Date: 01/10/2012

MHL Consortium and Futuresource focuses on trends in mobile industry

MHL, LLC had hosted an industry briefing with market research firm, Futuresource, on September 18, 2012 on the topic of “Content Everywhere & Second Screen Interactivity – Market Opportunities & Challenges.” The event was focused on the latest trends in mobile connectivity and over 30 attendees represented companies from content, broadcast, hardware, operator and retail industries.

The research presented showed that spending on digital content is increasing in all forms of entertainment and that mobile video usage is accelerating as the base of smartphone users continues to rise. So, MHL technology and its capabilities have an important role to play here. More than ever before, the consumers prefer to connect their home, portable and mobile CE devices together. New revenue opportunities arise for content companies, service providers and hardware vendors. This combined with broadband improvements is enabling quicker delivery and migration to high-quality, uncompressed video and audio. In addition, "second screen interaction" and consumer demand to share different sources of content across many devices are not without its challenges - creating optimum flexibility and quality of experience is critical.

Key Futuresource stats:
1. 30% of UK smartphones owners (13m) stream video to their mobile
2. 50% of the $8 billion consumer apps global spending is on gaming
3. At the end of 2011 there were over 35 million smartphones in use in the UK
4. By 2016 there will be nearly 20 million tablets in use in the UK

“The explosion in device uptake, both now and in the future, will be a key driver of the growth of digital content consumption, providing consumers with a choice of access points,” said David Sidebottom, senior market analyst, content. “This, combined with increased content availability and who and how the consumer shares these experiences, will define the content everywhere movement.”

“With the increase in accessibility to content and the advent of next-generation LTE network speeds, MHL technology can be a true enabler and differentiator for both device platforms and content and service providers,” said Judy Chen, president of MHL, LLC.

MHL technology delivers 1080p uncompressed video using only five wires with up to eight channels of digital audio while providing charge to the mobile device. Consumers can connect their MHL-enabled devices to the big screen to watch HD videos, play video games or work on business presentations. The existing DTV remote can also be used by the consumers to control the MHL-enabled mobile devices.

The MHL Consortium has over 160 adopters, founders and contributors supporting the MHL standard, including some of the largest consumer electronics and mobile device companies in the world. MHL-enabled products include adapters, automotive accessories, AV receivers, Blu-ray Disc players, cables, DTVs, monitors, projectors, smartphones, tablets, TV accessories and more. Since the retail introduction of the first MHL-enabled devices over a year ago, the MHL ecosystem continues to grow with a steady stream of product announcements. By the end of 2012, the MHL, LLC estimates that more than 200 million MHL-enabled products will have shipped worldwide since the inception of the standard.

For more information: http://www.mhltech.org/

Source: MHL Consortium