IBC 2011 & DVB-T2: A Double Hit

With over 50,000 visitors, IBC 2011 was the biggest edition yet, and shows the strong state of the broadcast technology universe. With its numerous global broadcast standards, DVB has always been one of the central elements of this universe and the 100 DVB members present at this year’s IBC attest to this.

At it’s usual location in Hall 1, DVB offered three key demos, presentations, side-meetings, PR contacts, and of course technical experts to guide visitors through the demos and the growing global deployment of DVB standards.

The first demo showed an iDTV with DVB-C2 receiver in combination with a VOD service delivering video over the C2 network. This combination of Sony’s C2 chip and the soon-to-be-launched VOD service from Kabel Deutschland shows how a 2nd generation system can be launched in combination with a supplementary offering for the end-user.   The DVB-T2 Lite demo, provided by BBC R&D, attracted a lot of attention from visitors and press alike, and combined 3 HD services with 4 very robust mobile services in one 8 MHz multiplex. The efficiency and flexibility of T2 once again showed that DVB-T2 truly is the Swiss army knife of broadcast standards.   The third demo showed how the DVB-GEM middleware standard offers a hybrid solution that combines DVB-T and OTT video into a single service. The demo supported by Oracle and Alticast showed the actual Premium-on-Demand service that is currently available from Mediaset in Italy.   Thanks to our supporting demo partner members for a very successful planning, installation and display of these demos!   On top of the DVB presence on the stand, there was also wide coverage of DVB topics such as T2-Lite, DVB-3DTV, and more in the IBC Daily magazine and other press. DVB also received the TVBEurope’s Best of IBC2011 Editors’ Awards for T2 Lite. A fourth ‘demo’ showed another important value of DVB: the DVB networking drinks, which attracted over 150 members and non-members. Besides offering a technical coordination platform, DVB is also about networking and exchanging ideas.    Finally, we would like to congratulate our DVB members Teamcast and Ericsson for winning the IBC Innovation Award for its work with Finnish operator DNA in the field of DVB-T2.