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Another exhibitor specialising in audio solutions, echoed the positive
feedback. “The show had been good and so far, we met many of our
customers. We managed to secure some projects during the exhibition
and we have seen many visitors from India, Indonesia, Vietnam and
Malaysia,” said Mr Ho Swee Fook, Managing Director, Sennheiser Electronic
Asia.
Emerging trends at BroadcastAsia2005: HD and mobile broadcasting
As mobile broadcasting emerges as a key trend amid the growing convergence
between IT, communications and broadcasting, Mr Peter MacAvock,
Executive Director of DVB (Switzerland) led an insightful discussion
into the international development of this technology at the BroadcastAsia
International Conference.
Speaking on his expectations of mobile TV, Mr MacAvock said, “Over
the next couple of years, the multimedia features that are standard
on mobile phones now will become video – at least part of it. As
technology improves, you will have a phone that becomes a television
and an MP3 player with significant storage for video files. Media
companies will need to invest in new infrastructures to support
the service. (They) have to think about how to get a return on their
investment.
“On the positive side, this is going to generate an enormous demand
for new mobile phones. Analysts expect demand for 100 million mobile
receivers within the first three years of its release.”
Complementing the conference was the DVB and DMB showcase on the
exhibition floor. Mr Kim Hyun-Dong, Deputy Manager, Technology Policy
Division of the Korea Broadcasting Commission that led the DMB feature
area, said, “We had a lot of visitors coming by our booth to find
out more about DMB and their level of interest was very high. This
aligned with our objective of joining the exhibition as we wanted
to build greater awareness of DMB across the Asian region. Through
the exhibition, we met a lot of visitors from Indonesia, Malaysia,
Bangladesh, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia.”
Another key technology evident in both the conference and the exhibition
was high-definition (HD) technology. According to industry players,
HD and digital terrestrial television are going to be the big drivers
in broadcasting this year.
"If you want multi-channel television, not just five or six
local services, you have to have digital TV. People now want to
have 50, 100, 200 services in their home, not just five or six channels.
That's going to be the key thing," said Mr Roger Bolton, Business
Development Director for Tandberg Television.
Visitors to the event were pleased with the showcase and the business
opportunities provided. Mr John Raadgeep, Director of Dutch company
Alphatron Broadcast Electronics BV, said, “I have been to BroadcastAsia
many times. The exhibition is a great place for me to meet up with
my contacts, friends and partners, and to meet new people in the industry.
The standard of the exhibitors is good and I am particularly interested
in the Korean exhibitors as we are planning to get products and software
from them. It is a great show and I will be back again next year.”
An Iranian visitor to the event, Mr Javad Ahmadi, Technical Purchase
Manager of IRIB (Islamic Republic of Broadcasting)’s TV Technical
& Production Centre, spoke of his fruitful time at BroadcastAsia2005.
He said, “IRIB has just gone into digitisation and we may look into
HD in two years’ time. This is my first visit to BroadcastAsia and
I am looking for studio cameras and audio mixers in particular.
The exhibition has been useful and is a good sourcing event.”
“As I am in the filming industry, my interest would be cameras,
editing systems and audio engineering. BroadcastAsia is a one-stop
platform of what’s happening in the industry. It is overflowing
with options and answers,” commented Mr Chris Humphrey from Singapore-based
production company Firewire Films.
Held in conjunction with BroadcastAsia this year were two brand new
events – the RadioAsia Conference and X|Media|Lab Professional Day
Conference and Masterclass.
RadioAsia Conference 2005 was the first of a planned annual conference
on radio in Asia examining hot topics such as Digital Radio, and
how radio can continue to play a vital role in reaching out to the
masses and in being the voice of the people. RadioAsia is organised
by the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and
the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) in partnership with SES.
Ms Joan Warner, CEO of Commercial Radio Australia and Mr Ed Cunningham,
CEO of Clear Channel Entertainment China were two of the key industry
leaders who spoke at the conference.
The X|Media|Lab Professional Day Conference and Masterclass drew
acclaim from the speakers, mentors, delegates and project teams.
Conference delegate Mr Ping Cheng, China manager of Omake Interactive
Services said that the conference was excellent with very good presenters
addressing the most current issues in the industry. According to
him, the conference well integrated TV, film, animation, graphics,
gaming and 3G technologies.
The first X|Media|Lab Singapore Masterclass successfully wrapped
up with a total of 10 projects being mentored throughout the two-day
Lab – six from Singapore, two from Australia, and two from Indonesia.
Mentor Mr Siddharth Jain, Creative Director of Singapore-based Playware
Studios, called it a "mind blowing experience”; UK-based animation
consultant Mr Mike Robinson said "I think I've just seen the
future"; and Mr Neeraj Roy, CEO of India's Hungama called the
Lab "an amazing amalgamation of creativity and technology".
The conference and masterclass were organised by X|Media|Lab, a
project of the Australian Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.
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