The mobile DVR

Motorola released its own dedicated DVB-H device. Slingbox lands on the BlackBerry. Two different technologies, two entirely different uses, but they have two things in common: 1) The industry seems to be reinforcing the notion that the mobile TV we want to watch is the same TV we get on the boob tube at home; and 2) plain-old TV needs to be recordable.

We’re witnessing the advent of the mobile DVR, an innovation that could possibly -- it just might -- breath a little life into the lackluster mobile TV industry. Yes, I know it’s still early days, and I’m not going to bash the accomplishments of MobiTV -- a million paid subscribers isn’t paltry -- or Qualcomm’s efforts to build its MediaFLO network. But let’s face it: the mobile TV we have today isn’t all that compelling -- at least not compelling enough to justify the purchase of a pricey handset and a subscription for content we get for free at home.

So what will the DVR do for the mobile TV device? It will basically make programming that we want to see available not just wherever we want to see it but when we want to see it. Mobility is a powerful thing, but without the temporal aspect it’s useless. It doesn’t matter if I have the ability to watch American Gladiators in my friend’s bathtub in Toledo if I’m taking my bath at 2 a.m. People who are mobile are often out doing things and can’t conform to TV broadcast schedules. Hence the missing piece.

Motorola seems to be counting on this model. The DH01 device it launched at CES is certainly a departure for the phone maker considering it has no cellular connectivity whatsoever. What it can do, however, is pause live programming and record shows that aren’t being actively watched. Sling Media’s penetration into smartphones follows its place-shifting model, but due to Slingbox’s ability to access recorded DVR content back home, it’s bringing time-shifting to the mix, too.

“This is the dream model for mobile TV,” said Alan Moskowitz, director of strategic alliances for MobiTV, which was at CES to promote its new initiative with Samsung to bring mobile TV channels to broadcaster’s digital airwaves. The new A-VSB initiative is being designed with DVR capabilities in mind, which in turn fits into a larger plan for a tiered mobile TV. If basic broadcast programming can stay on the broadcaster’s airwaves and equipment, it could be offered cheaply—likely for free with advertising. Meanwhile, traditional cable programming could be offered over the dedicated multicast and broadcast mobile TV networks, which require new spectrum and new equipment. And just as people are used to paying for cable channels, they’ll pay for mobile cable channels. And finally the 3G and 4G networks, can be used for video-on-demand services, which come at an additional premium. All of these would be linked into the same DVR functions of the device.

It’s a nifty model, but it’s one full of all sorts of problems, considering the sheer number of players that need to cooperate: phone vendors, infrastructure makers, broadcasters, network affiliates, cable content providers, wireless operators and regulators. If they can pull it off, though, more power to them.

Contact me at kfitchard@telephonyonline.com.