A new type of digital terrestrial broadcasting started Saturday in Japan, enabling people to watch television programs in high-definition on their portable terminals like mobile phones and car navigation equipment. For the new service, popularly known as “One Seg,” broadcasters are using the remaining one of 13 segments of a channel. They use 12 segments for normal digital terrestrial broadcasting.

While watching a TV program on their terminals, One Seg users can also receive related textual information on the screens. The “data broadcasting” system allows viewers to browse the Internet for further information by simply clicking a menu. Users must pay data transmission fees for web browsing, but it is free to watch TV programs. More