The SCTE and IBC, 2005

IBC 2005 8 - 13 September The IBC is the premier event for all professionals involved in entertainment content creation, management and delivery. The show covers all the key areas of the electronic media business including audio, cable, film, grip, internet, lighting, multimedia, production, post production, radio, satellite and transmission. The event consists of both an exhibition and conference. Graeme Young, CTE Deputy Editor, gives his report.		The SCTE sign at the entrance to IBC2005.

Scientific Atlanta's imposing stand.	The Hot Topics 48,815 visitors attended IBC2005, about 5% more than in 2004. So immense is the exhibition area that careful planning is required if one is to see it all. There can be no doubt that IBC is a must for companies and individuals working in the industry. The hot topics of IBC2005 were HDTV, TV to Mobiles , IPTV and the settop boxes necessary to view at least the first and last of these.

HDTV So it was HDTV with demonstrations taking place on stands ranging from those dealing with origination, through processing and delivery, to reception via a set-top module or on an integrated receiver. High Definition TV appeared in two formats. The 1280 X 720 pixel 50Hz sequentally-scanned ( non-interlaced ) version that has been adopted by the EBU was very much in evidence, but the 1920 X 1080 pixel 25 Hz interlaced system also gained a good showing. Both systems produce stunningly good pictures, but progressive scanning works rather better on plasma panel displays, it is said. Products for HDTV figured largely throughout the exhibition halls and HD technology featured prominently in the seminars and discussion sessions.		Teleste offers hospitality.

Technetix featured a wide range of products/	TV to Mobiles TV to mobile phones had its own new section of the show called the ‘Mobile Zone’. It housed those companies involved in the art of making video on a 3cm screen something worth watching. Picture quality did not seem to be a problem, for all of the hand-held devices on show produced acceptable results.

IPTV IPTV also featured prominently with confident marketing trumpeting its benefits to the passing visitor. Though some doubts about scaling – still an issue – give investors in this technology some reason for caution, the number and quality of the companies involved in developing and installing IPTV mean most likely that it is here to stay! If proof is needed a show press release from Harmonic Inc announced that Telewest is using Harmonic’s Narrowcast Services Gateway to deliver its Video-on-Demand service ‘Teleport’.		Harmonic, a leading light in IPTV

Pace the major settop box company.	Settop Boxes No show report would be complete without a mention of set-top boxes, and of these there were many and varied types. Entone’s Hydra is a multi-TV IP video gateway that can be shared by up to six television receivers with any three of them showing different video streams. With the impending launch of Sky TV’s HD service, possibly early in 2006, the company announces a Sky+ model with an internal 250GB hard drive. Pace fielded a large variety of STBs for all the available delivery methods, but the star of the show for them was the PVR2Go, a portable PVR with a docking station that acts ‘just like a set-top box’. Humax sported twelve digital TV STBs covering Cable, Satellite and Terrestrial TV, plus three for IPTV catering for IPTV based VoD and H.264, with a third embodying a DVB-S receiver and a PVR. Cambridge located company Amino believes that small is beautiful, for their range of AmiNET STBs offers compact but high-specification devices were to be found also on other stands throughout the exhibition. The ReadyLinks SmartFoot adapter sends IP video to Amino STBs around a dwelling over existing co-axial or telephone wiring.


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