NAB-2006 commences from April 22nd and promises to once again top 2005. But what will be the main themes? The obvious choice is High Definition since Europe is now gripped by HD fever but there is more!
High Definition broadcasting started in the USA approximately 5 years ago when tube TVs were still the norm and tape was not seriously challenged. But that’s all changed with retailers now reporting flat panel displays outselling their tube counterparts in both value and quantity. In addition we are sure to see all the producers of editing hardware and software showing visitors how much can be achieved with hard disk storage and tapeless.
But High Definition is not the only game in town. IPTV has also gripped the imagination with ever faster internet access speeds and more fibre placed in the ground to beef up the infrastructure. This has led to several companies starting fledgling new television services over the Internet. In London Home Choice offer sixty channels of TV plus video-on-demand, internet access and telephone calls. Could these services challenge cable, satellite and terrestrial broadcasting? One pipe for all and free telephone call has its attractions!
And then there is mobile TV whether it’s on you phone delivered by 3G technology or broadcast using DVH-H or the DAB channels. Could this be the next big thing? Nokia seem to be well advanced with their DVH-H handset but will the absence of spectrum limit growth in this area. British Telcom have been trialling broadcasts to phones using the DAB data capacity but the data rates are low and the quality limited. Is this where television meets games as the Sony PSP is praised for its excellent screen quality? Will this be the face of portable entertainment in the future? Finally are the American so much in love with the idea of mobile TV as we Europeans or are their allegedly larger living rooms placing the priority on large screens and high definition quality?
We hope to get answers to these questions and much more over the short four days from April 24 to 27. No doubt we will come back with questions we hadn’t even thought of!
John Ive
