Kate Bulkley, Media Analyst.

Media Money: What was the view like from IBC?

By Kate Bulkley

Broadcast News

For Broadcast September 17, 2008

One highlight of this year's IBC in Amsterdam was watching (and ducking to avoid) "flying objects" coming off the screen during a 3D clip of Kung Fu Panda.

According to Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of Dreamworks, 3D will replace 2D -movies. Speaking on a live video link from Los Angeles, he said he expects 30% of the audience for Dreamworks' film Monsters vs. Aliens will see it in 3D when it comes out in spring.

At this point it's unclear how well 3D will translate to TV sets - suitably equipped 3D tellys are starting to appear, albeit at very high price points. But one screen technology showcased at IBC is very much about improving TV pictures. The show featured the first-ever international broadcast of Super Hi-Vision - a live link with BBC controller of future media and technology Erik Huggers.

He was standing on top of the City Hall building in London, worrying aloud if the super-HD picture, which has a resolution 16 times greater than current HD (7680 x 4320 pixels, or 33 megapixels for technology wonks) was allowing the Amsterdam audience to see dandruff on his suit (we couldn't). NHK of Japan, the lead broadcaster developing the technology, announced it believes commercial rollout could be just 10 years away, five to seven years earlier than originally planned. It believes it can start test transmissions in just three years.

The business point is that as HD technology has given a fillip to TV-set sales, so too could the next generation of technology. GfK research shows 12.1 million HD-ready TV sets had been sold at the end of July in the UK, which means nearly half of UK TV homes have access to HD screens. The number of people watching HD is likely to be far fewer, given Sky, the biggest purveyor, has only sold 500,000 HD subscriptions, but it's only going one way. Sharper pictures could bring rewards for the whole industry.

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