Harris
Corporation will introduce the first full mobile digital TV transmission
platform to meet the new Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) solution
that was proposed by LG Electronics, Inc. and Samsung. The Harris
offering, which will be introduced in November 2008, will enable television
broadcasters to quickly begin the transition to mobile digital television
(DTV).
The
proposed LG and Samsung mobile handheld solution is based upon elements of the Mobile-Pedestrian-Handheld
(MPH) technology — developed by Harris, LG Electronics and Zenith — as well as
Samsung's Advanced Vestigial Sideband (A-VSB) system. The development clears
the path for electronics manufacturers to begin designing mobile DTV devices,
and for local DTV broadcasters to proceed with confidence to build out their
new mobile DTV services.
The Harris/LG/Zenith team has
successfully conducted extensive field testing to demonstrate and prove the
reliability of mobile DTV technology in cities nationwide, under the most
challenging broadcast conditions.
Harris
Broadcast also announced it will begin shipping its new Apex M2X ATSC exciter
in August 2008. Broadcasters with Apex M2X exciters can install
field-upgradeable updates beginning in early November to fully support M/H
broadcasts, putting into place the final component needed to complete the
end-to-end in-band mobile DTV platform. The solution's physical layer is
compatible with most ATSC DTV transmitters and supports the management and
service elements of most mobile DTV standards, including OMA BCAST. In
addition, the solution features an Internet Protocol (IP)-based transport
layer, which is critical to the ATSC M/H standard's future implementation.
"Harris Corporation has thoroughly tested and proved the in-band mobile DTV platform with the assistance of our technology partners and local broadcasters, and we are pleased to play a significant role in the mobile DTV revolution," said Tim Thorsteinson, president of Harris Broadcast Communications. "The proposed solution offers DTV broadcasters a proven, reliable solution for local, mobile DTV services. Broadcasters can count on Harris to provide complete mobile DTV transmission solutions that offer new revenue streams through new multimedia content."