According to a Reuters story, only 5% of Europeans said they were interested in getting mobile TV in the next 12 months. This is according to a Gartner report on mobile video.

Asians were more interested: 20% of Asians said they would watch mobile TV.  The Reuters story said that 1) a lack of business models, 2) various mobile TV technologies and 3) a shortage of airwaves has slowed the takeup of mobile TV.

In mobile TV, DVB-H broadcasts are gaining popularity in Asia, but another technology, MediaFlo by Qualcomm, is also gathering attention.

MocoNews asks: Are mobile users even interested in mobile TV? But I think if the technology is there, and the price is right, people will be interested. Smartphone users can already get a glimpse of the mobile TV future by using the Slingbox and their phones (like Treos) to watch TV from their homes.

If people are building their own mobile TV solutions today, I’d say the interest is there.

[Via MocoNews]

Technorati Tags: mobile, mobile TV, smartphones, research

Popularity: 43% [?]

According to an article from Light Reading, Verizon’s FiosTV service in the U.S. will be moving to an all IPTV-based system in the next three years. Currently, Verizon uses a hybrid approach using IPTV technology for its VOD service and cable TV-style RF distribution for its live TV service.

Verizon put out a press release on September 20th, touting FiosTV and its two-year anniversary. In the release, Verizon said it has 515,000 FiosTV subscribers compared to AT&T’s 100,000 subscribers for its U-verse service.

FiosTV is currently available to over 3.9 million households, which means that about 13.2% of customers have chosen to go with FiosTV.

Verizon’s impact on cable operators is being felt, too. A report by OneTrak said that FiosTV is stealing customers from cable companies in 34 cities and towns in Massachusetts where FiosTV is offered. OneTrak said that incumbent cable operators may “experience subscriber losses of 10 percent or more because of Fios competition.” Comcast reportedly lost about 2.6% of its subscribers in communities where FiosTV is offered.

Bonus: Check out the OneTrak page for lots of interesting content on FiosTV vs. the cable cos.

Technorati Tags: Verizon, FiosTV, IPTV

Popularity: 30% [?]

According to research company Parks Associates, the number of broadband households that pay for online video is about 12 million. That’s up dramatically from 2005 to 2006 when there were about 3 million.

It looks like this 300% growth in paid video content is the result of a) having video content available and b) having good content. The growth of paid video sites like iTunes, Amazon and even NetFlix is what’s driving this. Consumers want brand-name TV and movie entertainment that they can rent or buy and take to their portable devices, or TV screens.

Parks said that the market for online video is still in flux: “With issues surrounding content rights, the role of incumbent video providers, business models, and questions about how consumer electronics manufacturers and other service providers will actually succeed, the space is very fluid at this point.”

Case in point: Apple’s iTunes and how NBC Universal decided to take their content to their own Hulu.com and even Amazon.

Another interesting development is the adult entertainment market which could very well be a huge factor in paid video content. I don’t know whether Parks Associates is looking at this market, however, but it’s definitely where a lot of technological innovation happens.

Popularity: 50% [?]

Over at DVR Bulletin, my other blog, I posted a story from Forbes titled: “How Apple Got Apple TV Wrong“. It’s a pretty good look at how Apple’s new Apple TV box hasn’t fared as well as say, the iPod.

Essentially it comes down to money and technology: Disagreements between Apple and Hollywood on pricing video downloads. And putting out a product that lacks functions found in competitors like Tivo and Vudu.

Popularity: 26% [?]

The field of digital media streaming adapters (or devices) is growing. These are devices that connect to your home network and allow you to view videos or listen to music on your TV via your computer. Perhaps the most popular is Apple’s AppleTV, which works with its iTunes service and allows customers to buy movies and TV shows for about $1.99.

PC Advisor from the U.K. recently reviewed the top six digital media adapters:

The competitors:

• Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000
• Apple TV
• Mvix Wireless HD MX-760HD
• ZyXel Streamer DMA-1000
• Buffalo LinkTheater
• D-Link DSM-520

They concluded that Netgear’s Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000 was the winner calling it the pricier option, but the most versatile:

“The Netgear Digital Entertainer HD EVA8000 supports a wide range of video formats, can play files protected by Windows Media DRM (digital rights management), works as a digital video recorder and even lets you check your email and watch YouTube.com videos on your TV. It also outputs up to a full 1080p resolution for HD content.”

Looks like it does a little bit of everything. Just add a wireless keyboard and you can turn your home PC into a home server instead.

Popularity: 17% [?]