DMB Image Photo

In December 2004, the World Forum for Digital Audio Broadcasting (World DAB) adopted terrestrial Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) as a global standard. Developed by Korea's principal national research body, the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), terrestrial DMB is the first technology of its kind in the world and whose commercialization means that mobile television reception is at last a reality. ETRI initially established its capability a decade ago by the world's first commercialization of Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA). Today, through its development of DMB, ETRI has played a leading role in extending Korean innovation in the field of telecommunications into the realm of next-generation technologies defined by the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications. With these developments in mind, the Korea IT Times examines what services will become available through DMB and publishes the following interviews with Chin Dae-je, Minister of Information and Communication, Yim Chu-hwan, president of ETRI, and Ahn Chieteuk, vice president and head of the Digital Broadcasting Research Division of ETRI. Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) is a service through which the reception of moving images, radio with the clarity and quality of CDs, and data broadcasting is possible while moving at a high speed by using digital broadcasting technologies. DMB service was launched in 2005 under a new paradigm that was considered to be a fusion of broadcasting telecommunication technologies. In the future, digital multimedia broadcasting services will be provided at any time and anywhere at reasonable costs. Not only that, DMB will offer diverse application services and evolve continuously, thereby making life far more convenient. Through DMB, users will be able to watch and hear a wide variety of contents including TV dramas, music, news, sports in real time regardless of time and place. Such contents will typically be 30 minutes or less in length. Also, contrary to existing TV broadcasting modes - including ground wave TV, satellite TV, cable TV, and others - that have the highest viewership between 9:00 p.m. and midnight, it looks as though DMB will be mainly used during the rush hour between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. DMB will be a substitute for the audio-visual system now used in cars. It can be loaded onto a wide range of terminals, including desktop PCs, notebook computers and Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs). Also, by being able to use mobile telecommunication networks as return channels by combining and linking them with cellular phones, it is expected that a service fusing broadcasting and telecommunications into one will materialize. The reception of DMB will be possible mainly with portable terminals at anytime and anywhere. For this reason, DMB will contribute to the reduction of the damage by natural disasters by broadcasting early warnings. Also, it seems that by personalizing broadcasting, it might contribute to solving the problem of the digital divide between age groups and classes. In the future, DMB will evolve according to the development of the following four technological factors: * Firstly, DMB chips will become integrated, made small, and made to use low amounts of electricity. Within the next two to three years, chips for ground wave DMB and satellite DMB will become integrated as will the three types of chip for radio frequencies (RFs), media processors, and channel processors needed for realizing DMB. Not only that, DMB chips will evolve so that their processing capacity increases, their sizes get smaller, and their consumption of electricity becomes lower. Such developments in chip technology will make possible the provision of clearer picture quality for longer periods on smaller terminals. * Secondly, the development of compression technology will make possible the more efficient transmission of multimedia contents, thereby allowing the provision of more channels in limited frequency bands. * Thirdly, through the evolution of digital cameras, which have been combined with cellular phones and all sorts of terminals and through their combined with telecommunications networks, the production and consumption of multimedia contents will expand. This will not only be the case with the wired Internet but also in regard to mobile environments. * Fourthly, the development of DMB application softwares will allow everyone to conveniently use a slew of services. Such services will include advanced telematics services, T-commerce (i.e. television commerce) and all kinds of two-way data services. It will be possible to provide the following types of services through DMB. TTI Service Due to the expansion of leisure hours and the explosive increase of travel caused by the introduction of the five-day working week, the amount of time spent in automobiles has increased greatly. With DMB, large amounts of data can be stably received in vehicles moving at high speeds. And, DMB will become accepted as the optimal transmission medium for providing telematics services. This is because DMB is highly competitive compared to other media with regard to the cost of establishing networks and information user-fees. Traffic and Travel Information (TTI) services have been capturing public attention as a major application of DMB. Through the services, the real-time traffic information needed for the smooth flows of vehicles and goods plus information on lodging, tourist resorts, restaurants, events and the weather required for safe and convenient travel can be provided. Not only that, information on the operations and seat availability of bus, plane, train, marine services can be easily provided. Real-time traffic information received through DMB receivers can reduce economic waste by helping smooth out traffic flows by informing drivers of detours and routes where there's no congestion. Also, since TTI services can be interactive it will not only be possible to make seat and ticket reservations but also pay for them, too. Linked to diverse location-based services provided by mobile telecommunications, new forms of high value-added services will likely evolve to meet the changing tastes of consumers. Small in size and low in price, observers judge that DMB receivers will rapidly become the type of digital device most sought, beating out MP3 players, and digital cameras, as the technology developments. Among DMB receivers, those for in-vehicles use will be loaded with wireless telecommunication modules to display all kinds of TTI information that's been decoded based on location information provided by an embedded global positioning system (GPS). The information can be loaded onto a 7-inch screen linked with digital maps according to user demand. Also, in consideration of convenience and safe driving, they will feature Human/Machine Interfaces (HMIs) such as voice. With the tendency toward personalization of broadcasting and telecommunications media services, the demand by consumers for large-capacity multimedia contents including 'infotainment' through in-vehicle terminals is growing. Within such a situation, it is anticipated that DMB will have enormous economic, industrial, and cultural impact on society overall. Services Linked to Wireless Telecommunications Networks Because digital media broadcasts have the special feature of being sent to unspecified recipients, their network structure are simple compared to telecommunications networks. It is only cable television (CATV) that can play the role of broadcast channel and data transmission network at the same time. In the case of ground wave DMB, mobile reception is possible by using transmission parameters that are strong with regard to the many reflected wave problems that occur in the transmission lines and with regard to mobility. As a result, it can provide interactive services through linkages with wireless telecommunications networks, including mobile telecommunications networks, wireless local area networks (LANs) and portable Internet. The linkages between DMB and wireless telecommunications networks are broadcast channels using DMB networks and interactive channels using wireless telecommunications networks. Here, the broadcast channels are DMB channels that extend from the service provider to the user. They are channels that transmit audios, videos, and data one way. Interactive channels are those that exist for mutual interaction between the service providers and the users. They are composed of upward channels (return channels) used for the users to make requests to or respond to the providers, and the downward channels used for service providers to deliver information to individual users.

An example of program-linked service. The relay of a sports event include provision of information on the athletes.

Examples of program-independent services on games, traffic conditions and weather information.

According to the character of interactive data, interactive services possible through the connection between DMB and wireless telecommunications networks can be divided into response-type services, personally tailored services, and user participation-type broadcast services. Regarding message-response-type services, questionnaire survey-type services using simplified forms including selection-type user surveys, anonymous voting, television commerce (T-commerce) and combinations of TV home shopping and Internet shopping are possible. The responses from users in survey investigation-type services and the data collected, such as credit card payment information, are organized according to already installed protocols and formats of the transmission messages. Personalized services include real-time downloading and streaming of games, Video On Demand (VOD), Audio On Demand (AOD), and real-time purchases of music files. User participation-type broadcasting services are interactive in the form of closed loops. They require the definitions of the physical and logical interfaces in order to reflect the data of the demands and responses from the return channel servers to the contents servers. Also they require synchronization of the contents of both servers. User-participatory broadcasting services can be used in viewer participation programs such as the Automatic Response System (ARS) quizzes for viewers, voting for the ranking in live popular music programs, etc. One-way Data Services DMB services go beyond the first digital broadcasts that provided high quality broadcast contents through many channels. They support new added value services. Such added value services can be classified into types that connect to programs and types that are independent from programs. DMB data broadcasting services can be linked to the one-way method in which there are no upward channels that connect the receivers with broadcasting stations and the two-way method which requests and receives personalized services through upward channels. The services that link programs are services that provide additional information related to programs while transmitting TV broadcast programs. The linkage type services have strong special characteristics as enhanced versions of existing broadcast programs. As examples of linkage-type services, information on outlines, scripts, production, etc., of drama programs will be provided. The clothes of the actors and actresses, product information on the articles and properties that appear in the dramas, and even travel packages to the settings of the dramas can be publicized at the bottom of the screen, together with links so that viewers can make their purchases or book a vacation right there and then. Program-independent type services include information broadcast separately from TV broadcasts. They are in the form of contents such as characters, voices and graphics available through independent channels. Independent-type services mainly provide data by using small bandwidths without audio or video. The independent-type information services that have been receiving the most attention at present are electronic program guides (EPGs). They present in real time information related to programs classified by subject, time, and the special characteristics of the audiences. In the absence of upward channels, the above-mentioned data broadcasts are accessed by viewers pressing buttons. However, in cases in which one-way services use the webpage form documents and software after downloading these in advance via the data carousel method or into the hardware of a set-top-box, partial interactive services with only interactions between the receiver and the user are possible. In the case of having downloaded a Web page, off-line interactive browsing is possible limited to the Internet contents downloaded. They would include, for example, services as interactive advertisements, education linked with quizzes, games and software upgrading. Two-Way Data Services Currently, DMB has been in the most spotlight as the broadcasting medium for mobile reception. Digital broadcasting services and data services will be developed for each mode of transportation. Of necessity, these services will be mainly one-way. However, in the case of portable receivers, they will be used a great deal in automobiles and public transportation. Hence, the need for personalized services on public transportation cannot be ignored. It is anticipated that in the case of automobiles a variety of services differentiated for individuals will be developed. Especially, it is anticipated that for cars, a variety of services will be provided with voices to suit the spatial characteristics and the special situation of the drivers. They will not be video taped services such as those currently broadcast on the high-speed Korea Train Express (KTX) and subways. Rather, services in the form of live broadcasts will be possible. As they will be for a broad audience, they will mainly be one-way. For users of portable receivers, even more varied forms of service will be possible. For example, with one-way image and voice services, it will be possible to obtain additional information that the individual wants by using data service links based on Binary Format for Scene Description (BIFS) and also to do the desired web surfing by connecting to the associated Web sites. Also, it is expected that on public transportation, game services using portable receivers for alleviating the boredom of travelers will develop most rapidly. If information about an exhibition of the artwork of Marc Chagall should appear in a specific part of the monitor while watching TV, one should be able to interface the site for advance purchases right away and thereby purchase admission tickets in advance. It is said that the volume of information circulating on the Internet increases about 10-fold every year, about 1,000 fold every 3 to 5 years, and about 1-million fold every 6 to 10 years. DMB will develop in the future so that the costs of production of mobile multimedia contents will drop to the current level of the costs of using information through the Internet. The production of multimedia contents in mobile environments will increase exponentially. Moreover, it will be possible to apply the contents to diverse fields. As a result, everyday life will be enriched and become far more convenient. Also, DMB services will offer the marginalized classes of the Internet era the opportunity to come in contact with information on a much easier footing than was possible before, thereby contributing to bridging the 'digital divide'. As of 2004, it was predicted that the total number of DMB subscribers would increase to about 9 million in 2008 and about 22 million people in 2014. This translates to one out of two persons using DMB services by this time. It is forecast that the total value of the sales of the services will grow to 1.3 trillion won by 2010, 2 trillion won in 2014, thereby growing to a size of two-thirds of the present ground wave market, now worth 3 trillion won. Considering the rapid speed of the development of information communication and broadcasting technology, it is difficult to make accurate predictions of 10 years from now based on present trends and practices. What is clear, though, is that the continued evolution and development of DMB services will change society by enabling just about everyone to easily and conveniently use multimedia contents at reasonable prices at any time and anywhere.