Although many in the broadcast community feel that all the hype about convergence a couple of years ago was just that, the subject was centre stage again at NAB2002, the annual meeting of the U.S. National Association of Broadcasters and the world’s largest electronic media show. The convention took place April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

One of the barriers to broadcasters embracing the technology necessary to finally get DTV off the ground is rights holders’ fear of the interception and manipulation of digital signals. The U.S. has generally been slow in adopting iTV, as it plays wait and see with initiatives well under way in the European market. The recent collapse of Britain’s ITV Digital will no doubt add to the skepticism of U.S. investors pondering iTV revenue models.

A panel consisting of Wendell Bailey, chief technologist for advanced broadband technology at NBC, Colette Watson, president and GM of CPAC and VP Rogers Television, and Anna Marie Piersimoni, associate director, new media ventures for the American Film Institute, said the U.S. will have to learn about iTV from those countries with subsidies in broadcasting. Canada was cited as one nation that has the benefit of government funding for R&D initiatives, as opposed to looking to private broadcasters.

Another panel addressed the issue of a DTV world standard, currently being battled out between Microsoft/ATVEF and Sun Micro Systems/DASE. Some believe it is achievable, some believe it is not, and some believe there is room in the world for more than one DTV standard (just as there are the NTSC, PAL and SECAM analog standards). A pure digital broadcast is simple enough to achieve with a set-top box interpreting audio and video; with iTV a more complex box is needed, and the subject of middleware platforms, manufactured by the likes of Thomson Multimedia, Microsoft, Sony and Phillips Electronics, comes into play. While all agree that iTV needs the long-awaited DTV transition, they also agree that standards are an enabler, not a driver, for iTV. Compelling content is required.

D-cinema marches forward

Sony led the imaging manufacturers a couple of years ago with its introduction at NAB of the 24p HDCAM. Last year director George Lucas popped by the Sony press conference to declare the death of film. This year Sony cited the series that have adopted its CineAlta production system, including the Canadian productions LEXX and Gene Roddenberry’s Earth: Final Conflict, and it announced that NBC had selected it as its exclusive vendor for monitors, displays, switchers and cameras until 2009. Kunitake Ando, president and COO Sony Corporation, boldly predicted that by 2005, half of feature films would be shot digitally.

Meanwhile, Sony competitor Panasonic made some noise at NAB last year with the unveiling of its AJ-HDC27VP VFR HD camera, which offers 24 frames-per-second capture as well as off-speed work. At NAB2002, there was interest expressed in this camcorder from at least one series producer considering an HD switchover, which would undoubtedly provide a big boost for the manufacturer. Panasonic was also displaying its digital projection systems at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and in making its point that 24p is not the only viable format for HD cinema, it projected material originated in a variety of digital formats.

D-cinema played a bigger part in this year’s show than ever before, with two new initiatives. The two-day Digital Cinema Summit looked at the young technology in terms of capture, post-production, distribution and exhibition. D-cinema is closer on the horizon following reports that several Hollywood studios have come to an agreement on a standard technology platform. The issues still to be ironed out include the security of satellite transmission and networks and who will pay for the costly replacement of projection equipment.

-www.nab.org