Woo Paik, chief technology officer of LG Electronics, said the company will launch MPH, which stands for mobile, pedestrian, and handheld. It is a handheld digital TV in which viewers can get HDTV reception wherever they go. It transmits on a special channel without the need for new towers or new spectrum. It will have a mix of national and local content. It is not known yet whether the technology will come to Australia as TV stations will have to deliver content over the new technology.
The South Korean electronics giant claims that LG's brand awareness has grown from 65 percent in 2005 to more than 80 percent in 2007. It has $11.5 billion in sales in the US alone, up from $5.6 billion four years ago.
"A single standard is really going to be crucial to the success of mobile DTV," Taylor said. "The key is to convince the broadcasters to go with a single standard."
Right now, LG is the only company building MPH chipsets, though Kenwood is incorporating those chipsets into in-car devices. LG and its partners will be doing extensive consumer trials in 2008 looking at a 2009 rollout of consumer services, Taylor said. Earlier this year, the company did a successful test in Chicago.
"In TV, that's a short time frame. We're well on our way," he said.
