Car and PND mobile TV market set to double by 2015

EL SEGUNDO, USA: Worldwide shipments of mobile television systems for cars, consisting both of solutions embedded into autos and included in Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs), are expected to more than double from 2009 to 2015, according to iSuppli Corp.

Global automotive mobile television shipments are expected to exceed 17 million units in 2015, up from 8 million in 2009, as presented in the figure.Source: iSuppli, Dec. 2009

“Mobile television represents a lucrative growth opportunity for hardware makers and service providers,” said Richard Robinson, principal analyst, automotive electronics, for iSuppli. “Car passengers will be able to take advantage of live TV services in an increasing number of vehicles with embedded front and rear displays.”

The future of mobile TV services is likely to be shaped by new mobile TV broadcast standards, rather than cell-broadcast, IP-based video services. Cell-broadcast television services face numerous obstacles, including the burden they place on already overloaded wireless networks.

Furthermore, the monetization of such services represents a challenge for wireless providers because most users regard television to be free of charge.

The rollout of new Mobile TV formats will be heavily dependent on the initial introduction of services in consumer devices and phone handsets, with mobile TV in the automotive space likely to piggyback on any successes in the consumer space.

While broadcast TV offers a strong growth opportunity for automotive OEMs and PND vendors, there also are numerous financial and technical challenges faced by vehicle manufacturers as they embed receiver solutions into vehicles.

“For broadcasters and receiver manufacturers alike, considerable technical issues need to be addressed,” Robinson said. “For example, the uninterrupted delivery of picture and audio is imperative in moving vehicles, regardless of the receiving environment.”

Source: iSuppli, USA