A number of years ago we tested streaming live video from digital cameras and other capture devices to mobile handsets via GPRS and GSM, but the market for such services wasn't there, mostly based on the prohibitive cost to stream video across such slow networks.

However, with the rise in the number of camera and videophones available, and their use by people to help report real-world incidents (dubbed 'citizen journalism'), ComVu has reversed the information stream in association with Modeo and developed an application that lets you capture and stream video from your handset to viewers across the Internet.

"It's an exciting time for the broadcast industry when millions of mobile consumers can view high quality television on Modeo integrated DVB-H smartphones with Windows Media technologies," says William Mutual, CEO of ComVu. "ComVu currently offers mobile newscasters an efficient way to broadcast live to a few thousand simultaneous viewers. However, with DVB-H, ComVu will enable the ultimate distribution solution for citizen powered journalism and user generated content with immediate reach by next year to an audience in the tens of millions worldwide."

The application only runs at the moment on a small range of devices, and a connection to a DVB-H network.

The streaming service makes use of a centralised rebroadcast server that the handset sends encoded video to. This server can support multiple viewers watching the stream across the Internet using Windows Media Viewer.

"The combination of Windows Mobile 5.0 powered devices and the Windows Media platform is creating exciting new mobile media opportunities ," said Chad Hodge director of Windows Digital Media at Microsoft Corp. "By leveraging the ComVu PocketCaster application the same Windows Media technologies that are used to deliver professional content to mobile viewers over Modeo's network can be used for consumers to gain access to a global audience."

This is certainly an interesting announcement, although without widespread DVB-H coverage, the usefulness of such an application is limited, although Modeo has announced plans to launch a DVBH mobile broadcast network to selected markets within the US during 2006, and research group Informa Telecoms & Media estimate there will be more than 74 million DVB-H subscribers within the next 4 years.

Source: Engadget