Friday

Mobile TV Looks Promising, But Can It Work For All Of Us?

I've been following with great interest all the hype that's being generated around mobile TV. On commercials for DirecTV, we see Denis Leary ragging on us about missing NFL highlights while he shoves an iPhone in our face with a crystal clear image of the same HD footage we see in the background. I've also studied up on some of the new delivery platforms under development, like MediaFLO and others, and it looks like they may get close to the picture quality they promised.
The one thing no one seems to be talking about that seems so obvious to me: how can we all get the same experience watching mobile TV when so few mobile devices have screens anywhere near the proper shape for TV viewing? The promotional videos I've seen show countless mobile devices, many with varying tall, skinny screens with perfectly-framed shots of a guy hitting a home run. But how can this be? Sure, the iPhone is going to be a great way to watch TV on the go, but apart from it and a couple of knock-offs, I don't see how people who originate content are going to be able to frame every shot to cover every device that's out there. Maybe there's an answer in the works, but I haven't found it yet...

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