Event Coverage

BroadcastAsia 2011 - DVB-T2 and Other Highlights

By Andy Sim - 21 Jun 2011

Touring BCA 2011

Annual Infocomm Media Business Exchange Opening Ceremony

Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, was present at Marina Bay Sands earlier to grace the event's opening ceremony. In his speech, he touched on topics such as local broadcast developments consumers can look forward to in the near future. For instance, he mentioned that consumers will be able to view all of MediaCorp's FTA (Free-to-Air) channels come 2012. More pertinently, he also highlighted ASEAN's commitment to kill analogue TV transmissions within the 2015 and 2020 time frame. On the note of ASEAN's DVB-T adoption, Singapore will also be looking into the early migration of the latest DVB-T2 standard according to the minister. "MDA is now putting in place a nationwide trial network to determine how the new standard can be suitably adopted for Singapore’s terrain. With this network, Singapore will be among the first in the region to establish a wide scale DVB-T2 trial infrastructure. MDA is planning for the trial network to be installed by September 2011", said Dr Ibrahim. 

 Apart from highlighting MDA's plan to install a trial DVB-T2 network by September this year, Dr Ibrahim also urged industry players to leverage on DVB-T2's coverage to test-drive new content, hardware and services. (Photo: Courtesy of MDA)

 

A Quick Tour Of BroadcastAsia 2011

Held at Suntec's Convention Center from 21st to 24th June, BroadcastAsia 2011 promises to be a hotbed where film and production professionals converge to showcase state-of the-art equipment as well as trending broadcasting technologies. In essence, we are talking about fancy hardware and emerging standards we don't often get to lay our eyes on. This year, the 16th Broadcasting and Infocomm event has attracted an impressive total of 657 exhibitors from 43 countries, which makes it a highly anticipated event for cinematographers and industry professionals alike. With regards to BCA's International Conference, 80 prominent broadcast professionals will lead discussions on the future of television with emphasis on technological developments. 

 Sennheiser's troop of microphones, headphones and wireless transmission systems were out in full force at BCA 2011. Spotted in the foreground is the MK4  large-diaphragm true condenser microphone used for professional studio recordings.

Canon's FK30-300 HD-EC CineZoom lenses (extreme left) are one of many professional broadcast lenses on display at the third level of the Convention Center. These high contrast lenses also feature a 11-blade iris deployed in both lenses to achieve a natural bokeh with out-of-focus highlights.

The Digital Video Broadcasting project consortium was also there to showcase their technological wares. Here's a sneak preview of what you can expect from the new DVB-T2 digital standard, embellished with three PLP (Physical Layer Pipes) for three different services.

At the International Conference, Mr Mark Wilson-Dunn, VP for BT Media and Broadcast, gave us a pep talk on why evolving business models for content delivery is essential in the changing broadcast landscape. He also added that we don't necessarily pay for items in the strict traditional sense these days. For example, you may obtain a mobile phone for "free" but you are actually paying the telco a premium via your monthly subscriptions instead.

Singapore is one of the 15 cities responsible for generating 80 percent of global TV and film production content. Are you proud yet? According Mr Dunn's slide, Singapore is also gaining traction as a burgeoning film exporter on the world stage.

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