In Broadcast - April 2012 - 36

WWW.INBROADCAST.COM | ISSUE 7 - APRIL 2012

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Dynamic Fusion In Systems Integration Cont.
their facilities to HD and ﬁle-based workﬂows, as well as driving more IT-centric solutions to meet the demands of the multi-platform world.” Graham Day of ATG also saw the issue lying in technology, and the consumer’s appetite for it. “Technical demands look set to increase as the industry advances towards future standards such as 4K, 8K and of course 3D,” he says. “This will be determined by what the display manufacturers can offer consumers at an affordable price, and by the capacity of the infrastructure needed to deliver the signals.” For Jonathan Lyth at C2S the issue is the changing nature of the industry: “The future of broadcast systems integration, in my opinion, lies ﬁrmly within the IT domain. It will perhaps take longer than some would like to get to a true packetbased world, but considering the fantastically ﬂexible opportunities it presents, it seems to be the only logical way for the industry to go.” Kevin Moore of Eurotek concludes: “There is no doubt that as the worlds of broadcast and IT converge there will be greater competition from generic IT companies. Broadcast integrators have to ensure that they are providing real, valuable advice to their clients, to be considered a trusted advisor to the client.” Paul Wallis of Broadcast Networks adds: “The future of systems integration continues to be buoyant. “The more solutions and products that come onto the market, the more important our job becomes: advising, tailoring and delivering bespoke solutions to increasingly busy clients.” ■

Procam mobile from Broadcast Networks

36

broadcasters formed their own alliance, the Digital Production Partnership, to deﬁne a common ﬁle exchange format. International exercises such as the AMWA/EBU FIMS project may simplify content transfer in future. It is an area in which traditional broadcast SIs still have a strong advantage over new entrants. The other key area, of course, is an ingrained understanding of the pressures on quality (99 per cent availability may be ﬁne for IT; broadcasters expect 99.999 per cent) and the workﬂows which go into creating and delivering not just individual pieces of media but television channels. “I think most broadcasters are aware of the overall beneﬁts of ﬁle-based workﬂows, but many struggle to address the workﬂow and training requirements needed to successfully implement them,” says Kevin Moore of Eurotek. “They often do not appreciate the complexity and in many cases ﬁnd it hard to understand the project scoping phase to ensure a good ﬁt.” Jürgen Loos of BFE adds: “Many clients underestimate the need for change management within their organisations. Without winning the hearts and minds of the people involved, the successful implementation of a project is unlikely.” If broadcast SIs are leading the industry in their adoption of new skills, do they see IT and telco specialists as a threat? Mike Grieves of TSL is sceptical. “Because they lack the grounding

and expertise in the speciﬁcs of the broadcast market, there is a limited area in which they operate and the impact has been fairly insigniﬁcant,” he says. “Add to this the relatively small size of the broadcast market compared to the other verticals they operate in and it is plain to see where their main attention lies.”

Looking Forward
“Broadcasters are pushing for ever faster deployments to get ahead of competitors in launching new channels and platforms to bring in advertising revenue and retain customer loyalty,” according to TSL’s Mike Grieves. He made the point that faster delivery cannot be allowed to

compromise quality, and BFE’s Jürgen Loos concurs: “Some clients underestimate the complexity, especially when interfaces between systems have to be realised. Our policy is strictly ‘quality ﬁrst – no promises we cannot keep’.” For Broadcast Networks, Paul Wallis says: “I think timescales have always been under pressure. Typically you have a long decisionmaking process but, once the decision has been taken, it is a mad rush to complete.” Finally, what are the prospects for Systems Integrators? All seemed optimistic. Robert Stopford of Kit Digital says: “With an end-to-end approach we are able to support broadcasters as they transition

BBC Television Centre Studio production control room
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