It’s hip2b2

I was waiting in line for my turn at a government agency yesterday. The line was not very long as I came in early in the morning. However, the computer system of that particular government agency suddenly conked out. So, I was resigned to the fact that I would have to be waiting for much of the day. I then pulled out my Sony Ericsson k608i (SE K608i) handset and was pleased to notice the 3G signal indicator.

So, I started by checking and replying to a few emails and a bit of mobile web surfing. After that, I ran out of things to do. So, I decided to try out Smart’s Streaming TV service. So, I loaded the Smart WAP site. Then guess what? No link to the streaming TV site! So, I texted my CMO the problem. She told me that Sony Ericsson phones have a problem with streaming only Nokia 3G phones are support for now. She told me to visit the closest Smart Wireless Center for more information. So, I waited in boredom.

The next day I visited a Smart Wireless Center. To my shock the post-sales person told me the same thing. She did provide me with a RTSP URL for GMA 7 Streaming TV. Just in case, I can figure it out myself. Well, I didn’t. I tested the URL myself on my k608i to no avail. The SE browser does not seem to recognize RTSP.

So, I surfed the net and did not find much. I then decided to write a J2ME midlet to load that RTSP stream. After a few minutes of coding, I tested my application. Finally! I was able to watch GMA TV on my mobile. For those interested in this midlet, you can download it from http://cng.ateneo.edu/cng/wyu/software/j2me/KaPusoTV.jad and http://cng.ateneo.edu/cng/wyu/software/j2me/KaPusoTV.jar. It is currently hardcoded to view only the Smart-GMA TV streaming site. I was not able to watch TV during my long wait in that government agency. But, at least, I am prepared just in case I have to do it again.

ps. Quality is not very good. I believe something must be done about this. I don’t think it is just bandwidth. Maybe an adjustment in the choice of codecs? Maybe, it will get better soon. Boy, I wished Smart streamed World Cup games … Viva Espana!

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 1st, 2006 at 9:22 am and is filed under Mobile. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.