Device allows you to watch TV on your iPhone

I ask you this: why can’t I watch TV on my iPhone? Seems like it can do everything else. Packet Video’s matchbox-sized Mobile Broadcast Receiver, demoed earlier this week at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, aims to fill that niche. The device basically acts as a go-between for television and your iPhone (or other Wi-Fi compatible device) by receiving a digital broadcast signal, decoding it, and sending it to your device over Wi-Fi. The MBR is even smart enough to detect what kind of device you’re using and send video in an appropriate format, using QuickTime for the iPhone for example.

On the downside, Packet Video’s products don’t usually get marketed directly to consumers, but rather to mobile operators. The device is compatible with a number of wireless signals, like DVB-H, MediaFlo, and Wi-Max. No word on whether it works with ATSC, the digital TV format that’ll primarily be used in the US.