'Connect and Share', 'Develop and Guide', 'Promote and Represent' and 'Drive and Harmonise' are the keywords in EBU Technical's mission. The new website tech.ebu.ch is meant to do just that. It includes tools for EBU Members to find colleagues, share experiences, build knowledge, promote positions and drive innovation.
EBU Technical Department Director Lieven Vermaele explains: "The new site is part of the follow-up on the "Have your Say" and strategy exercise our department ran several months earlier. The main goal is to make it easier for people to find technical information such as the EBU Technical Recommendations, implementation guidelines or EBU Technical Review articles. The feedback we receive every day indicates there is a clear need for this type of neutral information in our industry."
Sharing solutions
"But there is more we can do for our Membership. Collectively our Members posess an enormous body of technical expertise. Besides continuing to share this in our Project Groups and via technical seminars and publications, we also want to help Members find each other more directly.
This is especially important where it concerns practical problems with technical equipment, such as problems in making two devices talk to each other. If broadcaster A already solved the problem, broadcaster B could benefit from this and next time return the favour.
Where problems persist, EBU Technical can organise joint meetings with the equipment vendors to tackle the issue or create a recommendation in case the problem is even more generic."
The introduction of the site
The community tools will be implemented gradually during the coming months. The first step is for users to create a (free) account with their interests and expertise. EBU Members can then search for their peers based on this information. The same system will be used to make it easier to join EBU Groups (online) on technical topics, to participate in virtual meetings and to register for or participate in technical events.
Lieven Vermaele concludes: "The structure is now in place and we will continue filling it during the year. We hope it improves our service to our Members and the industry. And if not... we will certainly hear that in next year's "Have your Say"!"