A DMB service will provide mobile TV in Korea by the end of the year, according to Frontier Silicon.
The firm’s v-p of sales and marketing, Steve Evans, told Electronics Weekly the roll out had been delayed due to discussions over which standard to use. “There was discussion and disagreement about implementing a form of conditional access,” said Evans.
Seven broadcasters will provide a free to air service, sharing transmitters but providing different content. The firm has received pre-production orders in thousands for its T-DMB chipset.
A broad range of manufacturers intend to make devices, including laptops and in-car equipment. Frontier Silicon has not revealed where it has won orders, but Evans said it will be more public in December about customers.
In Europe, Frontier expects Germany to be the first country to roll out mobile TV services, followed by the UK, France and The Netherlands. Evans thinks the service will use both standards, DMB and DVB-H, and is building chips to support both. “You will see both standards in the same country,” said Evans.
Of its recent Venice 4.0 module for portable DAB radios - released last week and said to reduce power consumption, giving 100 hours running time on standard alkaline cells – Evans said power consumption is split about 60 per cent DSP and 40 per cent RF.
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