The Design And Media Innovation Blog

Earlier this year, I attended the SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture Engineering) Conference and Expo at the Sydney Darling Harbour Convention Centre along with thousands of media professionals from a wide array of specialisations. This conference is probably the biggest media technology event in Australia held annually and attracts speakers and exhibitors from all over the world, including many of Australia's leading media executives and technology geeks and gurus.

I'd like to share key industry knowledge points from the Conference and review some of the amazing new media technologies I found at the Expo. Here are some of the key subjects discussed.

• The digital TV switchover. 
• Cinema 2.0
• Inter-operable Master Format (IMF)
• Cloud Computing & Cloud Broadcasting
• Content Delivery Network Strategies
• Multi-screen TV frameworks
• 3D Television
• Video over IP
• Live video streaming
• Video on demand and Pay Per View
• Virtual Studios
• Wireless HD Cameras
• Live Streaming

I'll start with The Digital TV Switchover to start with and I hope to write up a few more in coming months. Let me know if you spot any errors - it's a complex subject.

The Digital TV Switchover

• What is Digital Switchover 
• Relationships & Intentions of the stakeholders
• Restacking
• The Digital Dividend Auction
• Content Creator Opportunities 

What is Digital Switchover

Digital switchover refers to the period in which broadcasters broadcast digital and analogue signals concurrently, ultimately terminating the analogue signals to leave a 100% digital transmission. The digital switchover is already underway and will complete on 31st December 2013. You can find a schedule of the the swtichover timetable here. One of the advantages of digital TV transmission are that it requires far less range of frequencies, which will result in the freeing up of a large chunk of the available spectrum. More on that below.

Relationships & Intentions of the stakeholders

Andrew King from Network Ten gave a detailed overview of the emerging complexities of the switchover by looking at the relationships and intentions of three groups; Broadcasters, Government Regulators and Viewers.

Broadcasters engage with Government regarding regulation. Broadcasters engage with viewers to determine and provide services. Government regulators engage with viewers with awareness campaigns. The intentions of the broadcasters is to retain viewers and minimise costs. For government regulators the intention is to minimise disruption and maximise the auction price of the old analogue spectrum. Viewers want to minimise effort and cost and retain programming.

It's not hard to see that this would require careful dialogue and consideration of each others agendas in order to build a harmonious outcome without competition.

Restacking

Andrew also explained the 'Restack' process, where the signals being transmitted at certain frequencies currently being used for analogue TV are being 're-stacked' into different frequency blocks, below 694MHz, for digital transmission. This frees up the frequencies currently used by analogue TV, which the government will auction off. This is known as the Digital Dividend and will be provide 126Mhz of spectrum, ranging from 694-820Mhz in the UHF (Ultra High Frequency) band.

The Digital Dividend Auction

Senator Conroy, (Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy) says, "A contiguous dividend of 126 MHz will deliver substantial connectivity and productivity benefits for Australia, while ensuring that the high quality free-to-air television that Australians enjoy will continue."

I heard rumour at SMPTE that the Digital Dividend will be primarily allocated for community broadcast and communications, however I've not been able to find anything binding on this. It appears likely that the digital dividend may be used for providing high-speed internet access, broadcast and emergency services communications, but to whom and by whom is not clear yet, and how the outcome will be regulated is still emerging. For example there will likely be some restrictions on large broadcast and telecommunications companies buying up large chunks of the spectrum.

In a media release, Senator Conroy states, "It is able to carry signals over long distances, penetrate buildings and carry large amounts of data", and, "The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) indicated that Australia’s economy could be boosted by up to $10 billion…"

As Andrew King pointed out, there are some interesting intentions amongst the various digital dividend stakeholders (and non-stakeholders), so it's probably wise to be careful about investing in these frequencies and their potentials without doing the due diligence about what is really emerging.

Anyone interested in ensuring the availability and freedom of independent and community media would be wise to investigate the discussion.

It may be worth adding that discussions are going on around the world about how other nations will use their Digital Dividends. For example the EBU (European Broadcasting Union published a report on the European Digital Dividend subtitled "Long term Public Interest vs Short Term Profit".

In Australia the auction is being regulated by the ACMA, (Australian Communications and Media Authority). Details of the first public consultation, (Oct-Dec 2010), can be found here and the 'tune-up' forum results, (Nov 2010), here.

Another complexity broadcasters face is the challenge to transmission. The picture quality of DTV (Digital TV) can remain stable in low interference, unlike analogue TV which ghosts. However DTV experiences a sudden complete quality degradation in times of medium interference compared to analogues gradual degradation. Mobile phones have also been known to interfere with certain digital spectrum frequencies.

Content Creator Opportunities

Andrew King also suggested that aside from the new opportunities to potential spectrum buyers, we would see a new trend in content emerging that could be an opportunity for some. The trends he forecasts are a rise in are;

• short-form 'gap-filler' content
• self help content
• niche content broadcast 

I agree with Andrew and am pleased to hear him share the same thoughts as I've been having. My understanding of this is that viewers are increasingly valuing the 'usefulness' of the media they receive. Of course that's not to say that useful content can't be creative and entertaining, just that the intention behind useful media has a focus other than keeping the attention fixed on the box. The added intention of providing, 'tangible benefit'. Of course, what's useful to one may be useless to another, and visa versa, which may support an increasing market for an niche content.

With all this happening right under our noses, our media world is being transformed. And this is just the tip of the ice-berg. There's much more… I've not touched on Video over IP (internet), the NBN and Cloud computing yet!!! I hope you found this educating and will stay tuned for the next one… :)

Enjoy.
Adrian