In the immediate aftermath of IBC 2012, technology experts are meeting in Geneva at the EBU for the SMPTE engineering meetings. During four days they will drive for innovation and new standards in media. The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has a long history of collaborating with the EBU in the technical domain, so it's no surprise that the event also attracted a strong presence from European broadcasters presence with participants from, for example, the UK, Norway and Bulgaria.
The 80 or so technology experts present have discussed various new developments and the potential need for standardization to enhance interoperability, and thus increase efficiency in professional media production. Highlights so far have been presentations on LED light measurements (NRK, BBC, EBU), media storage performance evaluations (BBC), EIDR (MovieLabs) and an MXF open source project. Further to this it was announced that the FIMS specification, fresh from its IBC Judges' Prize has been submitted to SMPTE.
SMPTE Engineering Meeting delegates at EBU Headquarters in Geneva today.
Over the weekend the meetings will continue, discussing in particular Ultra High Definition TV, with a presentation by NHK; Essence and Compression formats; Television and Broadband; Networks and Interfaces; and new work in Digital Cinema. Sunday will be taken up by a strategic discussion session on Metadata, followed in the afternoon by the SMPTE Standards Committee, which acts as a steering platform for all activities.