Mediacast 2002 Review

Introduction

The Mediacast 2002 show at London's ExCel centre, held last month from May 21- 23 has been hailed by Neil Cook, Show Manager of Mediacast at Reed Exhibitions as a success - despite noting that the 6,922 total recorded visitors was a little down on last year's event.

Nontheless, Cook observed, "There was a real 'buzz' at the show, and I was delighted to observe real business being done, despite the tough economic climate. (The numbers) compare very favourably to other shows within the media/comms sector. Indeed, the true value of Mediacast is endorsed by the fact that exhibitors rebooked 66 per cent of the entire show onsite - a record for the event."

As the former 'Cable and Satellite' show, the event has in recent years sought to expand its support base into convergence, and away from an over dominance of the satellite industry. While the main stands are still the Astra's and Eutelsat's, its fair to say that the cable supply - and DTT industry - have come on board, with streaming IP present too. Main themes included interactivity - with both high end and low end set top boxes very much in evidence as the market differentiates - and a surprising confidence in the future re-emergence of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) - but as a free-to-air play.

Mulitpurpose-remote controls - to manage the addition of new gaming, interactivity. PVR and internet surfing functions were well in evidence - not just the aptly named Universal. And as Cook said, the mood was - if not upbeat - certainly optimistic that the worst of the market downturn was behind the industry, and the year ahead was one of promise - with delivery forecast anytime between September this year and March next year.

The concept of seminars and conference panels organised by disparate groups did indeed give the disparate results that one would expect, but generally the calibre of participants was exceptionally high - especially for a free-attendance event - with the result that most sessions were well attended. And they were not just sales pitches. By inviting some of the industry's top names, the discussions provided a strategic insight into the industry's future. Day One kicked off with Pace Microtechnology CEO Malcom Miller talking up digital TV, and explaining that despite slow initial take up, the functionality it brought - such as PVR - ensured its ultimate success, even if it might take longer than originally thought.

Pace was followed by Advanced Television's Germany panel, in which senior experts from Germany flew in to explain the market's complexity to a more international audience - again demonstrating the high level of interest at the event for top line speakers (see report). Pace's sub £100 free to air entry level DTT set top saw competition from Grundig's launch at the show of a more high spec'd £100 DTT set top, which includes two scart sockets and MHEG-% functionality   again targeting the growth of free-to-air DTT - with plans for higher end boxes also being launched this year. Fracarro - which specialises in SMATV systems, also unveiled its new DTT box, the KDRTT, at the show and announced that it had acquired the French SMATV business of Phillips. Pace also launched the Puma Gateway integrated twin decoder twin satellite set top, and introduced its Sibling modular technology for upgrading of digital gateways to add video, voice and data functionality as the market demanded.

MHP standards garnered wide support at the show, with introductions this yar, including a show announcement by Samsung Electronics that it was deploying to Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting for trials, and commercial deployment by Canal Plus Technologies planned at Canal Satellite this year. Samsung predicted global set top box sales for all manufacturers this year to reach 19 million for satellite, exceeding the 17 million forecast for cable, with DTT coming in at 5 million.

NDS sought to dispel perceptions of it as purely a conditional access company, promoting an ability to provide end-to-end digital systems integration, demonstrating its range of set tops running a variety of middleware including Open TV and Liberate, as well as its own NDS Core middleware.

Although there was no Programmer presence, the show did include content in the form of interactive applications, with Two Way TV announcing its first presence in Europe with more territories to follow soon, following a deal to supply viewers in Austria and Holland with interactive access to games like With It and TacTiles.

In addition the company said that Two Way TV's Ark cross-platform interactive technology is being used in a range of UK programmes including the recent BBCi 'Test The Nation' national IQ special. On Telewest the BBC's World Cup coverage will feature a choice of video and audio streams enabled by Two Way.

Cook's gauge of success is a fair one - would you come back next year? Definitely.


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