Malaysia's leading cross-media operator Astro, together with leading mobile operator Maxis Communications Berhad ("Maxis") and global mobile device maker Nokia jointly showcased a live demonstration of Mobile TV Broadcasting to Malaysians on the eve of the Merdeka Day celebrations in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The showcase used the new Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld (DVB-H) technology standard now undergoing extensive field trials in Europe, the USA and in other parts of Asia.

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Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Seri Abdullah Hj Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister, YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak had the opportunity to view the live broadcasts of the celebrations on TV1 and live simulcasts of other Merdeka programmes on TV3, Astro Ria and Astro AEC whilst attending the Ambang Merdeka concert held at Dataran Merdeka last night. Also present to view it were YB Dato' Sri Kadir Hj Sheikh Fadzir, Minister of Information and YB Dato' Zulhasnan bin Rafique, Deputy Minister of Federal Territories.

Visitors to Dataran Merdeka were also given demonstrations of the Mobile TV Broadcasting technology on the Nokia 7710 widescreen smartphone equipped with a DVB-H receiver/streamer by the Mobile TV Broadcasting promoters at the venue.

In this initial trial service launched for the Merdeka showcase, Astro provided the broadcast transmission for the event coverage with 4 live channels: TV1, TV3, Astro Ria and AEC, while Maxis supplied telecommunication and network services. Nokia is the technology provider for this showcase and has provided the network equipment and mobile devices used in the demonstration while Rohde & Schwarz provided the transmitters.

With this showcase, Malaysia becomes one of the leading countries globally to demonstrate DVB-H. Elsewhere in the Asia Pacific, the Mobile TV Broadcasting trial based on DVB-H technology has started in Australia. DVB-H has now been adopted by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) as the Mobile Broadcasting Technology standard and many other regions of the world are expected to follow suit once their own trials are concluded.

Astro plans to move forward from the demo stage to commercial services in the near future. This will be announced once a decision is made based on trial results and in consultation with the regulator.

The Mobile TV Broadcasting demonstration used the DVB-H (Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld) standard, which combines traditional television broadcast technology with elements such as mobility, smaller screens, indoor coverage, optimized use of battery and in-built antennae that are specific to handheld devices such as mobile phones. To receive the live television broadcast, the Nokia 7710 smartphone is paired with a Nokia streamer, the first mobile DVB-H receiver, designed specifically for pilots and trials.

What is Mobile TV Broadcasting?

Mobile TV Broadcasting allows the user to watch their favourite TV programmes such as dramas, news, music, sports and documentaries on their mobile device. The service works by receiving a specialised digital TV broadcast signal from the air in much the same way as televisions at home will do in future. Channel guides will also be broadcast allowing users to keep abreast of the latest programmes on air. It is not the same as a streaming video service over 3G or GPRS, but one which is optimised for longer period TV viewing by large numbers of simultaneous users with high picture quality and low battery power consumption.