DAB-IP and T-DMB

DAB (digital audio broadcasting) is a method for the digital transmission of digital radio signals for mobile reception through direct broadcasts from the satellite or terrestrial transmitters to DAB receivers, was developed by EUREKA project 147. Was initially designed for the transimssion of audio, but currently supports also multimedia broadcasting, video, text, image, and other application. (TNO-ICT, 2007)

There are many DAB variants, each with specific transport protocols for the specific services. In our context of Mobile TV the important standard is T-DMB and DAB-IP. This standards are recongnized by ETSI, IEC and CENELEC. (WorldDMB, 2009)

The Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is a video and multimedia technology based on DAB. It offers a wide range of services, such as mobile TV (T-DMB), traffic and safety information (security), interactive programs, data information and many other applications. DMB is one of the world's most successful mobile TV standard, with over 8 million devices sold. Countries in Europe and Asia have implemented commercial services. (WorldDMB, 2009)

According to corporative information, on 1st December 2005 Korea became the first country to ever launch a consumer facing Mobile TV service. This was done using DMB.

The following video is interesting because shows how DMB works, the functionalities and applications and the benefits:

It says that in Europe, Germany starts using DMB mobile TV services coinciding with the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The technology has since proven popular on a worldwide scale: 14 European countries and 9 further countries have carried out test or trials. These include: Australia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Italy, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. More information of the geographic distribution can bee seen in this link. (WorldDMB, 2009)

DAB-IP is another extension of the DAB technology to provide TV broadcasting over DAB. The following is the definition of DAB-IP provided on WorldDMB official web site: “DAB-IP is an alternative possibility for digital multimedia and video broadcasting. It was used in the UK on a trial basis over a period of about 18 months which finished end of 2007. Unlike DMB, this variant is not fully standardised by ETSI, but makes use of a hook that was designed exactly for that purpose - DAB IP Tunnelling. Based on this transport system for IP datagrams via DAB, the provider BT Movio applied protocols and source coding algorithms designed by Microsoft. It should be noted that in the meantime all of these specifications (ASF and VC-1) are in public domain apart from one - WMA.”

References

WorldDMB. (2009). DMB - Mobile Television . Retrieved 07 1, 2009, from DMB - Mobile Television : http://www.worlddab.org/introduction_to_digital_broadcasting/dmb_-_mobile_television WorldDMB. (2009).

WorldDMB: Standards and Technical Specifications . Retrieved 07 2009, 1, from WorldDMB: Standards and Technical Specifications : http://www.worlddab.org/introduction_to_digital_broadcasting/standards_specs