Following a successful partnership at the Ryder Cup in September 2006 in which Rohde & Schwarz supplied a 200W transmitter to O2 Ireland for a live demonstration of broadcast mobile TV, the relationship has now been extended with R&S participating in O2’s trial of Digital DVB-H technology in Ireland, which kicked off in March.
For what is the first consumer trial of broadcast Mobile TV in Ireland, Rohde & Schwarz has supplied O2 with a high power, UHF 1.3kW air cooled transmitter that has been installed at Three Rock Mountain, enabling 350 O2 Ireland customers in the greater Dublin area to experience broadcast mobile TV. Arqiva is operating the broadcast technology for the trial, in which state-of-the-art Nokia N92 mobile TV handsets are being used.
Thirteen TV channels have signed up for the trial, including RTE1, RTE2, TV3, Sky Sports, Sky News, Setanta Sports and The Discovery Channel, as well as interactive music and games channels. O2 is the first mobile operator in Ireland to trial broadcast mobile TV with consumers. Trial participants will experience broadcast TV on an advanced mobile phone handset, with improved picture and audio quality, allowing users to flick between TV channels on their mobile.
Paul Harfoot, broadcast sales manager for Rohde & Schwarz UK, commented: “It’s a very interesting time for mobile TV, with real networks starting to rollout throughout Europe now. With the installation of the new 1.3kW highly compact air cooled transmitter just outside Dublin in December, we have been pleased to be able to support such a key trial for DVB-H in Ireland.”
Rohde & Schwarz has a wide range of transmitters as part of its sound and television broadcasting portfolio. The transmitter supplied to O2 is from the R&S NV8200 family, designed for output power from 200W up to 1.3kW. As part of its commitment to safeguard the quality of current and future mobile radio systems, Rohde & Schwarz also offers a range of test and measurement equipment that enables clients to test end-to-end DVB-H services, and other digital broadcasting methods such as ATSC, DAB and MPEG-2.
