Reiter's Mobile TV Report

SPB Software offers no-subscription Android mobile TV for free or $9.95 app

SPB Software is offering two mobile television services, SPB TV — without a monthly subscription fee — for Android phones, the company says. 

One service, which requires buying a $9.95 application, offers more than 100 mobile TV channels in more than 20 languages.  The second service is completely free, but offers a limited number of channels.

SPB TV includes a picture-in-picture mode (see below), calendar reminders for upcoming shows and a channel guide displaying a week of programs.  SPB Software is compatible with Android phones running version 1.5 of the operating system and with an HVGA screen.

The service works with 3G and WiFi connections.  The company previously released mobile TV products for Windows Mobile and Symbian handsets.

Coincidentally, next week I hope to be getting an Android phone from T-Mobile to test.  Although T-Mobile isn’t sending it because of SPB TV, I certainly hope to try it, and will report my experience.

NTT DoCoMo buys 35 percent of video software company Packet Video

From mocoNews.net I see that the Japanese mobile telecommunications giant NTT DoCoMo has purchased 35 percent of the multimedia software company Packet Video for $45 million, according to Packet Video’s press release.

Packet Video has been working with DoCoMo since 1998, and its multimedia player software, pvPlayer, has been incorporated in more than 90 of the cellular operator’s phones, the press release says.  As mocoNews.net notes, Packet Video is part of Nextwave Wireless, which has been under financial pressure and appears to be making Packet Video its flagship product.

I wrote in late June that Qualcomm’s FLO TV says it will offer a keychain-sized device that receives FLO’s mobile television signal and relays it to WiFi-enabled devices.  That way, cellular phones and other electronic devices that aren’t specifically designed for FLO would be able to play the mobile TV programs.

Qualcomm hasn’t released the name of receiver’s manufacturer, but as I wrote in the article, Packet Video was developing that type of device.  I don’t know whether Packet Video is the company supply the receiver, but it’s worth mentioning.

Apple features commercial about iPhone 3GS' video recording, editing

Apple has produced a 30–second commercial of a skakeboarder that highlights the video recording, editing (see below) and uploading capabilities of its new iPhone 3GS.

The quality of the iPhone 3GS’ video recording has been getting rather good reviews.  As with many bundled iPhone capabilities, video recording doesn’t have many (to say the least) bells and whistles, although it’s very simple to shoot, edit and send a video, either as an e-mail attachment or uploaded directly to YouTube (see above left).

I’ve used video editing programs on a variety of high end camera phones, especially Nokia Nseries (courtesy of Nokia's blogger relations program), and editing isn’t always intuitive, especially to users who have never done it before.  Apple’s bundled video editing software doesn’t do much, but the very lack of features combine with the touch interface makes it pretty simple to delete frames and transmit.

There’s no doubt many iPhone users will be shooting and uploading videos.  I also assume software developers will offer more advanced iPhone video editing applications.

Akamai to offer HTTP adaptive streaming for iPhone 3GS, iPod touch

From Gigaom I see that Akamai Technologies’ servers will offer HTTP adaptive streaming to the Apple iPhone 3GS and iPod touch via the newest OS X mobile operating system version 3.0, says Akamai’s press release.

As I wrote several days ago, HTTP adaptive streaming adjusts and compensates for data rate fluctuations in streaming video — wireless or wired — to offer the best quality based on the data speed.  It’s not a new technology, but it’s available now in the iPhone 3GS and will be available when the Apple’s new operating system version, Snow Leopard, is released later this year.

Akamai has established a demonstration Web site to showcase the technology (see below).  Content companies providing videos for the site include the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Discovery, Fox News, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, MTV, NPR, Turner Sports and USA Today, Akamai says.

Inlet Technologies’ software is encoding the live and video on demand highlights on that “iPhone 3.0 Video Showcase” site.

Business implications

As I noted in my previous blog posting, HTTP adaptive streaming runs in the Safari browser, without requiring a specific application.  That means content companies can offer video streaming without an app downloaded from iTunes and, possibly, without either Apple’s or AT&T’s approval.

HTC's Android Hero handset to include Adobe Flash Player 9 features

HTC’s upcoming Android-based cellular phone, the Hero (see below), will incorporate the functionality of Flash Player 9, which employs ActionScript 2, says Adobe’s press release and CNET News.

Although the Hero won’t initially include the more advanced version of Flash — Flash Player 10 with ActionScript 3 — the handset will able to play a large amount of Flash content, including many video clips, television programs and movies as well as games and other animated Web content.  Also, Adobe expects to offer a beta version of Flash Player 10 in the fourth quarter of 2009 and a commercial version in the first half of 2010.

[Adobe has posted a video highlighting the Android’s Flash capabilities (see below).]

Unfortunately, the current Flash software is specific to the Hero, and users of other Android phones won’t be able to download that version, CNET News says.  However, Adobe has been actively working on full versions of Flash for a variety of handsets, so the Hero won’t remain the only phone with Flash 9 or 10.

Significant for mobile TV

The incorporation of a cellular phone version of Flash that’s close to or the same as the version on computers is a significant development for mobile television.  A huge number of videos are coded in Flash.

If users are able to stream the many TV programs and movies already posted on the Web — without paying a separate monthly mobile TV fee — it could adversely affect paid subscriptions.  I discussed this further in my article in February when Adobe said it was developing a full version of Flash for phones for 2010.

U.S. cellular operators as well as companies and organizations in the mobile TV business, such as the Open Mobile Video Coalition, Qualcomm’s FLO TV and MobiTV, will have to consider the potential affects of millions of Flash-enabled handsets.

MLB.com streams baseball to iPhone, iPod, maybe sparking new business model

MLB.com will begin live streaming select baseball games to the Apple iPhone 3G S and iPod touch (incorporating the new OS 3.0) via its existing $9.99 At Bat 2009 application (see below), reports The New York Times.  But one of the most interesting aspects is the possibility it will spark a new business model for cellular applications, as discussed by ReadWriteWeb.

The MLB.com At Bat application will enable iPhone and touch users to view two free non-local games — chosen by MLB — every day.  Local games will be blacked out.

Additional games will be available as the season progresses, and it’s assumed that some games will require a fee.  The games may be viewed via WiFi or AT&T’s 3G network, which is interesting because AT&T and Apple have forbidden SlingPlayer Mobile from streaming videos from home computers to the iPhone via 3G; only WiFi streaming is allowed.

Pay-for statistics business model?

Marshall Kirkpatrick, the vice president of content creation and the lead writer at ReadWriteWeb (one of my favorite weblogs), writes that At Bat 2009 could herald a new business model where people would be willing to pay for statistics and other data — just as MLB.com offers a huge amount of statistical information about baseball games as part of its cellular application.

MLB.com At Bat 2009 offers such statistics as real-time scores, pitch-by-pitch (see top right), box scores and, game summaries.

Kirkpatrick writes, “The iPhone and Android platforms are brilliant for scrolling and zooming through layers of data in ways that print, TV and radio could only dream of.  Mobile, touchscreen and hand-held beats a Web page on the desktop computer too for data visualization.”

Mobile TV more than just “TV”

I’ve written previously about new ways to enhance value for mobile TV.  So far, mobile TV “innovation” mostly revolves around made-for-cellular programs, rather than much video + data integration.

Using SMS to vote for reality TV performers is about the best cellular operators and content providers have been able to come up with.  In other words, not much.

We’re seeing the television industry beginning to offer sets with Ethernet ports and widgets from Yahoo for accessing Web content (see below), as I’ve written in my Internet Evolution column.

Unlike TVs, cellular phones are made for data, duh.  It’s a natural device for integrating data with all type of videos.

Envivio launches encoding/distribution mobile TV package for iPhone OS 3.0

Envivio today announced iLiveTV — a hardware/software solution for encoding and distributing mobile television channels over the Apple iPhone when it’s upgraded with the new OS 3.0 beginning on June 17.

The company says, “iLiveTV includes the Envivio 4Caster C4 world-class video encoding platform, content delivery server software, a Web-based Cover Flow iPhone navigation portal, as well as integration and support from the world’s most experienced team of mobile TV deployment experts….

“iLiveTV enables operators to offer iPhone users multiple channels of live broadcast TV over 3G and Wi-Fi networks with home theater quality and premium features such as Catch-up TV, video on demand and a client channel guide.  iLiveTV supports all of the advanced capabilities of the new mobile video format in Apple’s iPhone OS 3.0 to dynamically adapt to available bandwidth, optimize full screen video playback and increase battery life.”

Envivio announced iLiveTV at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco, where the company is demonstrating the service.  Envivio also is promoting demonstrations on its Web site (see below).

AT&T’s existing mobile TV

AT&T Mobility already offers live streaming mobile TV (employing Qualcomm’s FLO.TV)  and video on demand packages (see below) for some handsets, but not for the iPhone.  For $15 a month, subscribers receive unlimited use of streaming mobile TV.  For $30 a month, video on demand is included.

When the iPhone was first introduced, I wrote about how it would be a great mobile TV receiver because of its large, high resolution screen and could take advantage of sideloading videos via iTunes.  However, offering mobile TV in the iPhone would entail chipset modifications as well as, possibly, an external antenna.

So we’ll see whether Apple wants true mobile TV in the iPhone.  So far, it doesn’t appear to be the case.  However, Envivio says iLiveTV was “designed in collaboration with Apple,” so perhaps other cellular operators will deploy it.

PC Magazine awards four stars to PrimeTime2Go mobile TV on BlackBerry

PC Magazine gave four stars (see below) — a “very good” — to QuickPlay Media’s PrimeTime2Go mobile television application for the BlackBerry Bold and Curve 8900.  Programs are downloaded via WiFi to the handset’s microSD card, and available only in the United States.

The magazine’s review highlights the “pros”:  “Stunning video quality.  Top-notch show catalog with no filler.  Unlimited downloads.  All episodes full-length.  Slick interface.  Inexpensive for a mobile TV service.  NO commercials (yet).”

The “cons” are:  “Shows can be downloaded only over WiFi.  No free trial.  Works only on two handsets for now.  DRM means all the content stays on the cell phone.”

In summary, PC Magazine says, “PrimeTime2Go offers a unique and impressive take on mobile TV with killer video quality, even if the sparse catalog and handset support limits adoption — for now.”

No review from me

Courtesy of Research in Motion (RIM), I have both of the handsets supported by PrimeTime2Go.  Unfortunately, because the handsets came from RIM, there must be some geographic indication they are from Canada because PrimeTime2Go isn’t listed on the BlackBerry App World I see, which is the only way to obtain the mobile TV product.

PrimeTime2Go is currently available only for use in the United States — where I live and would be using it.  But the handset (or the e-mail server in Canada) must be indicating to App World that it’s Canadian, not American — even though I’m using it over T-Mobile in the U.S.

So, as I wrote a day after PrimeTime2Go was launched, I can’t get it.

BBC World News available on iPhone/iPod touch in 16 European countries

Users of Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch in 16 European countries may live-stream the ”BBC World News” (see below) for free over 3G and WiFi, after paying 7.99 euros ($11.18) to purchase the application from the iTunes App Store, the BBC reports.

The countries where the “BBC World News” app is available are:  Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

The application also includes access to the BBC’s cellular news Web site.  When viewing the “BBC World News” live TV feed, the quality is “standard” over 3G, but available for viewing in higher quality, if desired, over WiFi.

The BBC cautions users that approximately 7.2MB are streamed every ten minutes when watching the TV program.  So you had better be on an unlimited data plan — or wealthy if you plan to watch it on a per-kilobyte or per-megabyte plan (such as when roaming).

No others need apply

For the fun of it, I clicked on the link on the BBC page to obtain the “BBC World News” app.  Up popped a message that read:  “The item you’ve requested is not currently available in the U.S. store, but it’s available in the French store.  Click Change Store to view this item.”

So I clicked and the app was displayed (see below).  I don’t have an iPhone (although it’s getting increasingly tempting with each new OS and new applications) or an iPod touch. 

Even if I did have the phone or iPod, I assume the geographical restriction would prohibit the “BBC World News” from being streamed over AT&T Mobility — if I were even allowed to purchase it from the French App Store while in the United States.  I didn’t try to find out.

PrimeTime2Go offers 47 series from 18 networks; 10 - 15 user downloads/week

QuickPlay Media’s PrimeTime2Go mobile television service (see left) for BlackBerry phones offers 47 television series from 18 networks, and subscribers average ten to 15 downloads per week, says Mark Hyland, vice president of QuickPlay, in mocoNews.net.

PrimeTime2Go aims to offer TV programs the day after they are aired.  Many, perhaps most, are available within this time, Hyland says in the interview.

The top location for viewing the programs is in an airplane, followed by the office.  However, “there’s also a surprising amount of home use,” he says in mocoNews.net.

Hyland didn’t provide any statistics about viewing patterns, but I’m not surprised many people are using their phone to watch TV.  One reason is the shows on PrimeTime2Go already have aired, so if you haven’t recorded them, they’re not immediately available.  (Yeah, I know, you could check out Hulu, AOL TV and other TV aggregator and network content sites.)

Another reason is portability.  You can easily carry your phone from room to room, unlike your TV set.  A third reason is you might have started watching the show on an airplane or in your office, stopped it, and then wanted to continue watching it at home.

Future developments

Currently, PrimeTime2Go is available on two BlackBerrys — the Curve 8900 and the Bold.  A couple of weeks ago Hyland told me the Bold is better, so far, because it has a larger screen and a faster processor.  QuickPlay is working to improve the viewing experience on the 8900, he told me.

PrimeTime2Go probably would look good on the BlackBerry Storm (see below), which has the largest BlackBerry screen — 3.25 inches — with a resolution of 480 x 360.  I don’t know whether QuickPlay will offer PrimeTime2Go on the Storm, but Hyland tells mocoNews.net the company is working on other smartphone platforms, although it’s too early to discuss specifics.

He also says the company is considering the possibility of offering some free programs because people have asked to be able to view the quality before subscribing. 

That makes great sense to me.  I’ve advocated for years that cellular operators should bundle free, trial products — including mobile TV — on phones to enable users to get a taste of what’s available for their phones.