For all you car lovers that love internal technology in your vehicles, prepare to get even more excited, now Satellite TV with up to 22 Channels such a Disney, MTV, ESPN, etc…, at a cost of $28 a month, this is just a step into the future for automotive technology.

Who is Doing It: Auto dealers are offering car buyers AT&T’s CruiseCast satellite TV service. The service, which launched in April, costs $28 a month for 22 channels including Disney, MTV and MSNBC. Chrysler offers a competing service from Sirius in selected models.

How it Works: An antenna on a car transmits broadcasts to TV screens through an in-car receiver. One tuner in the receiver limits screens to the same program, but multiple tuners are planned for viewers to choose separate programs. Signals could be easily blocked by items like road signs, but images are buffered for up to 2 minutes to offer a continuous flow of programming. RaySat provides the equipment, including a remote control, through distributors for around $1,299, but it could be available as an option when buying a car.

Growth Potential: Demand for in-car entertainment systems is growing, says Nick Cappa, a spokesman for Chrysler. But average consumers may instead adopt video delivery over mobile Internet because of the larger reach of 3G cell phone networks, says Thilo Koslowski, vice president of automotive technology at Gartner. CruiseCast may extend beyond video to data services, location-based advertising, traffic, weather and, potentially, high-speed Internet access.

Source

Tags: AT&T's CruiseCast satellite TV service, Auto dealers, automobile, broadcast, car buyers, cars, in-car receiver, satellite tv, television programs, tuner, tv screens

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 6:21 am and is filed under Auto News. 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.