Harris had its press conference on Sunday. This news is coming a bit late, of course, but that’s probably because the conference was aimed more at broadcasters than content producers, so it’s a bit outside our usual area of coverage. Still, you’ll want to pay attention to this news, as it has implications for the new ways the public will be accessing and viewing video in the next few years.

Among the news about its various broadcast systems (servers, routers, DTV transmitters), Harris also discussed its MPH initiative that it’s undertaking with display manufacturers Zenith and LG. MPH, which stands for “mobile/pedestrian/handheld,” aims to send video to mobile devices via “in-band” transmission — over the air, within the existing digital spectrum available to broadcasters.

MPH is “deployment-ready,” according to Harris. What’s missing, of course, is a single standard to define the parameters of terrestrial mobile DTV. The ATSC is at work “pursuing an aggressive standardization process” that’s expected to yield a standard by early 2009, just in time for the mandatory switchover to all-digital over-the-air TV broadcast (February 17: Mark your 2009 calendars). This all potentially means big bucks for local broadcasters: a study commissioned by the NAB estimates that mobile terrestrial TV transmission could yield an additional $2 billion in annual revenue for broadcasters.

What does this all mean for viewers’ day-to-day habits? Field tests offer hints. Late last year, a Chicago station whose DTV signals originate from the Sears Tower, used MPH technology to send mobile DTV to devices in the downtown area, to area commuter trains, and to cars going 55mph on the Interstate. According to Harris, the technology delivered excellent quality. At NAB, KTNV, the ABC digital station in Las Vegas was sending a signal from its transmitter to a van in the Central Hall. Rear seats in cars seem to be the most logical destination for MPH-based video.

On the device side, display juggernaut LG is “poised” to introduce a series of MPH-compatible consumer electronics products, including mobile phones, handheld video devices, and in-car DTVs. Expect a lot of such gear at CES next year.

What this all means for content producers, of course, is a little murkier. For the short term, it’s hard to envision broadcasters doing much else than repurposing existing content for simultaneous transmission as mobile DTV. But, for example, are weather graphics going to translate to tiny screens? Will programs need to be reframed entirely to maximize the crucial areas of the video? What, if any, new deliverables will local broadcasters demand from independent producers? There’s an IP transport layer on the MPH signal, which enables ad insertion and any imaginable form of datacasting. Will that mean broadcast stations will require new types of metadata to be embedded with video content. Stay (digitally) tuned…