“What would Charles Darwin, the author of theories that broke the paradigms of the biological sciences, say to Open TV executives and engineers at this time of intense technological development and, at the same time, of a real threat to the current business model?

Many believe he would say “Evolve or Die,” in reference to the theory of natural selection, (one of the most important concepts of this British scientist who lived in the XIX century), and which was chosen as a theme for the closing panel of the SET Breakfast @ NABShow Seminar, on Wednesday, April 20^th.

The need to adapt
The threat of extinction appears to be spreading to the four corners of the globe, in the face of an historical scenario that is now laying bare its effects. The absence of global standardization in terrestrial broadcasting systems (both analog and digital) means that electronic products for terrestrial TV have to be regionalized, thus preventing global scales of interest to the manufacturers. At the other extreme, broadband systems now follow universal standards (those with a 3G, 4G or 5G telephone use it worldwide).

These manufacturers are the same that are continuously working to develop increasingly powerful broadband solutions and, in order to ensure the feasibility of their rapid deployment, they are engaging in global lobbies in favor of transferring the spectrum to those technologies. “There are strong indications that there will never be agreements on the use of standardized terrestrial TV systems on a global scale.” That is the assessment by the international director of SET and moderator of the panel, Liliana Nakonechnyj. “Without globalized standards, the development of consumer products for open TV is compromised, especially for personal-use devices, and this makes it difficult to defend the spectrum,” she explains.

The phases of evolution
Right now, broadcasters are following to parallel paths in order to deal with this situation: the investment in capture and exhibition technologies that enhance the quality of the picture and the service (HDR, 4K and 8K), while supplementing offers using other platforms such as OTTs. “The new distribution formats are extremely important, but broadcasting is still the most efficient manner for distributing live programs, and defending the spectrum is essential for protecting open television and ensuring that it can evolve and continue to offer the most modern services, free of charge to the entire population,” she stresses.

Modernization in practice
The purpose of the SET Breakfast @ NABShow panel is to discuss the proposals already existing in Europe and Japan, as well as the prospects for the years ahead. 

The powerful European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the umbrella entity for 781 TV public broadcasters and 1049 public radio broadcasters covering more than 1.03 billion people, represented by Simon Fell, director of Technology and Innovation, will highlight the advances in HDTV and how they have helped to reduce broadcasters’ costs, maximizing the range of the audience and expanding the experience of consumers.

Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), represented by the director for Digital Broadcasting Technology, Reiko Kondo, will elaborate on public policies intended for 4K and 8K technologies. The latter will undergo their first experimental broadcast on Japanese territory in mid-August.

Also from Japan, the Next Generation Television & Broadcasting Promotion Forum (NexTV-F), a consortium consisting of over 100 companies, will explain the plans of the Japanese market for ultra-definition by 2020. Keiya Motohashi, executive president and senior strategist in UHDTV at NexTV-F, will discourse on the target of twenty 4K and one 8K satellite-based channels in 2018, as well as about the new opportunities in B2B services for UHDTV.

Material taken from SET press release, 3-1-16. www.set.org.br.