LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics announced today that they will propose their jointly developed technology as the North American technology standard for mobile DTV.

Samsung and LG agreed to cooperate in order to assure rapid adoption by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) of a single common in-band mobile DTV standard.

Technology for the jointly proposed system will reflect the findings of the IDOV (Independent Demonstration of Viability) conducted by the Association of Maximum Service Television (MSTV) on behalf of the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC). A report on IDOV will be submitted by the OMVC to the ATSC.

The jointly promoted mobile DTV solution uses the existing terrestrial digital TV broadcast bandwidth, with no impact on existing digital TV and with minimum broadcasting equipment investment.

ATSC is expected to adopt the mobile/handheld DTV standard for the North American market in early 2009 following trials of the technology by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a group of leading U.S. broadcasters who are vigorously promoting the development and early deployment of mobile DTV.

According to a study commissioned by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), with the adoption of a single ATSC mobile/handheld DTV standard, the U.S. market for mobile DTV phones will reach 130 million units by the end of 2012, with the market for portable media device mobile DTV receivers growing to include an additional 25 million units.