A homespun mobile TV standard in China is trying to gain support by opening a design and manufacturing base in Tianjin.
Backers of the China Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (
CDMB) standard claim they will eventually invest $1 billion in the base, but that is assuming CDMB is chosen as a national standard, which is hardly assured.
The objective is to attract players from several quarters, including chip design companies, handset makers, multimedia content suppliers, a testing center and
IP developers. Some potential candidates, based on those who have joined the CDMB alliance, include Taiwan''s Via Technologies, Shanghai-based ZL Telecom and Beijing-based
CEC Wireless.
The CDMB workgroup said its standard will be tested this month in the metro system of Guangzhou, a city in southern Guangdong province.
But Dai Guan, an analyst from In-Stat, cautioned against over emphasizing the importance of this development since there are a handful of competing mobile TV specs in China.
None has been officially blessed by the government for nationwide use. "Every standard has its government background and all are doing something for industrialization. It''s hard to say which one will stand out," she said.
CDMB is a combination of China''s
3G standard, TD-SCDMA, as well as DAB and the local codec
AVS. It was jointly developed by five local universities and companies.
The workgroup said around 30 cellphone makers, design houses and chip makers have joined as members, including Lenovo Mobile, Amoi, Haier, Bird and
TCL.
Source: eetasia
