DTT, HD, mobility, 3D and training will focus the Professional Conferences in Broadcast'09

As usual, coinciding with the International Professional Exhibition of Audiovisual Technology, Broadcast'09, which will take place from November 3 to 6 at IFEMA, a series of Conferences will be held in parallel in which professionals will be able to exchange impressions on key issues such as DTT, high definition, mobile TV or audiovisuals in training.

The International Professional Exhibition of Audiovisual Technology, Broadcast'09, which will take place at IFEMA between November 3 and 6, has included in its program of parallel events a series of conferences, co-organized with the specialized magazine Professional Production, in which key aspects for the industry such as the analogue blackout, mobile television, the emergence of high definition, stereoscopy or the role of audiovisuals in training will be debated.

On Tuesday, November 3, at eleven in the morning, the Conference will begin with the inaugural conference by the General Director of Telecommunications, Bernardo Lorenzo Almendros, who will review the current situation of DTT. After the conclusion, last July, of the first phase of the Transition Plan to DTT, 22 projects were completed, affecting 558 municipalities and more than 4.3 million users throughout Spain, except those in the Basque Country, Galicia and Castilla y León. In October, analogue broadcasts also ceased in nine other transition projects, which means the incorporation of one million more citizens with access only to DTT.

It has been said for some time that, foreseeably within three years, television as we currently know it will cease to exist, to move on to television 2.0. In the meantime, other issues must be resolved beforehand, such as what the new business models will be for general television networks. For this debate, there are representatives from some of the main general networks, such as Antena 3, Telecinco, Cuatro and La Sexta. These broadcasters seek to expand their audience through DTT by specializing some of their channels and taking advantage of the opportunities for interactivity and return that other platforms such as mobile or the Internet could offer them.

On the same day the 3rd, in the afternoon and during a round table, the situation of fiction in our country will be addressed in the new scenario of DTT. Under the title “Fiction in Spain, good programming and successful series” some of the best content directors from the main Spanish broadcasters will meet, who will debate aspects such as the way in which DTT affects fiction.

On Wednesday the 4th, the day will be dedicated to high definition and mobility. Sogecable's Director of Technical Operations, Adolfo Remacha, will clarify everything related to HD in DTT, talking about aspects such as current tapeless environments, the newsroom experience, comprehensive tapeless HD production, digital files, the multiplatform business model, how to convert for HD studios on multiplatform and the best way to save money, thus increasing profits. Regarding mobile television, Abertis' strategic marketing director, Alex Mestre, will give his vision on this incipient business. Next, a round table has been planned, with the participation of officials from Orange, Vodafone and Ono, who will address the topic of "Telecommunications operators, seen as 'carrier' or as creators of audiovisual content." The representatives of these operators will analyze the profitability of their businesses and the prospects for the future, or the possibility of reusing content for mobility, among other issues.

On the afternoon of Wednesday, the 4th, an experience from previous editions is resumed, “Cinema Afternoons on Broadcast”, with the participation of important personalities from the world of cinema. The title of the round table is very expressive: “Made in Spain, cinema in Spain, promotion and defense of the film sector.”

New audiences and training

Thursday the 5th will be dedicated to trying to draw a profile of the audience in the new terrestrial digital environment and how fragmentation is affecting it. One of the most prominent experts in audience measurement and trends in television, Eduardo G.Matilla, president of Corporación Multimedia, will address this new framework. Subsequently, the round table “The new scenario after the analogue blackout: digital dividend, web TV and Broadband vs. Broadcast” will take place with the participation of those responsible for the Administration, broadcasters and distributors of new content through alternative platforms. Another aspect that will be addressed on Thursday the 5th will be stereoscopy and its emergence on the small screen, an issue that will be addressed by the planning director of Sony Spain, Andrés Román.

In this same area, in the afternoon, we will discuss “The world of stereoscopic 3D: television, digital cinema and its business model, 3D exhibition and its entire value chain.” On that day, the protagonists will be Rafael Otermin, head of digital cinema at Sony; a representative of the Federation of Film Entrepreneurs of Spain, and the main people responsible for the first stereoscopic broadcasts made in Spain.

The last day, Friday the 6th, will be entirely dedicated to the role of audiovisuals in training environments, analyzing, just before the entry into force of Bologna, the training profile that the new generations must present.

Complete Conference Program at Broadcast'09