I’m delighted to have been asked to exec produce one of the five themes at the IBC 2003 conference. The working title is ‘In the Home’ and heralds the current convergence that is finally arriving in Media. The thought of convergence has been around for a long time but now Media from different formats, such as computers, TV, radio, other video and audio sources, are being consumed on different platforms.
Something new is happening that is being labelled by some as ‘digital lifestyle’. The strangest things are turning up, network-enabled – DVD-recorders, DVR’s, even audio amplifiers.
Many changes have been taking place in this area and some of them will impact on media companies.
The battle for whom and what will control the connections between the HiFi, TV and computers, the Digital Hub, is underway. The biggest names in technology and entertainment companies have thrown their hat into the ring – eg. Apple, Intel, Microsoft, Philips & Sony, as well as newer, smaller innovators such as Pace, SonicBlue, Moxi, Zoran and the creation standards such as TV-Anytime.
For the viewer, it’s not just about listening to, or viewing of content – it’s also about the finding [locally and remotely], managing, and storing it. For the media companies it’s about what method of distribution will be used, how they will control copying of material.
It should be an interesting challenge.