MetroPCS launching live mobile TV service

[NeoSabin]

Today, MetroPCS has announced a partnership
with the Mobile Content Venture (MCV) on a new
service that will bring live digital television to the
carrier

 

[yahhboy]

Well that may be why the Samsung attain hasn't realeased yet...

 

[Jeyd02]

Uhm. It seem to be launching for certain MetroPCS "handsets" as well (hope for the esteem)

www.engadget.com/2012/01/04/metropcs-mobile-content-venture-tv-partnership/

 

[ChazzMatt]

Uhm. It seem to be launching for certain MetroPCS "handsets" as well (hope for the esteem)

MetroPCS hooks up with the Mobile Content Venture for live TV on the go -- Engadget

No, will only be the upcoming Samsung for now. If successful Samsung will make other phones with this capability, and perhaps other manufacturers will get involved. But no current phones sold by Metro will be able to access this service. I see this as a niche product, to be honest.

To receive this "mobile TV" signal, these phones need an extendable external antenna. These phones will need ATSC digitial tuner capabilities -- probably extra chipset.

These TV signals will NOT be streamed over 3G/4G and are in no way connected to MetroPCS network. MetroPCS is selling the Android phones, but has no control over the TV transmissions. It's like an Android that receives AM/FM radio signals, too -- except in this case it's TV signals being broadcast in each city. The further you get away from the TV transmitter, you will not get a signal. But you can always hook up your rooftop antenna to your phone.


The signals will be encrypted and the "app" on the phone is to decrypt them.


MetroPCS: TV Tuner-Equipped Samsung Smartphone Coming Soon

MetroPCS didn't say what the TV-capable phones would cost or if it would charge a monthly fee to access TV broadcasts. The phones will have an extendable antenna for the TV signals.

It's difficult technically to get phones to tune in to regular broadcasts destined for TV sets. Instead, the Samsung phones will receive special "Mobile DTV" signals broadcast by 72 stations in 32 cities. They're usually retransmissions of their main channels, but at a lower resolution.

A few portable TV sets can already receive those signals for free. However, NBC and Fox will be encrypting their signals so they can only be received by the phone app that will be on the Samsung phone, according to Salil Dalvi, co-head of the Mobile Content Venture, which organizes the TV stations using Mobile DTV technology.

MetroPCS Launching Live Mobile TV Service Later This Year | TechCrunch

The Dyle service works using ATSC technology, which is more commonly known as “a TV tuner.” This allows the phone to receive digital television (DTV) signals – the same signals that stations adopted during the digital TV transition.

MetroPCS to offer phones with ATSC Mobile TV tuners | Electronista

MetroPCS to offer phones with ATSC Mobile TV tuners

Cellphone carrier MetroPCS on Wednesday announced it will bring out phones with built-in mobile TV tuners later in 2012. These signals are sent out from certain TV stations and are Mobile DTV signals. The first device to use the ATSC Mobile technology at MetroPCS will be from Samsung, in the form of an as-yet unnamed premium Android device.

 

[Strider0007]

Dyle, a mobile-television venture launched by a coalition of cable operators, networks and station owners, reportedly plans to debut a phone and a tablet that will let users watch live local TV from partners NBC, Fox, Telemundo, Univision and ION Networks. The products are to be part of a partnership with MetroPCS, which would carry the service over its 4G network in 14 markets. The phone will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, the company said, and will be priced as a "premium" device.

 

[ChazzMatt]

Dyle, a mobile-television venture launched by a coalition of cable operators, networks and station owners, reportedly plans to debut a phone and a tablet that will let users watch live local TV from partners NBC, Fox, Telemundo, Univision and ION Networks. The products are to be part of a partnership with MetroPCS, which would carry the service over its 4G network in 14 markets. The phone will have a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus screen, the company said, and will be priced as a "premium" device.

I believe Metro's own press release before I believe that. They make no mention of these signals being carried over their network. If it was running over 4G, Metro would tout that, to brag on their LTE buildout. MetroPCS not mentioning 4G for a "premium" phone is a very telling omission.

Plus you wouldn't need an EXTERNAL antenna if it's running on Metro's 4G service. This phone wouldn't need an ATSC tuner if it's running on Metro's 4G service... So, it's NOT running on Metro's 4G service. These devices will have ATSC tuners and external antennas, and will be receiving the TV signals over the air (OTA) straight from the source.

There will be an app on the phones for decrypting purposes. Metro will probably receive some kind of fee for delivering viewers to the TV stations and the app will transmit data for audience metrics.


__________
Broadcasters try, try again with mobile TV — Mobile Technology News

Broadcasters try, try again with mobile TV

By Kevin Fitchard Jan. 4, 2012, 1:24pm PT

Broadcasters have been looking for a carrier guinea pig to test out their mobile digital TV service, and on Wednesday they found one. MetroPCS has agreed later this year to sell a Samsung Android phone embedded with an Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) chip, which will pluck digital TV signals directly from the broadcast airwaves. (not running over Metro's network)

The ATSC standard is backed by Mobile Content Venture, a consortium of TV networks FOX, ION Television, Bahakel, Univision, Telemundo and NBC as well as 15 broadcast groups that run local TV stations. The venture’s aim is to broadcast live feeds over spectrum already allocated for DTV, rather than stream individual video feeds over mobile broadband networks or rely on a separate digital broadcast service like Qualcomm’s ill-fated FLO TV. A special app called Dyle will render the live programming on smartphones. To quote the MVC’s press release:

We are thrilled to work with MetroPCS to make live broadcast TV available to mobile consumers. This collaboration allows Dyle to take the first step in realizing the broadcaster vision of live, local TV on every smartphone.

Every smartphone may be a bit of stretch since MetroPCS, while not tiny, isn’t exactly Verizon Wireless. Metro’s footprint is limited to 14 major markets, but the MVC is hoping to use the regional operator as a launch point for a larger nationwide expansion, one that it hopes will include the big four national operators. There’s still a big question as to whether those operators are interested. Dealing with Qualcomm’s competing service FLO TV wasn’t exactly a cake walk for AT&T and Verizon, which had to procure FLO specialty handsets that they could only sell in markets where FLO offered service. Plus with new big honking LTE networks going up, those operators have their own video plans – plans that don’t involve sticking to the set programming schedule printed in TV Guide.

But the MVC may make operators sweetheart offers they can’t refuse. Broadcasters have an ulterior motive in getting something resembling a commercial video service up and running before regulators come after the TV airwaves. Ultimately, broadcasters may not want to be in the mobile TV business, but they don’t want to part with valuable frequencies either. The MVC and MetroPCS didn’t reveal any of the financial details on the service or device, but the deal likely favors Metro.

The operator has trouble enough procuring inexpensive devices for its unique blend of radio technologies and frequencies without adding a DTV chip to its handset costs. Whatever Samsung device comes out of this deal, it’s got to be cheap, otherwise it wouldn’t work with Metro’s prepaid unsubsidized handset business model. That means someone else has to foot the extra expense of putting a TV in the phone.

 

[nuttmeg]

metro is beginning to suck, lmao but i got netflix tho.

 

[yaras1979]

The best questions - price, if include in 60$ plane, it's OK, but if the metro pcs, want more price, i don't think that's good idea

 

[ShinySide]

I got excited for it till I read "The phones will have an extendable antenna for the TV signals." Yeahhhhh Im Opting out of that "service"

I'll stick to the Tv.com app for TV and Netflix for movies

 

[nuttmeg]

yepper...

What Shiny said.

 

[ChazzMatt]

I got excited for it till I read "The phones will have an extendable antenna for the TV signals." Yeahhhhh Im Opting out of that "service"

I'll stick to the Tv.com app for TV and Netflix for movies

some articles are calling it a "telescoping antenna" -- which means you can leave it down. But then you might not get good reception.


CES: Yet another rollout for mobile digital TV - latimes.com

On Wednesday, a coalition of TV stations and networks announced a partnership with mobile phone company MetroPCS that will enable the latter's customers in Los Angeles and 13 other markets to tune in the stations' mobile DTV signals later this year. The first compatible device will be an Android smartphone made by Samsung, which will use a telescoping antenna for better reception.

Dyle's Mobile DTV Service To Launch On Smartphone - 2012-01-04 14:05:47 | TWICE

Dyle's Mobile DTV Service To Launch On Smartphone

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 1/4/2012


New York - MetroPCS plans to launch this year the first mobile device that will receive live local mobile DTV broadcasts.

The broadcasts will be transmitted by more than 72 TV stations in 32 markets under the Dyle Mobile TV brand.

Dyle Mobile TV is the brand adopted by the Mobile Content Venture (MCV), which is owned by 12 broadcast groups representing 281 stations, and by two other TV broadcasters. The broadcasters plan to launch Dyle service through 72 stations that reach 50 percent of the U.S. population.

The MetroPCS phone will be an Android-based Samsung-made 4G LTE smartphone with embedded ATSC-M/H (Mobile/Handheld) tuner and telescoping antenna.

The phone will be available in MetroPCS-owned stores in all of MetroPCS's 14 markets, which are within the Dyle TV footprint. The phone might also be available at launch in independent wireless stores that specialize in MetroPCS service, said Stephen Jemente, MetroPCS product manager for digital media and location-based services.

MetroPCS and the MCV declined to say whether the phone would launch in the first or second half of the year, but it will be the first device available to receive Dyle TV service. MCV "will talk about other devices over the next several weeks," added Salil Dalvi, MCV's co-general manager and NBCUniversal's senior VP of digital distribution. Smartphones, however, "will be a crucial part of the mix" given widespread cellphone adoption, he said.

"This collaboration allows Dyle to take the first step in realizing the broadcaster vision of live local TV on every smartphones," MCV added in a written statement.

With mobile ATSC-M/H devices, consumers will be able to watch local DTV stations while sitting in a moving vehicle, whereas mobile DTV tuners now on the market must be stationary in order to display a DTV broadcast.

At International CES in Las Vegas, Samsung Mobile, MetroPCS and MCV will demonstrate live Dyle broadcasts, and the planned Samsung phone might appear as a "device in development" at MCV's exhibit, said Erik Moreno, MCV's co-general manager and Fox Networks Group senior VP of corporate development.

Besides Las Vegas, the MetroPCS markets where Dyle service will be available consist of Atlanta; Boston; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Detroit; Miami, Orlando, Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, Calif.; New York and Philadelphia.

In select MetroPCS markets, up to five stations will be transmitting their free over-the-air mobile DTV broadcasts for viewing on the smartphone. Eventually, Dyle TV plans to offer a mix of free and subscription-based programming.

The shareholders of the MCV consortium are Fox, NBC, Ion Television, Belo, Cox Media Group, E.W. Scripps, Gannett Broadcasting, Hearst Television, Media General, Meredith, Post-Newsweek Stations and Raycom Media. Broadcasters Bahakel and Univision, who are not MCV shareholders, also plan to launch Dyle TV service this year.

Their stations are encrypting their mobile-DTV broadcasts for display on smartphones and other planned mobile devices, all of which must be able to access the Internet through cellular or Wi-Fi to download changing encryption keys. The devices' Internet access will also enable the consortium to measure viewership. (So, besides receiving the video over-the-air from the TV stations, you also have to keep an internet connection to the phone to be able to DECRYPT the video. Lose either signal and you have no TV on your phone.)

Neither Samsung nor the MCV would say whether the Samsung smartphone would also be able to display the encrypted ATSC-M/H broadcasts of TV stations in a rival broadcaster group called the Mobile500 Alliance. The Dyle phone, however, will be able to display unencrypted broadcasts, although MCV said it's unaware of any TV station planning to do so.

MCV also declined to say whether the Samsung phone would offer live-pause or time-shifting capabilities like a DVR (that would take too much CPU power and storage to have a built-in DVR), but the phone will have an electronic program guide and a signal-strength meter.

To promote the Samsung phone, MetroPCS "plans to make a big splash" and put "quite a bit of effort" behind promoting it, said MetroPCS's Jemente. He declined to specify the mix of media in which ads would be placed.

Samsung and MetroPCS were selected as partners in the launch because of their willingness to move quickly, MCV's Dalvi said. "Samsung raised their hand and was very aggressive," he said. And MetroPCS was likewise willing "to move fast and first," he said.

Comparing Dyle with FLO TV, the now-defunct subscription-based mobile-DTV service using 700MHz terrestrial spectrum, Dalvi emphasized that FLO TV offered no local programming. When broadcasting NBC's Today Show, for example, FLO TV did not include local-broadcaster break-ins, he said. With Dyle, consumers in a given market will see the break-ins of their local NBC station on the "Today" show, he said.

Dalvi also contended that consumers want a mix of video programming on-the-go ranging from on-demand and live programming as well as short-form and long-form programming.

For its part, the Mobile500 Alliance, which is expected to update its plans at CES, has said it eventually plans a lineup of 15 to 20 free and subscription channels along with video on demand and data via Mobile DTV airwaves and 3G/4G and Wi-Fi networks.

MetroPCS plans to offer Dyle Mobile TV services this year | The Verge

MetroPCS plans to offer Dyle Mobile TV services this year

CHRIS WELCH • JAN. 4, 2012

Nowadays you can stream plenty of network TV on your phone, but what if you want to catch a live local newscast?

MetroPCS plans to include mobile ATSC TV tuners capable of pulling down live local programming in select upcoming devices, making it the first US carrier to announce such functionality.

The development comes as a result of a partnership with the Mobile Content Venture and is based around MCV's Dyle Mobile TV platform, announced last July. Featured devices — the first of which is slated to be an unspecified Samsung Android handset due this year — will include a preloaded application allowing users to tune into a broad range of live content over the air, similar to how TVs receive OTA programming via antennas.

It's a far simpler approach to mobile TV than the poorly-received prior attempts from AT&T and Verizon which charged a premium to access the now-defunct Qualcomm MediaFLO service and its limited selection. With apps like Hulu and Netflix offering little in this regard, it could prove appealing to MetroPCS customers. Best of all? Since everything is received over the air — independent of any cellular data usage — this feature should come at no extra cost to the viewing audience. Look for it to be shown off at CES next week.

A Foolish Week of Telecom (AAPL, CLWR, PCS, S, TIVO)

If at first you don't succeed ...

MetroPCS is going to attempt to revive mobile digital TV in the States. The regional wireless carrier will start offering customers an Android LTE smartphone from Samsung that will include a mobile DTV tuner.

The advantages of such a service? For one, it won't need a cellular phone network but will get its signal from the broadcast TV frequencies. For another, well ... um ... I guess there's only one. Please, let me know if you can think of more.

 

[ShinySide]

some articles are calling it a "telescoping antenna" -- which means you can leave it down. But then you might not get good reception.


CES: Yet another rollout for mobile digital TV - latimes.com



Dyle's Mobile DTV Service To Launch On Smartphone - 2012-01-04 14:05:47 | TWICE




MetroPCS plans to offer Dyle Mobile TV services this year | The Verge

But still if I have to walk around with an antenna on my phone and have to expand it like Im using a cordless phone from 1989 in 2012...I'll pass Ahaha

 

[ChazzMatt]

But still if I have to walk around with an antenna on my phone and have to expand it like Im using a cordless phone from 1989 in 2012...I'll pass Ahaha

like this?

Samsung Moment with DTV tuner and antenna

Samsung Galaxy S with DTV tuner and antenna

Samsung is already doing stuff like this in other countries.

Galaxy S for Brazil Goes Old School With Telescoping Antenna

Samsung Galaxy S for Brazil Goes Old School With Telescoping Antenna


Chuong Nguyen |1:15 PM 5-Aug-10

The Galaxy S for Brazil may look like a cell phone from circa 1990 with its telescoping antenna, but don't let that fool you as the Android super phone from Samsung packs a lot of punch.

The antenna is actually for digital television so that you can watch TV on your Galaxy S -- so far Brazilian's variant is the only one to offer this feature.

Hopefully, you can catch some good television reception, which when combined with the gorgeous 4-inch Super AMOLED display and zippy 1 GHz Hummingbird CPU and integrated PowerVR CPU, should give you plenty to do for both play and productivity.

Just be advised, you don't need to pull out that antenna for phone calls, unlike the cell phones of yesteryear.

Samsung Galaxy S Brazil Version gets ISDB-Tb Digital TV Tuner | Cellphone News | Mobile Phones | Concept Phones

Samsung Galaxy S Brazil Version gets ISDB-Tb Digital TV Tuner

Keron Calame on Tuesday, Aug 10, 2010

Samsung has launched its Galaxy S Smartphone in Brazil, however the version for Brazil comes with integrated ISDB-Tb Digital TV tuner and has an Antenna as well.

Like the version available in the United States, it is still powered by a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, it still has a 4-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen display, it gets the same 5-Megapixel Camera that records 720p HD Videos, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and 8GB of Internal Memory.

The Subscribers in Brazil will enjoy tv-on-the-go starting in September. The Handset also comes with TouchWiz 3.0 UI, FM radio and microSD card slot.

 

[Aplus]

like this?

Spoiler

Samsung Moment with DTV tuner and antenna

Samsung Galaxy S with DTV tuner and antenna

Samsung is already doing stuff like this in other countries.

Galaxy S for Brazil Goes Old School With Telescoping Antenna



Samsung Galaxy S Brazil Version gets ISDB-Tb Digital TV Tuner | Cellphone News | Mobile Phones | Concept Phones

Actually, the antenna on the Galaxy S doesn't look that bad, I mean, you're only going to have it extended if you're using the tuner to watch a show. It looks like it fits pretty flush when its retracted.

 

[ShinySide]

like this?

The Galaxy I could do. Dont exactly like but could rock it.

The one on the Moment....yeah no Ahaha

 

[Ære]

I find it interesting that if it's true digital TV..why would you need an antena? analog..yes, I see that but digital..are the dyle radio chips weak?

 

[ChazzMatt]

[quote="

 

[jenitalobo07]

[FONT=&quot]MetroPCS launching live mobile TV service

 

[horsecharles]

i predict:

the model's other features will be disappointing-- so that we either select another better one w/o tv, or this one-- tv but at a tradeoff less advanced model.