One of the most exciting developments in the media today is 'hybrid broadcast broadband' - making both broadcast and broadband available on the same television display. One of the important dimensions is the choice of technical standards for capturing and displaying the broadband content, and for linking or synchronising the broadcast and broadband content.
Alternative approaches to this have been developed over the past few months, but the EBU Technical Committee and EBU TECHNICAL are doing all it can to help alignment of the systems. There are four systems developed or being developed today: HbbTV, MHP, CTV, and CANVAS. Efforts are being made to see if there could be a 'common core' which would be universally used.
The importance of HBB explained
The EBU Executive Board recognized the importance of HBB for the future of the media, and has a full Session dedicated to allowing European broadcasters to undersand what such systems can do, how they could be used, and what policies to adopt with them. EBU TECHNICAL has arranged the session and also demonstrations of the HbbTV system, for which receivers will be on sale in Germany in time for Christmas. German broadcasters have developed a number of HBB services such as news and catch-up TV which the members of the EBU's most senior body, the General Assembly will be able to touch and feel.
At he same time, EBU TECHNICAL has arranged a demonstratrion of one ot the 3D TV technologies, as a peek at an issue that is likely to be a headline in 2010.
| Alberto Morello of the RAI CRIT, Chairman of the EBU Technical Committee, speaking on Hybrid TV ⇒ |  | Adi Kouadio (EBU TECHNICAL) showing participants 3D TV technology ⇒ |  |