Sprint PCS’ Video Mail launch is just the latest in a series of wireless video moves in the United States, a market that is still very much in its early stages but one that is evolving quietly and rapidly.
“I think it will be more popular than people think,” said Tole Hart, principal analyst with research and consulting firm Gartner Inc.
Wireless video comes in a variety of categories and can be used as a means to communicate, inform and entertain. Video services generally demand advanced devices and networks, although wireless companies have used a variety of different technologies to offer video. To depict full-motion video, such as a movie trailer or a soccer goal, services generally need to display at about 10 frames per second. Broadcast TV is shown at about 30 frames per second.
Perhaps the most well-known example of wireless video is video messaging, exemplified by Sprint’s new offering. Video messaging works much like e-mail except that the file includes audio and video. Video messaging requires several components but little financial investment on the carrier’s part. First, users must have phones capable of capturing video. Most current video phones can record 10 to 15 seconds of video at about 10 frames per second, but some can hold several minutes’ worth. Carriers must also be able to transmit large video files over their networks, although video files can travel over the same paths as simple e-mail messages. Those in the industry point to user-generated video content as a major wireless video application.
“I think messaging will be key,” said Gartner’s Hart.
Another category of wireless video is downloadable video, which uses similar transport mechanisms as video messaging. For this type of video, users typically access video content stored on a network and then download it to their device. Content for such technology spans the gamut, from sport highlights to music videos. Naturally, users must have a video-capable handset, although not necessarily one that can record video.
Streaming video is perhaps the next step above video messaging and downloadable video, since it requires more powerful devices and a wider network connection. Streaming video is viewed as it is transmitted over the network, while downloaded video is stored on the device first and then viewed later. Most streaming-video scenarios in wireless require a streaming-video player installed in a user’s mobile phone. On the network side, carriers must install a streaming-video server in order to transmit the content. News, sports and other types of video content typically are transmitted through streaming video.
Finally, the most advanced type of wireless video is video calling. This futuristic style of communication allows callers to see each other during their conversation, and requires both advanced handsets and networks. Wireless visionaries however foresee a future comprised almost entirely of video calling.
“It’s inevitable. It’s not like we’re going back,” said Dann Wilkins, vice president of marketing for video company PacketVideo Corp.
Although wireless video generally is considered a technology for only the most advanced wireless players, already U.S. carriers have introduced a variety of video services.
Sprint’s video-messaging service is perhaps the most advanced video offering from the carrier, but not the first. Sprint offers several video and video-like services through its Java application download service. Notably, streaming-video company RealNetworks Inc. offers a Java application with content from CNN, NPR and others, although RealNetworks’ application features streaming audio and a slideshow picture presentation. Sprint’s most recent Java video application comes from MobiTV, which offers streaming TV channels through a $10 per-month Java application. However, due to the limitations of both Java technology and Sprint’s handsets, the content appears more as a series of slides rather than full-motion video, with presentation speeds of about 1-2 frames per second.
AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has also entered the streaming-video game through a partnership with RealNetworks. The carrier is offering RealNetworks streaming content for $5 per month plus transmission fees, a service that will work on the Nokia Corp. 3650, the N-Gage and others featuring RealNetworks’ player. The content in most cases appears as full-motion video, or around 5-7 frames per second.
Verizon Wireless has yet to offer full-motion video. However, Verizon includes a Get Flixs category in its data offerings, which is likely a precursor to video services.
Finally, T-Mobile USA Inc. too has joined the streaming-video game with the sale of the Nokia 3650. T-Mobile installed software in the phone that allows users to capture and send 10 seconds of video using the phone’s integrated digital camera. The carrier claimed its March announcement made it the first to offer wireless video services in the United States.
“I think video phones will move forward in the U.S.,” said PacketVideo’s Wilkins. “There are new phones coming out all the time.”
And though U.S. carriers have made moves toward wireless video, they are by no means in the lead. Carriers in Japan and South Korea for more than a year have offered streaming-video and video-messaging services. According to detailed information from research and consulting firm EMC, SK Telecom last year launched its multimedia service named June, which features streaming video, video phone functions, multimedia messages and TV broadcasting. Vodafone’s Japanese business has been offering its Movie Sha-mail video-messaging service for more than a year, and counts more than 2 million users. And data giant NTT DoCoMo Inc. offers video-calling features on its third-generation FOMA network.
But advanced video features are not confined to Asia. In Europe, Hutchison 3G is promoting video calling as its primary service. The carrier is even offering 12 free video-calling days during the holiday season. Other carriers in Europe and Latin America are offering wireless video services, primarily as downloadable video clips sent through the multimedia messaging service protocol. Also, several startups including HelloNetwork Inc. and others are offering video services through Java application downloading technology.
“I like the service, I think it has novelty,” Hart said of video-messaging services. “I think people will pay for it.”
“There’s a substantial market out there for these services,” said Mark Donovan, of RealNetworks.
