W3C. SVG-T viewers are now incorporated as standard in almost all mobile handsets made for visual applications (Fig. 15-8).
Ikivo Animator integrates with Adobe Creative Suite for access to content. It has also been integrated with the Java Micro Edition platform via NetBeans.
FIGURE 15-8 Ikivo Animator Screen Shot (Courtesy of Ikivo)
15.6.1 Macromedia Flash Lite
Flash has been the most extensively used software for delivering applications with animations and rendering of visual data for the Internet as well as mobile phones. The Macromedia Flash Lite version has been specially written for application porting on a variety of mobile devices. NTT DoCoMo has been using Flash-based applications for its mobile network FOMA, which gives the applications a rich appeal. Flash applications are delivered by using a FlashCast server (Fig. 15-9).
15.6.2 Tools for Creating Rich Media Applications
Tools for creating rich media applications are available widely in the industry. These are based on Flash Mx, ASP.NET, or Java scripts. An example is a tool called ASP Turbine 7.0 from Blue Pacific Software, which generates rich media from ASP.NET or ASP scripts. A tool such as Turbine 7.0 can help integrate audio, video, and image media into Flash movies or build interactive visualizations of data (Fig. 15-10).
FIGURE 15-9 Macromedia Flash Lite for Creating Content for Mobile Devices
FIGURE 15-10 Generating Rich Media—ASP Turbine 7.0 (Picture Courtesy of Blue Pacific Software)
15.6.3 Mobile Manager from TWI Interactive
Another example of a tool for rich media preparation is the Mobile Manager from TWI Interactive. The platform has been validated by Nokia, Vodafone, mmo2, and others and is standards compliant. The platform permits upload of video, audio, images, and rich media and preparation and delivery through MMS messages.
15.7 MOBILE CONTENT IN THE BROADCAST ENVIRONMENT
The broadcast environment is characterized by the use of technologies such as DVB-H, DMB, or 3GPP MBMS; FLO; BCMCS; and DAB-IP. Broadcast services are based on multicast of content rather than unicast sessions set up between a user and a content platform as the broadcast platforms address a potentially unlimited number of users. This does not, however, mean that there is no interactivity with the users. Broadcast platforms provide interactivity using a data carousel that contains updates and frequently viewed information that can be selected by the users directly. In the case in which a return path is available via 3G, a greater range of interactive services is possible.
15.8 SUMMARY: FOCUS ON CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY PLATFORMS
It is now quite evident that the content development and delivery platforms will need to go hand in hand with the growth of mobile networks and the new multimedia broadcasting and unicasting services. The mobile operators and broadcasters are also relying on the creation of mobile content delivery platforms and associated content developers with these platforms.
The mobile environment has proved to be an entirely new world as far as the extension of existing services such as TV, video and audio downloading or streaming, gaming, and betting is concerned. Each of these areas is vast and has been an industry in its own right. The new 3G and mobile broadcasting networks are now capable of delivering these services in an entirely new manner, which can be said to be a “disruptive technology” by its sheer mass and potential volume. This opens up new areas that will be of significant growth and harness the potential of mobile users now coming on the 3G platforms or mobile multimedia broadcasting networks. These developments present unparalleled opportunities for mobile operators and multimedia broadcasters.
Each of the areas presented in this chapter, such as mobile TV, online music stores, mobile gambling and betting, and mobile games is a multibillion dollar industry in itself, and the purpose of this chapter has been only to expose the reader to their vast potential.