(28 June 2007 4:30 pm)

MUMBAI: BroadcastAsia 2007, the broadcast tradeshow and conference which recently concluded in Singapore, attracted more than 12,000 visitors over four days beginning 19 June.

More than 47 per cent were overseas attendees from neighbouring Asean countries, as well as from India, Europe, China and the Middle-eastern region.

In tandem with the theme Digital: The Journey Forward, the event saw 763 exhibiting companies from more than 40 countries gathered under one roof to present cutting-edge digital technologies for IPTV, HDTV and mobile broadcasting.

One of the highlights at this year’s BroadcastAsia was the HD (high definition) TV studio. Fully-functional, the 100 square metre studio showcased state-of-the-art HDTV equipment from well-known exhibitors such as Panasonic, Broadcast Professional, Fujinon, Sennheiser, Belden, Harris, and Genelec. The range of HDTV technologies on demo covered production, editing and final content output.

Singapore Exhibition Services CEO Stephen Tan says, “BroadcastAsia has grown from strength to strength in recent years. We have seen an increase in the size of the show, and the number and quality of visitors bear testament to the value that BroadcastAsia brings to the industry.”

Sharing his observations about prominent trends at BroadcastAsia this year Tan remarked, “Digital Convergence has taken a firmer foothold in the industry as there are more enabling technologies on the show floor this year that deliver on the promise.”

Convergence Technologies take centre stage: With the blurring of lines between broadcast and communications, BroadcastAsia this year saw a greater display of enabling digital convergence technologies and more varied convergent applications.

Home-grown company Innoxius Technologies showcased its next-generation DVB-H base station, which was a smaller and more compact version than its predecessor. The company’s showcase this year was centered on cellular and indoor DVB-H broadcasting technology.

US-based Belden CDT International introduced its wireless solution that would provide users with coverage, capacity and mobility with zero latency. An Edge Architecture/Channel Blanket system, Belden’s solution was designed to deliver robust client connections without any drop signals.

Panasonic Systems Asia Pacific showcased its handheld, high-definition, solid-state memory camcorder at BroadcastAsia this year. Targetted at the professional video users, the compact device provided a cost-effective HD camcorder solution to meet emerging needs in HD production.

BroadcastAsia, Tan notes, has built its reputation as the region’s premier platform where like-minded companies network and build strategic partnerships. Fujinon Singapore concluded a multi-million dollar deal with Broadcast Solutions, which included purchases of HD lenses, HD vision mixers, HD camcorders, VTRs, monitors, and glue solutions.

Broadcast Solutions also closed deals with EVS with orders crossing the $5 million mark, one of the largest single HD equipment purchases seen in Singapore.

Commenting on the attendees that visited BroadcasAsia this year Reflecmedia GM John Herbert said, “The crowd at BroadcastAsia is intelligent, focussed and shows good interest in what we have to offer. We are meeting the kind of people we want to meet: high quality consumers that understand the processes we are trying to explain. The show is a great aid in developing our South East Asia business,”

Network Electronics’ MD Asia Joel Lam echoed similar sentiments in his observations. He said, “BroadcastAsia is a common ground where we get to meet potential business contacts. This year we have seen a large number of strong leads especially from Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia. Close to half of these leads seem promising and we are confident that they have a high possibility of turning into business opportunities.”

Gateway into the Region : BroadcastAsia remained an essential outreach platform for international and home-grown players to enter into Asia’s markets. Some of the countries represented this year were China, Korea, France, Germany, Italy and the US.

There was a strong European presence at BroadcastAsia this year, with the UK pavilion returning to the show with 11 companies to unveil a wide range of digital broadcast technologies. The Spanish Pavilion hosted 15 small and medium-sized companies that presented the latest in broadcast equipment and solutions for the Asian market.

The Singapore Pavilion, one of the largest country pavilions at BroadcastAsia, had a total of 41 digital multimedia companies exhibiting made-by-Singapore digital convergence technologies in the areas of mobile broadcasting, IPTV and HDTV.

BroadcastAsia will return to the Singapore Expo from 17- 20th June 2008.