LG's MPH Could Provide TV-A-Go-Go

LG Electronics Co. says it has developed a way for North American TV stations to transmit digital signals to cell phones and other portable devices. The technology, which LG calls MPH for mobile-portable-handheld, requires TV stations and portable electronic manufacturers to fit add-on devices to their digital transmitters/ reception chips respectively.

MPH serves up a high-quality video feed even in vehicles moving at speeds of about 55 miles an hour. One of the first manufacturers to showcase LG's technololgy will be Kenwood. “At Kenwood, we have been watching the emerging market for mobile terrestrial DTV with great interest,” said Shoichiro Eguchi, president of Kenwood USA, in a statement. “With technologies like MPH paving the way, the in-car DTV market will be enormous. We are pleased to work with Harris, LG and Zenith on this breakthrough technology.”

Where did this idea come from? Well, one manufacturer involved early on was Zenith. Remember them? LG bought Zenith and continued to chip away (so to speak) at the problems facing mobile reception of digital television signals.

Another mobile DTV competitor is called A-VSB and is being backed by the likes of Nokia among others. In addtion, there is satellite TV such as the Sirius system offered by Chrysler which will also vie for consumers' attention.

As long as all this tech stays in the backseat, I'm all for it.

The above photo is for the A-VSB system and is from an HDTV Magazine article.

sources: wsj, information week, broadcasting & cable