Last week, on November 12-13th 2007, a who’s who list of broadband video players gathered in Barcelona to look at the state of high definition in Europe.
The speakers included:
Day1
The European Hi Def Landscape
Jim Bottoms, Co-Managing Director, Understanding & Solutions
Conveying the Hi Def Message
Tim Page, Technology Marketing Manager, Sony Europe
Olivier Van Wynendaele, European Assistant General Manager, Toshiba
Dietrich Westerkamp, Director Standards Co-ordination, Thomson/EICTA HDTV Issue Manager
Moderator: Sarah Carroll, Co-Managing Director, Understanding & Solutions
Filling the Content Gap: Where Will the Hi Def Programming Come From?
Seetha Kumar, Head of HD, BBC
Fiona Maxwell, Director of Operations & Servicing, Granada International
Bill Roberts, VP of Programming, Voom HD Networks
The Challenges of Live Hi Def Broadcasts
Peter Angell, Director, Production and Programming Division, Host Broadcast Services
Florian Camerer, Senior Sound Engineer, ORF (Austrian Broadcasting Corporation)
Timo Koch, Managing Director, Outside Broadcast
Moderator: Bill Foster, Senior Technology Consultant, Understanding & Solutions
Day 2
Video Market Overview
Alison Casey, Business Director: Content and Services, Understanding & Solutions
Filling the Content Gap: Movies on Hi Def Discs
Alan Bell, Executive VP & Chief Technology Officer, Paramount Pictures
Philippe Cardon, President International, Warner Home Video
Ken Graffeo, EVP High Definition Strategic Marketing, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Simon McDowell, SVP Europe, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Moderator: Jim Bottoms, Co-Managing Director, Understanding & Solutions
Filling the Content Gap: Localised Entertainment and Music
Alasdair Ogilvie, Group Operations Director, 2 entertain
Olivier Robert-Murphy, VP of Strategic Marketing, Universal Music Group Intl.
Moderator: Alison Casey, Business Director: Content and Services, Understanding & Solutions
Games Consoles: Hi Def’s ‘Secret Weapon’
Robin Truchy, Director Xbox Live Europe, Microsoft
Qumar Jamil, Xbox Platform Program Manager, Microsoft
The Challenges of Publishing on Two Hi Def Disc Formats
Lesley Johnson, Head of Production, 2 entertain
Hi Def Broadcast Delivery Options
Lukas Kernell, General Manager Thematic Channels, Chello Benelux
Alain Komly, Director DTT Projects, TDF
Thomas Wrede, VP Product Management - Media, SES-ASTRA
Interactivity and connectivity on next generation discs
Robin Cole, Director of Business Development and Marketing, HD DVD, Microsoft
Keith Prokop, CEO, Radius60 Studios
Here is an overview of the panels and conference in general, taken verbatim from Understanding and Solutions, who organized the shindig:
The rapid transition to HD Ready flat screen TVs in Europe is creating a ‘content gap’ that European broadcasters in most territories will struggle to fill, leaving a pent-up demand for other sources of high definition video entertainment. That was the over-riding message from Understanding & Solutions’ High Definition in Europe: conveying the message conference held in Barcelona this week.
A large amount of programming is now being originated in high definition across most popular genres, but there is a distinct lack of actual channels available to satellite operators and cable companies. Unlike the US, where almost 100 HD channels are creating bandwidth constraints, European operators have significant spare capacity, but countries like France and the UK still only have around 10-12 channels, none of which have enough HD content available to provide original programming 24 hours a day.
The primary reason is the cost of original programming, which is often restricted by the budgets of Europe’s public service broadcasters. Organisations like the BBC use their reputations as programme makers to encourage co-productions with broadcasters in the US or Japan, while others are looking to their archives. The UK’s Granada International showed how it has restored some classic British films, as well as TV shows that were shot on 35mm before programme makers moved to standard definition video. These new masters have other applications outside of HDTV, such as digital cinema and high definition discs.
The importance of providing a clear and coherent message to consumers and the need for strong retailer support in this endeavour were highlighted by a panel of leading CE manufacturers. The confusing array of logos facing a TV buyer is a key issue (one speaker had counted 17), as is the widely varying terminology used to describe the new ‘1080p’ flat screen panels.
In the case of HD DTT, it was generally agreed that advances in video compression technology were needed before terrestrial services could match the multi-channel offerings of satellite and cable, even with the additional spectrum provided by analogue switch-off.
The next generation of high definition optical discs – Blu-ray and HD DVD – provide an alternative source of high quality content, much of it in 1080p. However, the ongoing ‘format war’ is slowing adoption by consumers and, to some extent, content owners outside the Hollywood majors. The cost of creating titles is also considerably higher than DVD, an area of concern for independent studios and distributors on more limited budgets.
Hardware pricing is another issue, particularly when there is a danger of obsolescence. Nevertheless, studio executives attending the conference expressed confidence in the future of high definition discs and are continuing to support their respective choices with new releases containing progressively more advanced interactive features. Delegates had a first-hand opportunity to see demos of the two formats’ online interactive platforms: HDi, now available on several HD DVD discs, and BD Live which is due to launch next year.
Some of the findings include:
- European consumer expenditure on Consumer Electronics in 2007 is pegged at 75Bn Euros. High Definition will help revitalise CE’s many product segments over the coming years
- Hi Def broadcast subscriptions are still in their infancy and many consumers believe they are watching in HD just because they own an HD Ready television:
* UK: <4% of Sky subscribers take HD services; 4.5% of Virgin subscribers take HD services
* France: <2% of CanalSat subscribers take HD
* Italy: 1.2% of Sky Italia subscribers
- Lack of original HD content for broadcast provides an opportunity for Hi Def discs
- European revenues from online video will make no real impact for at least 5 years, so Hi Def has an essential role to play in bolstering the declining DVD market.
* Hi Def DVDs will account for 27% of the home video market value by 2011
* By 2011, online video will still only account for 6%
- Despite much higher profit margins for online video, high definition disc sales will still derive double the revenue for studios in 2011.
* European online video sales will yield around 70% margin for studios (525Bn Euros)
* European high definition disc sales will yield around 35% margin (more than 1.1Bn Euros)
Courtesy of U&S.
Tags: Video|
Posted By: Ashkan Karbasfrooshan | Nov 19th
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