EBU.CH :: 2009_09_23_Technical

EBU Technical Committee meets in Turin

Turin, sometimes called 'Europe's Detroit', was much more than cars this week. It hosted the annual major Italian programme competition - the Prix Italia - and hosted what will be a milestone meeting of the EBU Technical Committee.

LievenVermaele_AlbertoMorello The Technical Committee is the senior EBU elected body for technical activities, and is chaired by Alberto Morello, who is also Head of the RAI's Research and Innovation Centre located in Turin.

Lieven Vermaele and Alberto Morello, opening the EBU Technical Committee meeting

The meeting continued the Committee's review of the structure of the EBU's Technical Activities. The current structure is flexible but it was established in the 1990s. Since then a range of new working methods have become available, and there is generally new thinking in the industry that decisions about technology need to take economics into greater account than in the past.

The new structure will involve a series of 'Strategic Program Groups' which will look at issues (such as, for example, the future of radio or television) in a cross disciplinary way, and of a number of 'Experts Communities' which will bring together specialists in different technical fields, maximising the use of web communications.

The main principles have been explained to the EBU Technical Assembly and EBU General Assembly in the summer, inviting comments and further suggestions. An explanatory webinar by Lieven Vermaele, Director EBU Technical, was given in summer 2009, and is still available for replay on tech.ebu.ch.

The Technical Committee plans to have the new structure up and running before the Technical Assembly in Summer 2010.

The Technical Committee also took up a range of issues which are occupying broadcast technologists today, including the oncoming wave of combined TV and broadband recievers (hybrid broadcast broadband).

The meeting took place in the RAI's museum of vintage radios and televisions, surrounded by reminders of our 'art deco' beginnings. Will a future Technical Committee ever hold meetings surrounded by vintage 'iphones' and laptops?