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[ The Video Agenda ]
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Small screens, big opportunities
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by Mark J. Pescatore
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I didn’t think cell phone use in restaurants could become even more rude. Then came the cell phone with the walkie-talkie function, so my cheeseburger comes with a side of two self-important screaming idiots instead of just one. Now there’s a new development that might just send Miss Manners into retirement: mobile TV.
It’s bad enough that cell phones effectively prevent you from actually interacting with the people around you. With access to TV programming on your cell phone, you don’t even need to talk to another person. Now that’s progress.
Another Flat Panel Display
One of the technologies that will usher in new heights of social isolationism is yet another flat-screen display. That’s right, time to add another acronym to the stack: Coming soon to a small display near you, it’s OLED.
Briefly, OLED stands for organic light emitting diode — the display emits light when electrical current flows through thin organic films between two conductors. (The technical term for this process is electrophosphorescence.) Because OLED technology emits light, unlike an LCD, it doesn’t need a back light, so the display can be even thinner. Plus, OLED reportedly offers more brightness and better refresh rates than LCDs — and it uses less power, which is always a concern for battery-hungry handheld devices.
I saw a demonstration of this technology a few months ago and was floored by the quality of the image. Full-motion video, sharp colors with plenty of contrast, amazing clarity, and a wide viewing angle, all in a display that fits quite nicely on a cell phone or digital camera. In fact, it’s already in a few consumer products, and you can expect to see more OLED displays popping up on higher-end devices in the near future (it’s still too expensive for low-end gear).
Practical Applications
While social scientists will undoubtedly add mobile TV to a list of technological ailments impacting our culture, the technology itself actually holds promise for government. Let’s imagine that your agency provides each of its employees with a cell phone, and that cell phone is capable of receiving video images, not just annoying ring tones. If you need a quick, impromptu meeting with all employees, even ones scattered in the field, you can do it — and include visuals. With OLED technology, you can actually see the person or decipher the visuals.
Maybe it’s the mug shot or sketch of a suspect from a recent crime. Or maybe it’s a shot of a child that was just reported missing. Dick Tracy will be green with envy.
And let’s consider more entertaining possibilities. Perhaps NASA TV could produce a daily “NASA News” segment featuring an update on missions and scientific discoveries. The military could follow suit — why not a “Pentagon Update” produced by the Pentagon Channel? It’s a great way to keep the public informed, generate interest in these government agencies, and drive traffic to their respective channels.
Are consumers willing to sit back and watch long-form programming on their phones? Not according to Dr. Kumar Ramaswamy, deputy head of Thomson Corporate Research. Based on some subjective tests he conducted, viewers will watch a 4-inch screen for about 30 minutes or so, but a cell phone-sized 1.5-inch screen can only keep their attention for a few minutes. He thinks that the realities of TV on cell phones will create a new kind of content.
“Short-form pieces are very important,” confirmed John Varney, chief technology officer for the BBC in England. While the BBC hasn’t done any significant user trials, he told me that it’s important for the BBC (and PBS likewise in the United States) to get on board with cell phone TV offerings quickly and build viewer loyalty early. After all, the passive viewer of old has been replaced by a media-savvy content consumer that wants to be “an active participant in their use of content.”
Mobile TV may be in its infancy, but there is great potential in the technology for government agencies. Certainly there are content delivery and content quality issues that will need to be addressed as the market matures. However, display advances such as OLED and a seemingly eager audience make this a viable avenue to explore for improved internal communications and a new way to disseminate information to the general public.
But please, let me finish my cheeseburger in peace.
Mark J. Pescatore is the editor. Contact him at mpescatore@cmpinformation.com.
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