Dispatches From Taiwan: The Quote Of The Day And A Mobile TV Takeaway

One of the three companies I met with today is E-Lead Electronic, a manufacturer of hands-free Bluetooth subsystems (all based on Cambridge Silicon Radio ICs), in-car DVD playback systems (all based on Sanyo drives), and other automotive electronics devices. During the facilities tour, we passed through the engineering department, and I saw something I hadn’t observed for several years in the United States. Roughly ¾ of the dozens of desks in the room had bulky CRT computer monitors sitting on them (and desktop PCs underneath them), with only a few cubicles and tables toting LCDs. Already suspecting the response I’d receive, I asked Sales Department Manager George Lien how the company decided which engineers got the thin-and-light flat panel displays, and here’s how he answered (complete with a broad smile and a laugh, along with a compliment on my attention to detail):

The junior engineers get the old CRTs, the senior engineers get the LCDs…and by the way, the managers get the laptop PCs.

As soon as I learned of E-Lead’s market focus, I mentally queued up a query for them about mobile television, and when I saw mention of digital TV support on one of the presentation foils, I popped my question. As it turns out, Taiwan employs the same DVB-H system used in most of Europe, and in-car television reception is quite popular here. This news came as a surprise to the journalist sitting next to me, who’s from Germany, where he reports vehicular TV interest is comparatively muted.

George Lien’s response, ‘the driver is the decision-maker’, was cryptic at first, but after thinking about it for a while, I think I’ve figured out what he means. In Taiwan and other Asian countries where in-car television is equally popular (the T-DMB system in South Korea, for example, or Japan’s 1seg), there are no restrictions on where the display can be located. In Europe, conversely, only back seat viewing is officially allowed.

If you as the driver or passenger front seat-situated spouse just want to keep the kids behind you entertained during a long drive, all you need is a built-in DVD player. Conversely, the primary value of mobile broadcast television is timely access to breaking news, as well as to sports and other live events…programming which the adults in the front seats care about. I’m not sure what if any regulations exist in the U.S. (either at the federal or per-state level) regarding built-in automotive display locations, but an extrapolation of the Taiwan-vs-Europe case study suggests that this critical variable will heavily influence the success (or not) of ATSC-M/H in the United States.

I tell you what, though…between juggling mobile phone-based text messaging and web surfing, and television viewing over a tiny LCD, I’m scared to contemplate how little remaining attention the average Taiwanese driver must be able to devote to the road ahead and otherwise around him/her. As such, I’m in no hurry to get behind the wheel here for myself!