|
|
|
Around 170 participants from across Africa attended the sold out capacity-building workshop on digital television in Johannesburg. The event was jointly organised by DVB, the EBU and Broadcast Networks Europe, with strong support from South Africa-based MultiChoice. Read full story below.
|
|
SB Approval Completes Current Generation Of Specs For UHD Services
|
|
 |
|
At the 87th meeting of the DVB Steering Board (SB), earlier this month, important revisions and updates for three DVB specifications were approved. This important development marks the completion of the current generation of specifications for Ultra High Definition Television - DVB UHD-1.
DVB UHD-1 covers elements for the improvement of video and audio quality for broadcast TV services. In addition to UHD (4K) resolution and a wider color space, these elements include High Dynamic Range (HDR) for increased contrast ratios, High Frame Rates (HFR) for sharper images of moving objects, and Next Generation Audio (NGA) for the support of object- or scene-based audio schemes. The revisions and updates pertain to DVB-DASH, audiovisual coding and bitmapped subtitles.
Commenting on completing the milestone DVB UHD specifications, Peter MacAvock, DVB Chairman said: "UHD is a key part of many broadcasters' portfolios. DVB has worked tirelessly to finalize a comprehensive set of specifications for UHD. While work continues, DVB is certain that broadcasters can confidently implement UHD on the basis of its specifications".
BlueBooks for these revised specifications have been published and can be
downloaded
from the DVB website.
|
 |
Peter Siebert Reports On
'Building Digital TV in Africa' Workshop
|
|
|
|
The idea to hold a capacity building workshop on digital television in Johannesburg came out of a telephone conversation I had with Gerhard Patrick (Multichoice) back in early March. We discussed the need to conduct a workshop for South African broadcast and network engineers on all aspects of digital television. We soon realized that we should expand the idea to include as many engineers from the greater African region as possible. We also decided to include other organizations such as the EBU, BNE, ITU and Sadiba to get the necessary support and access to the relevant experts. Once this was settled we moved on to organizing the venue and other logistics as well as identifying and approaching potential speakers. I was pleasantly surprised that those we approached were very supportive and agreed to contribute to the event. I would like to emphasize the excellent support we received from the IEEE BTS (Broadcast Technology Section) which, in the case of the Distinguished Lecturers Program sponsored Guy Bouchard, who provided an excellent presentation on the MPEG-2 TS (Transport Stream).
The conference program was held over three days. The first day covered baseband technologies like video coding, the MPEG-2 systems layer and production technology. Day two concentrated on transmission and reception concepts, including home installations and receiver specifications. On each day, the practical demonstrations were a definite highlight, with experts from ENENSYS, ROVER and MultiChoice performing live measurements and demonstrating how transmission errors affect the received signal.
The final day was devoted to a masterclass, where international experts provided an in-depth analysis of relevant topics such as video coding, OTT delivery and in-home distribution with SAT>IP. Throughout the event, the participants had the opportunity to visit the various demonstrations and talk with the experts. Both exhibitors and speakers appreciated the opportunity to participate in the event.
All the presentations are available at
www.sadiba.org
.
In my estimation the event was a great success. In all, there were around 170 participants not only from the South African regions but also from other parts of the African continent. The feedback from participants, speakers and exhibitors was very positive and the conference organizers were also very pleased with the event.
|
 |
Nick Wells Receives DVB Honorary Fellowship
|
|
|
|
|
Dr. Nick Wells |
At the 87th meeting of the DVB Steering Board, Dr. Nick Wells, former Technical Module Chairman, was awarded the Honorary Fellowship of the DVB Project. Nick Wells became the second Chairman of the Technical Module in 2012, taking over from Dr. Ulrich Reimers. He previously served as Vice Chairman.
Nick chaired the DVB-T2 technical working group which defined the DVB-T2 transmission format and under his guidance the second generation terrestrial digital TV broadcasting standard was successfully implemented, bringing HD services to millions of people across five continents. In 2010, he was presented with the IBC Innovation Award and also won the IEEE International Symposium on Consumer Electronics Engineering Excellence Award.
Dr. Nick Wells studied physics at Cambridge University and then obtained a PhD from Sussex University for studies of radio wave propagation in conducting gases. From 1977 he worked at BBC Research and Development in a variety of fields including image compression and the use of image compression in production systems and digital terrestrial transmission systems. He has played a leading role in several large European collaborative projects.
In 2006, the DVB Steering Board decided to create a form of 'lifetime achievement award' that would represent the highest honor that could be bestowed upon a participant in the work of the DVB Project.
The Honorary Fellowship aims to honor, on their retirement from active participation in the DVB Project, significant individuals who have made sustained and substantial contributions to DVB over the years.
Nick joins a growing list of fellow honorees, which can be found on the DVB
website
.
|
 |
Members Only Access To Regularly Updated DTT Implementation Data
|
|
|
|
DVB Members can now access a database providing up-to-date information on the status of digital terrestrial television (DTT) implementation. The spreadsheet, updated regularly, carries information about DTT system choices, network status and content offerings, along with an overview of the broadcast market in each country.
While the new database includes information about countries throughout the world, it focuses in particular on ITU Region 1, which includes Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the CIS countries. The research is carried out on behalf of the DVB Project, Broadcast Networks Europe and the EBU as part of a wider project to support the implementation of DTT in countries where analog services still dominate.
The spreadsheet includes the following sections:
- General country information
- Television distribution market overview
- DTT milestones
- DTT system choices
- DTT content offer
- DTT payTV offer
- Satellite content offer
- Actors and organizations
It is a living document, with new data added regularly and updates published monthly. DVB Members are welcome to contribute information to the editor - contact details are provided in the spreadsheet.
DVB Members can access the table via the
DVB Worldwide
section of the website. It is necessary to login to download the file, which is listed under Downloads.
|
 |
Steering Board Approves Latest DVB Workplan
|
|
|
|
The DVB Steering Board has approved the latest revision of the DVB Workplan. The DVB Workplan sets out information about current work items within the Commercial Module (CM) and Technical Module (TM). It states clearly both the expected deliverables and their anticipated completion dates.
Revision 6 of the Workplan demonstrates that DVB is active across a wide range of domains. Within the Commercial Module, work items of note include the development of Commercial Requirements for Virtual Reality specifications and for Targeted Advertising. The latter are due for completion by April 2018.
In the Technical Module, the ongoing work items include the specification of a system for Adaptive Media Streaming over IP Multicast (ABR Multicast).
Organizations that wish to contribute to any of the work items mentioned above or others listed in the DVB Workplan are encouraged to become a DVB Member and participate in the relevant CM and TM groups.
The DVB Workplan is available for download from the 'Our Work' section of the DVB website.
|
|
|
|
Click to subscribe to Broadband TV News
|
|
UK Report Backs Spectrum Rethink
|
|
|
|
Digital UK has published a new study outlining options to deliver a major boost in spectrum capacity for mobile broadband services. The study by telecoms specialists Aetha Consulting explores the scope for a fundamental rethink of how UHF spectrum is used by mobile operators. The report estimates that the changes could unlock a capacity increase of up to 70 per cent.
UHF frequencies are prized by both broadcasters and mobile operators as they travel long distances and provide good indoor reception. Over the last 10 years, digital terrestrial television (DTT) services such as the UK's DVB-T2 free-to-air service, Freeview, have been required to give up UHF spectrum to help meet demand for mobile data.
The 700MHz band is the latest slice of spectrum being re-allocated to mobile, incurring significant costs to UK taxpayers and reducing the amount of spectrum available for Freeview and other terrestrial TV services by one-third. Freeview is the most widely used TV service in the UK, watched in around 19 million homes. Across Europe around 250 million people use a DTT service.
The report highlights how the incremental process of change has produced a fragmented plan for mobile broadband in the 700, 800 and 900MHz bands. Simplifying the use of these frequencies could produce a 'defragmentation dividend' of 25-70 per cent, while also futureproofing the spectrum for new technologies, including 5G.
Jonathan Thompson, CEO of Digital UK, said: "The time has come to take a more strategic view and move beyond the approach of 'salami slicing' DTT spectrum to create capacity for mobile data. Any further cuts to television airwaves are likely to lead to a lose-lose outcome that damages Freeview and creates even greater inefficiency. The proposals in this report offer the prospect of a win-win situation, which sees a major boost for mobile capacity while safeguarding the UK's most widely used TV service".
The report can be downloaded
here
.
|
 |
DVB-T2 In Germany Reaches Nearly 60 Million Inhabitants
|
|
DVB Member, Media Broadcast is reporting further progress in Germany's switch to DVB-T2 with 21 new transmitter sites becoming operational earlier this month. This brings the number of people capable of receiving digital terrestrial services to around 60 million. The country's public broadcaster channels are unencrypted as a service known as DVB-T2 HD while the commercial channels are encrypted and offered for a monthly fee as part of the freenet TV package.
Work on additional transmitter sites for the distribution of DVB-T2 HD and freenet TV are planned for the spring of 2018. Expansion of the broadcasting area of freenet TV will be accomplished in autumn 2018. For DVB-T2 HD, it is expected that the transition will be completed in the spring of 2019.
Source: Media Broadcast
|
Future TV Advertising Forum Special Offer
|
|
|
|
Addressable TV advertising will move into the mainstream in Europe, beyond the Pay TV pioneers, into free-to-air, across broadcast and multiscreen, beyond innovation budgets, into serious media spend. Are you ready to seize the opportunity? Future TV Advertising Forum 2017 has addressable advertising covered from every angle. We are focused on minimizing the cost and complexity of planning, buying and executing advanced advertising and making it realistic for buyers to scale addressable budgets dramatically.
These two sessions listed below feature DVB, Proximus, ProSiebenSat.1, Telenet, Orange, GroupM, ARRIS, Canal+, Invidi, Smartclip and Cadent. This is the most comprehensive investigation you will see anywhere into how we normalize and scale addressable TV advertising and ensure everyone can play a part in this emerging market opportunity.
A
ddressable for everyone
- How the free-to-air market can deliver addressable advertising that is affordable, including with HbbTV
- The potential to create a single-buy access point for all TV addressable inventory, and likely impact on uptake
- How smaller and regional agencies get into the data-hungry addressable business
- Whether small operators can pursue an inventory-only play, plugging into someone else's addressable sales engine.
Full session details can be found here.
Normalizing advanced advertising
- The potential role for DVB standards to help grow the market, including in digital terrestrial
- Minimizing complexity for buyers when defining and finding more targeted linear audiences
- The merits of pooling addressable inventory, or feeding STB data into multi-operator analytics platforms
- Conducting low-risk tests of addressable TV and correctly forecasting the results if you scale.
Full session details can be found here.
This year's Future TV Advertising Forum will feature over 100 speakers, 12 sessions/breakouts and 500+ attendees. It is the most ambitious line-up yet and it has sold out for the past six years. Register now to avoid disappointment and to save with early bird pricing and an additional 15% discount for DVB Members (code DVB15). Register here.
Future TV Advertising Forum 2017 | December 6th & 7th | London
|
HDR TV Shipments To Grow To 47.9 Million In 2021
|
|
|
|
High dynamic range (HDR) is the strongest-developing feature in television sets, according to a new report from the market research company IHS Markit.
IHS Markit forecasts that HDR TV shipments will grow from 12.2 million in 2017 to 47.9 million in 2021, with a further 88.6 million HDR-ready sets - with HDR decoding but no HDR display capability - shipping in 2021.
"HDR is the biggest improvement coming to TV viewing," said
Paul Gray
, associate director for consumer devices at IHS Markit. "It has been conclusively demonstrated to have the biggest impact with viewers, and what's more, the effect works regardless of screen size or resolution".
"We expect that only 23 percent of the ultra-high-definition televisions that ship in 2017 will offer the full HDR experience," Gray said. "The remainder will be able to decode a signal, but lack the high contrast capability to display HDR content to an advantage".
The cost of backlights for liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) remains the biggest obstacle to HDR, the analysis said.
HDR capabilities in high-definition (HD) TVs are also assessed in the report. Gray said, "In locations where the airwaves are congested, broadcasters have no spare space to transmit the extra data required for 4K UHD. However, HD with HDR provides a huge increase in perceived quality for a very low data overhead, and that's incredibly interesting".
Source: IHS
|
|
|
|
Workshop on Virtual Reality Ecosystem & Standards
December 04 - 06
Venue: Ericsson Conference Facility, Santa Clara, California, USA
Ludovic Noblet of b-com and Chair, DVB CM-VR will provide an overview of the work DVB is carrying out in the area of VR.
Future TV Advertising Forum
December 06 - 07
Venue: Kings Place, London, United Kingdom
Vincent Grivet of TDF and Co- Chair, DVB Targeted Advertising Study Mission Group, will give a presentation titled "How DVB Standards Can Help Grow the Market for Addressable and Targeted Ads, Including in Digital Terrestrial Television". The presentation is based on the findings of the Study Mission Group on Targeted Advertising.
Speakers' Corner is a regular column of DVB Scene eNews that serves to let readers know where they can see DVB related presentations at the various conferences, seminars and events around the world.
If you are a DVB Member speaking on a DVB topic at an upcoming event
get in touch and let us know
and we will publish it here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
01, 08, 15 December - CM-AVC LL-DASH Commercial Requirements - Webex Telco. Following the conclusions of the DVB CM-AVC Report on Low-Latency DASH available in CM-AVC369r6, the DVB CM-AVC LL-DASH activity is tasked to create commercial requirements for consistent delivery of live TV programs over DVB-DASH so that the latency performance can be on par with other DVB distribution means without losing the additional functionalities provided by a unicast delivery of TV services
.
05 - 07 December - TM-JSI - Harmonic, Issy les Moulineaux. The purpose of the meeting is two-fold. Firstly to find agreement on the following remaining open technical issues:
a) Daughter Site Adapter Configuration Information (DSACI): Regeneration of PSI/SI tables - static and dynamic cases
b) DSACI: Regionalisation approach
c) DSACI: File and/or stream format and transport protocols
d) Out-of-band provision of metadata and content.
The second item on the agenda is the completion of the draft Single Illumination System specification.
05, 12, 19 December - ABR Multicast taskforce plenary - Webex Telco. Agenda - TBA.
06 December - CM-I Terms of Reference #2 - Webex Telco & 12 December - CM-I
Terms of Reference and Scope #3 - Webex Telco.
At the DVB CM meeting on 24 October 2017 it has been agreed that a new CM group, DVB-I, will be set up to look into requirements for standalone live TV services over IP. This may become an important new work item for DVB, identifying all needs to distribute linear DVB channels over the open internet with the same quality of experience as DVB-S/C/T or IPTV. Terms of Reference and a scope statement are expected to be finalized at the next CM meeting.
12 December - CM-AVC - EBU, Geneva.
Meeting to discuss commercial aspects of potential enhancements to audio and video coding in DVB applications.
12 December - TM-AVC - EBU, Geneva.
Meeting to discuss technical aspects of potential enhancements to audio and video coding in DVB specifications.
11 January - TM108 - EBU, Geneva. Agenda to include the approval of the Single Illumination specification.
This listing is correct at the time of publication. Meeting participants should consult the DVB Meetings Calendar for up-to-date information.
|
Registration For DVB World 2018 Opens
|
|
|
|
Registration is now open for the DVB World 2018 Conference
& Exhibition
.
The conference program along with speaker information, Masterclass and hotel reservations can be found on the
DVB World 2018 website.
DVB World 2018 will take place in Warsaw on March 12 - 14, at the InterContinental Warsaw hotel, set in a landmark contemporary tower in the heart of the city and close to the Old Town.
DVB World is the must attend event of the calendar year for all those involved in digital media. The conference, which attracts key industry people from around the world, offers an unequaled opportunity to catch up on the latest developments and future opportunities as well as providing an excellent environment for networking.
DVB World offers a curated exhibition area adjacent to the main conference room. Also, DVB World sponsorship packages offer an excellent opportunity to promote your company.
For information on exhibition opportunities and details
on the
sponsorship offers, please contact
Desiree Gianetti.
DVB Members benefit from reduced rates for registration, exhibition space and sponsorship packages.
Save the date, 12 - 14 March. Network and be informed. Register Now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
With the changes taking place in viewing patterns and the technical challenges this trend presents there has never been a more important time to join DVB. Membership of DVB is open to all organizations involved in digital broadcasting and offers involvement in the development of DVB specifications across terrestrial, satellite, cable and IP delivery platforms.
Some of the key advantages of becoming a DVB Member are to:
- Co-develop future specifications through technical proposals, IPR, Steering Board, etc.
- Gain early view of specifications through DVB meetings, documents, email lists
- Network with other DVB Members and industry partners at meetings and events
- Promote DVB standards through workshops, seminars, conferences, trade shows
- Promote your company and DVB products through DVB events, meetings and publications including DVB Scene and DVB Scene eNews
- Discounts for Member delegates attending the annual DVB World conference.
In addition to the above benefits, DVB Members are also invited from time to time to contribute to the promotion of key DVB specifications, whether through trade shows, conferences or seminars. These opportunities can increase market awareness of your company and bring you to the forefront of your respective area of expertise.
|
| |
|
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT
Your 120x60 Pixel Logo + URL + 50 Word Advertorial
Create your own text ad banner. Provide us with up to 55 words together with a hyperlink to your website to inform DVB Scene eNews readers about your products and services. This is a unique opportunity to reach DVB implementers and decision makers via the DVB Scene eNews. Alternatively, opt for a traditional 468 x 60 style banner.
For further information contact WHDPR or telephone +44 20 7799 3100
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
