For less than the monthly subscription fee of a cable TV connection, you can now watch digital TV anytime and anywhere on compatible mobile phones.
Smart Telecommunications Inc. and 360media launched on Tuesday myTV, a service that allows people to view high-quality TV broadcasts on their phones. The quality of the video is really great, it’s better than the quality of the SkyCable feed, on a bad day, to the unit next to my newsroom cubicle.
MYTV. CNN as viewed on a Nokia N92 unit during the Cebu demonstration of Smart’s mobile TV service. Click on photo to enlarge. (Photo by Sun.Star’s Ruel Rosello)Unlike the current prevalent video streaming and downloading service, myTV does not use the cellular network to transmit the video. It is broadcast, similar to how regular TV receives images via an antennae. MyTV uses the Digital Video Broadcasting-Handheld or DVB-H platform for broadcasting.
For P488 a month, Smart subscribers can view CNN, MTV Philippines, Cartoon Network, National Geographic, Pinoy Box Office, History Channel, Solar Sports, Basketball TV, ETC, and Jack TV.
“This is an important milestone…TV has been a sedentary experience tied down to homes, hotels, offices…myTV unchains Philippine TV and sets it free,” Smart president and chief executive officer Napoleon Nazareno said during the launch.
Nazareno said the service is “a powerful demonstration how media and telecoms can deliver new content to the public.”
Orlando Vea, president and chief executive officer of 360media, said the service will bring “disruptive change” to Philippine TV. But, he said, conventional TV “will still be a fixture” and that the service will “stretch viewing time even more.”
Raymund Miranda, 360media managing director for mobile TV, said the current offering is still the first phase and that more channels will be added later. When asked, he said they may keep the price as is even as they add more channels. During the demonstration for Cebu journalists a few months back, Miranda told me technical limitations will place the channels at less than 20. I wasn’t able to get the chance to ask him again about this during the launch.
Danilo Mojica, head of Smart’s wireless consumer division, said the service will spur people to upgrade their handsets to move to the new technology. He said they have aggressive “subscriber acquisition” target, projecting 60,000 to 70,000 users in the coming months.
Officials said the Smart video streaming service will continue in parallel with myTV. Vea said phone users can watch shows on myTV but “if you missed shows, you can go to streaming 3G service.” The two services, he said, are “very complementary.”
While myTV is touted as a personal TV experience, studies during their trials showed that 46% watched myTV “in a shared environment,” said Miranda. Miranda said he once saw five or six people gathered around one myTV device, cheering on Manny Pacquiao in his most recent fight.
Miranda said that with the service, “there is no more prime time” because people can now watch shows whenever they want to. I don’t have access to their studies during the test phase but I think commute hours can become the new “mobile” prime time, if the service takes off.
MyTV will initially be available in Mega Manila, Metro Cebu, Davao, Tagaytay, Batangas, and Baguio City. Smart said that Boracay and Cagayan de Oro will soon be covered.
The service will be free until Aug. 31 to give subscribers a chance to try it out. MyTV can be accessed using compatible handsets such as the N92 and the coming N77. The service package is available to both post-paid and pre-paid Smart subscribers. Pre-paid subscribers need only to maintain a P1 airtime load and P488 for the the monthly subscription.
30 responses so far ↓
Prime // Jul 26, 2007 at 10:41 am
mr. limpag, i need to ask you questions regarding the se k750i.. pls give me your email add.. thank you very much
Jerry G. Gervacio // Jul 27, 2007 at 3:33 pm
This will give us “new TV experience”.
I hope this will also be soon available in Zamboanga City.
Ding qua qua // Jul 28, 2007 at 9:54 pm
would love to try it, will be buying n92 asap! hahaha
Open Source phone anyone? | Leon Kilat ::: The Cybercafe Experiments // Jul 29, 2007 at 4:51 am
[...] RSS ← Smart launches mobile TV service [...]
Max Limpag // Jul 29, 2007 at 4:56 am
Prime,
Just leave your question here or on one of my K75oi posts. You’ll never now, some of the other commenters might be able to help too.
Jerry,
My impression is that it won’t be that soon. Their next areas for expansion are Cagayan de Oro and Boracay.
Ding qua qua,
. The rest of us have to save up for it.
Lucky you! You can afford to buy high-end phones anytime
jomar catalan // Jul 29, 2007 at 5:15 pm
how much???
Max Limpag // Jul 30, 2007 at 2:23 am
Jomar,
As I said in the post the service is P488 a month. If you’re a pre-paid SMart user, you also need to maintain at leat a P1 airtime load.
dingchan // Aug 1, 2007 at 9:06 pm
would the smart tv be available on nokia 7710?
Max Limpag // Aug 1, 2007 at 9:27 pm
dingchan,
No. Smart TV is transmitted through a DVB-H network. The Nokia 7710 is not a DVB-H capable handset so it can’t pick up the signal.
manny reyes // Aug 3, 2007 at 10:42 pm
would this smart TV available on nokia N73 I’m a pre paid user, how much do i have to load to watch a TV program
Edralyn Mendoza // Aug 9, 2007 at 8:17 am
would d smart TV be available on PDA phones like HP ipaq and O2 XDA II mini Phone?
MiGs // Aug 9, 2007 at 8:27 am
THE FIRST commercial mobile TV service in the Philippines, myTV, may run into trouble with regulators.
Officials of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) said companies planning to broadcast digital programs to TV sets or mobile devices cannot yet go commercial because the commission has yet to issue guidelines on digital TV programming.
more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=81438
wala // Aug 23, 2007 at 10:44 am
ang pangit naman kc sa n series lang pwede
wala // Aug 23, 2007 at 10:46 am
wala naman palang kwentw yan eh
Max Limpag // Aug 23, 2007 at 12:22 pm
Wala,
The service will only work with handsets that have DVB-H capabilities. As I said, the signal isn’t sent through the telecoms network, it’s an actual TV broadcast. There are non-Nokia handsets, however, that can access the service.
jammil // Aug 23, 2007 at 10:52 pm
I’m a pre-paid user how much is 1 airtime load to watch a TV progran.
Max Limpag // Aug 27, 2007 at 12:49 am
jammil,
You can’t subscribe to TV programs, you have to enrol for the whole service. For pre-paid users, it’s P488 a month and at least P1 of airtime load.
Bryan Neil R. Ragpa // Sep 10, 2007 at 9:53 pm
As a gadget collector, N92 seemed to be one of the best thing ive ever seen!! I am a loner at home and I do have problems with my tv set-up, the signals and a lot more. i am looking forward to buying this phone soon!!
Rowell A. Bermachea // Sep 14, 2007 at 5:23 pm
(1) how can i subscribed mytv,
(2) it is include to my monthly bill,
(3) i have a mobile N95 it is ok for the myTV. thanks
ronJhean // Sep 17, 2007 at 11:21 am
Hi.. ill be getting the unit soon from my friend coming from outside the country.. will it work here in phils? thanks.. just making sure bcoz i dont wanna waste my time and money in buying the said unit.
Thanks again…
knd_vergz // Oct 4, 2007 at 12:23 pm
is the myTV of smart available in a sony ericsson mobile phone????
odzk // Oct 11, 2007 at 3:06 pm
TO dingchan,
bro as far as i know nokia 7710 is DVB-H capable, but…
u need to attach a special cover at the back of the phone that contains the dvb-h device.
MyTV? Analog TV in mobile phone: smart mytv, dvb-h, TVMobile, touchscreen, MT6227, GSM | Leon Kilat ::: The Cybercafe Experiments // Oct 13, 2007 at 5:33 am
[...] It’s not Digital Video Broadcasting - Handheld or DVB-H, the technology used by Smart’s myTV service. It’s good old analog TV, the free-to-air signals picked up by regular TVs using antennae. [...]
Apple // Oct 18, 2007 at 10:01 am
i watched d demos and it was so clear. how abt local shows like GMA or ABS? Avid viewer kasi ako ng primetime shows but sometimes Im on the go kya d ko mapanuod!
Apple // Oct 18, 2007 at 10:02 am
cable shows lang ba puede sa MyTV? how about local shows?
joy // Nov 19, 2007 at 8:48 am
mag kano ang subscription pag sa province. i have my n77. ok ba yan sa oriental mindoro. how many channels ang mapapanood ko.
earth // Jan 31, 2008 at 11:37 pm
got my n92 and mytv since aug. 2007. free pa yata sya until today (jan. 31, 2008). currently, dey hav 10 channels. mag add pa daw sila ng 4 new channels dis feb. P488/mo., regardless ng place mo as long as my coverage ng mytv sa lugar mo. kaya lang nakalagay sa promo nila, my PBO (Pinoy Box Office) pero wala na sya, Basketball TV na ang pumalit.
earth // Jan 31, 2008 at 11:46 pm
1. di po pede n95 sa mytv. n92 at n77 lang po pede sa ngayon.
2. for postpaid consumable, yup! on top sya. P488/mo.
3. wala pa cguro sa mindoro.
4. wala pang local shows. sana nga meron eh. hehehe
5. kung malinaw sya non, mas malinaw sya ngayon. sobra! TV talaga.
Max Limpag // Feb 1, 2008 at 2:51 am
earth,
Thanks for the feedback and update!
joy // Feb 1, 2008 at 8:00 am
di ako makapag renew ng subscription. laging “failed ang subscription ko sa smart bundle, server error” lagi me call sa smart wa epek pa rin. wat will i do sa n77 ko. martilyuhin ko na lang ba o papalakulin ko na lang…. hehehe
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