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‘TV Anywhere’ TV to mobile phone
16/08/06
Free TV on a mobile phone, PDA or laptop has become a reality with the
launch of "TV Anywhere" from Hauppauge Digital. The new £99.99 (inc
VAT) product allows owners to watch live and recorded TV anywhere with
an internet connection – on holiday, at the station, at friends'
houses, even in the sandwich bar.
Hauppauge's new TV Anywhere product includes a tiny WinTV PVR USB2
device that plugs into a home PC and an aerial, turning the PC into a
TV and digital video recorder. The software then uses the home
broadband connection to deliver the live TV and recordings, anywhere
in the world with an internet connection.
The technology detects the connection quality of the mobile device and
compresses the video, allowing for connection through WiFi and 3G, and
can be enjoyed on a desktop PC, Apple Mac or WiFi-enabled PDA or
mobile phone.
"Appointment TV is dying," commented Yehia Oweiss, UK Managing
Director of Hauppauge Digital. "People are recording more and more TV
and watching what they want, when they want. Timeshifting was first
introduced with the VCR, and later enhanced with the PVR (Personal
Video Recorder). Placeshifting is the new frontier – watching recorded
TV where you want it, and moving live TV out of the home."
Unlike any other system, TV Anywhere will work with any web browser
and does not require additional software. That means any mobile phone
with Internet Explorer and a media player, any WiFi PDA, any laptop,
any PC, any Mac.
Because TV Anywhere uses the home PC and broadband connection to
provide a video source, and thanks to support for WiFi and free
internet connection "hotspots", watching TV is free from anywhere.
Unlike TV provided by the mobile phone companies, there is no
subscription and it does not eat up mobile minutes or megabytes.
More than just TV!
Hauppauge's TV Anywhere delivers all the media content from the home
PC to anywhere, including photographs and music. Owners no longer need
to pick and choose which MP3 files to upload to their mobile music
player – everything is available via the web, in hi-fi quality.
Fast-growing market
Although the market for mobile TV is in its infancy, research
companies forecast an explosion in numbers of users. US research
house, In-Stat, forecasts mobile television subscribers will top 100m
by the end of 2010, whilst Informa Telecoms and Media, reporting on
mobile TV take-up during the World Cup, forecasts over 200 million
mobile owners will be accessing streamed and broadcast TV by 2011.
Technical Info
Hauppauge's TV Anywhere uses Orb technology to deliver content. When
you connect from a mobile device or remote PC, Orb detects your
connection speed and the upstream bandwidth available from your home
PC. Orb streams content at the highest quality available to you,
providing the best possible experience the device and bandwidth can
support.
With Orb, digital media is quickly streamed right to you. No more
hassles with long download waits or files that are too big. The
content remains on your PC, providing you with the security and
control you need.
In addition, Orb allows owners to share content with friends and
family. Each person you add to your account can customize Orb so they
can enjoy their personal media when and how they want it.
Availability
TV Anywhere with a WinTV PVR USB2 tuner is initially available
exclusively from DSG outlets, including Dixons, Currys, and PC World.
Future versions will include a WinTV digital tuner, to give mobile
access to Freeview stations.
Nick Gibson, editor
©
Copyright Screen-Studio.com 2006
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