Less than two months after the launch of a DVB-H-based mobile TV pilot in Uruguay by Ancel, ATV is testing a similar service in Lima, Peru.
ATV, part of the pan-Latin America media group Albavision, plans to roll the service out to the commercial market in June 2008. At present, it features four live TV channels, transmitted using the DVB-H broadcast standard. At the headend, Thomson ViBE mobile TV encoders compress the incoming video streams, which are then encapsulated into a single transport stream using the Thomson Opal DVB-H encapsulator. Thomson has also created the electronic service guide.
Thomson delivered the equipment to ATV with the intention of allowing Albavision to build a market with minimum capital expenditure, allowing the company to expand through additional services, increased functionality and interactivity when ready. In a press statement, Angel Gonzalez, CEO of Albavision, said his company sees mobile TV broadcasting as an important part of its future. The company is considering expanding the solution to other countries in Latin America.
Ancel, the mobile unit of Antel, Uruguay’s state-owned telco, initiated on Jan. 25 a pilot run of the country’s first broadcast mobile television service, based on the DVB-H standard. Five channels are being broadcast for free to tourists frequenting the resort area of Punta del Este, on the country’s southeast coast.
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