Aigo will launch a media player capable of playing CMMB China mobile multimedia broadcasting (CMMB) TV in mid-June. The model CM5210 will go to trials in Shanghai and Shenzhen, said Aigo product manager Lu Chengzhang.
Dubbed an "MP5 player" to set it apart from current MP4s and MP3s, the CM5420 extends MP4 capability to play Real Media (RM) format videos. The device has a similar form factor compared to last year’s Aigo DT5200 digital audio broadcasting (DAB) mobile TV device but without a camera or Internet capability.
CMMB was under auspices of China's State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), which in 2006 named CMMB an industrial standard for mobile TV broadcasting. SARFT has reportedly launched CMMB commercial trials in Beijing and Shenzhen and is set to start trials in Shanghai. SARFT's target is to deliver CMMB services in 37 cities during the Olympic Games.
Industry analysts are looking toward DAB, SARFT’s previous mobile TV standard, as a backup in case CMMB isn’t ready in time for the Olympics but predict that the standard will be superseded once CMMB becomes fully operational.
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