NEW YORK
With high definition production becoming more ubiquitous every day, there may be an assumption on the part of many in the broadcast industry that all has been said and done in the subject. But that would be incorrect, especially to the organizers of HD World, which takes place Oct. 14-15 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.
Approximately 225 exhibitors are expected at HD World this year. “When we started, HD was just in its early stages and there were a few HD channels out there, but it was just a handful,” said Mark Driscoll, vice president and event director for the two-day conference and exhibition. “Now it’s taken over television in a big way. Everybody’s moving to HD. Despite that, you’re still going to have a blend of SD/HD programming delivered over these HD channels from a variety of sources.”
ONE VENUE
Over its four year period, HD World has evolved—along with its concurrent shows SATCON and IP Media World—into a triad of conferences/exhibitions that now make up Content & Communications World, operated by JD Events. All held in the same venue, CCW aims to harness the knowledge and resources of industry experts and vendors across the content creation and delivery industries. The conference sessions cover four tracks: Media & Entertainment, Multi-platform Media, Production/Post-Production, and SATCON.
“Attendees who are interested in one of the shows are typically interested in at least one or both of the other shows,” Driscoll said. “There’s a tremendous amount of synergy between HD World, SATCON and IP Media Expo.”
There are expected to be approximately 225 exhibitors and more than 100 speakers and 35 sessions, according to Driscoll, who also touts the quality of the speaker lineup, which includes decisionmakers from the major broadcast networks as well as ESPN, CNN, and MLB Network.
New to the show this year will be the 3Demo exhibit, which will allow attendees to see the latest 3D in action and get an up-close look at the technology behind it. Other 3D-related sessions at CCW include “3D Production & Post” panel discussion, featuring 3ality and others; and “3D/Stereoscopic Television Primer,” presented by Miranda Technologies.
RECESSION & RECOVERY
Of particular note for attendees is the Wednesday keynote panel: “The State of the Industry: Recession and Recovery or an Economic Climate Change?”, where panelists Mark Coleman, executive vice president of engineering and operations for Comcast Programming Group, Bob Ross, senior vice president, East Coast Operations for CBS Broadcasting, Inc., and Clyde Smith, senior vice president, Global Broadcast Technology and Standards for TBS, will discuss how the economy has affected the industry and how individual producers as well as media companies can position themselves for the anticipated recovery.
Also on Wednesday, Del Parks, vice president of operations and engineering for the Sinclair Broadcast Group will moderate “HD News: An Essential Competitive Advantage,” which will provide an update on the slow but steady progress towards high-def news in the broadcast industry.
“[While] sports has really led the way with HD, in the last couple years, the networks have moved to HD news and now the individual stations and affiliates are moving there and they have to deal with a lot of blending of SD and HD content in their broadcasts,” Driscoll said.
Wrapping up the show on Thursday, Oct. 15, Rich Wolf, senior vice president, telecommunications and distribution, ABC Broadcast Operations and Engineering, will moderate the panel “What Happened to Reliability and Quality!” panel, which will focus on quality issues that plague digital programming—whether SD or HD—and will discuss “Best Practices” for maintaining the best transmission environments.
To register for HD World, visit www.hdworldshow.com.
