The March 2020 issue of EBU tech-i magazine examines the future evolution of media distribution, where WRC-19 has provided a measure of clarity around spectrum use in the medium term but the potential of 5G continues to generate great interest. You can download the PDF now.
Access to radiofrequency spectrum will continue to be essential for the mass delivery of audiovisual content. This issue of tech-i includes a report summarizing the most important outcomes of WRC-19 for broadcasters (p10), whose thoughts are already turning to WRC-23. In his editorial (p3), EBU Technology & Innovation Director Antonio Arcidiacono considers whether 5G technology could offer the ultimate solution for delivering media content:
"Both the laws of physics and basic economic principles still apply, however. Delivering content to large populations simultaneously and across large territories over unicast cellular networks alone would require substantial investments in capacity and geographical coverage."
There will, clearly, continue to be a central role for broadcast technologies in media delivery. You can read about a soon-to-launch trial by Austria's ORS (p7) that will examine whether 5G broadcast is well placed to be part of the solution; and another article looks specifically at radio, comparing 5G to existing DAB+ technology (p8).
Elsewhere in tech-i
- Odd Erling Høgberg (NRK) explains why the Norwegian broadcaster was keen to host recent EBU tests of live HDR production workflows (p12)
- Tom van de Weghe (VRT) writes about the worrying growth of video deepfakes (p6) and what can be done about it
- SWR's Christian Hufnagel and Daniel Freytag outline how they've been working to ensure radio retains a prominent place in connected cars (p9)
Turning to our regular features, our Partner Profile comes from RadioDNS (p18), the EBU Media Intelligence Service looks at television distribution forecasts (p17), and the chair of the New Builders Community of Practice Nathalie Jaquet (RTS) is "in the spotlight" (p19).