NAB, OMVC to demo broadcast TV innovations at CES

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The NAB, along with other organizations, is showcasing the consumer benefits of some of the many innovations being delivered through digital over-the-air broadcasting at a gathering this week at the annual Consumer Electronics Show.


The gathering will take place at the Bellagio Hotel where attendees will hear about and experience innovations made possible only through broadcasting such as Sezmi, set to bring advanced television services at very low cost to consumers in 2010, and mobile television solutions presented by the OMVC (Open Mobile Video Coalition).

Mobile television is expected to see tremendous growth this year through the adoption of digital broadcast-based services.  Gordon Smith, president of the NAB, said “Broadcasters are charging into 2010 working with innovative organizations like Sezmi and the Open Mobile Video Coalition that improve the quality, delivery and accessibility of broadcast content. Such services represent the vibrant future of broadcast-based services that will greatly benefit the public, and cannot be replicated by broadband. Their foundation is the digital television spectrum.”

Unlike broadband delivery, mobile television and Sezmi utilize the spectral efficiency of broadcast to deliver content to millions of viewers at a time. In contrast, to deliver that same content to millions of broadband viewers requires millions of separate transmissions. Sezmi goes a step further, using a hybrid network that delivers popular content over broadcast and niche content over broadband, driving new efficiencies that save consumers money.

While just emerging in the US, hybrid television solutions are accelerating internationally as a key consumer opportunity, with initiatives such as Hybrid Broadband Broadcasting TV gaining momentum. Sezmi’s service, which will begin rolling out in U.S. markets early this year (currently in beta in LA), operates over broadcast spectrum to deliver a differentiated television viewing experience combining broadcast, cable, on demand and Internet content, at a price much more affordable than cable or satellite services.

“Our breakthrough nationwide television service brings significant new revenue opportunities to broadcasters while providing consumer with competitive choice in television service,” said Buno Pati, CEO of Sezmi. “As we prepare for our nationwide rollout this year, we’re pleased to have the support of many television broadcasters paving the way for more competitive consumer choices in television.”

“Consumers are interested in taking their favorite TV programs while on the go. Another innovative service now being rolled out by America’s broadcasters is Mobile Digital TV, which brings live, local programming to viewers wherever they are. At the CES, manufacturers and service providers are demonstrating more than a dozen new Mobile DTV products that will be introduced to consumers this year. New products include prototype cell phones with Mobile DTV reception capability, USB receivers for laptops, small netbook computers with integrated Mobile DTV receivers, an accessory that receives Mobile DTV broadcasts and beams those programs to a Wi-Fi device such as a laptop or smartphone, and battery-operated Mobile Digital Television sets expressly designed to receive the robust signals from local broadcasters,” said Anne Schelle, Executive Director of OMVC.