MUMBAI: BroadcastAsia2006, organised by Singapore Exhibition Services (SES), is on its way to another run at the Singapore Expo from 19 to 23 June 2006.

Titled “Digital: The Journey Forward,” the new theme embodies BroadcastAsia‘s positioning to embrace the digital revolution and constantly ‘go forward‘ by staying relevant to the industry, while its subtitle, “The 11th International Digital Multimedia and Entertainment Technology Exhibition and & Conference,” has also been updated to reflect the show‘s progress.

“With the entire integrated workflow process addressed at BroadcastAsia, every technological solution in the entire value chain can be seen on the show floor,” said Singapore Exhibition Services project director Jackson Yeoh.

To date, top names in the industry that have signed up include Tandberg Television, Harris Corporation, Snell & Wilcox, Co-ship, Nokia, Panasonic, Thomson, Scopus Network Technologies, DVB – Digital Video Broadcasting, Barco, Quantel, Qualcomm and Conax. SES expects more industry players to come on board, what with the positive outlook in the global entertainment and multimedia industry.

This year‘s show will include a strong presence by exhibitors featuring the latest in internet protocol television (IPTV), broadcasting to handhelds, video on demand, personal video recording, digital audio broadcasting (DAB), computer graphics and animation, conditional access control, and high-definition (HD) technology.

Held as part of BroadcastAsia2006, ComGraphics&Animation 2006 will feature the latest hardware, software and services designed especially for the computer graphics and animation industry, film and motion picture industry, as well as for major broadcasters in Asia and beyond.

In addition, the ComGraph Digital Art & Animation competition, organised by SigGraph Singapore Chapter will be held once again in conjunction with the CGA Exhibition to give recognition to creators of exceptional works of digital art and animation.

An awards ceremony and winners announcement will be held on the first day of the show, and winning works for the Computer Animation categories, as well as outstanding works from award-winning animators will be screened during all four days of the exhibition. To date, a total of 280 entries have been received from both local and overseas competitors. There will also be a Digital Art Showcase where all the digital art entries will be displayed.

With the convergence of technologies (ICT, Telco and Media), the media landscape worldwide is experiencing significant changes. New ways of consuming media through the use of technologies – IPTV, Interactive TV, VOD, podcasting and such, are now available to the industry and consumers. These new trends will be discussed in the New Media Conference, jointly presented by Singapore Media Academy (a MediaCorp company) and SES.

Also held concurrently is the RadioAsia2006 conference, an annual conference that presents in-depth perspectives from industry leaders as well as public service and community broadcasters in order to gauge the future evolution of the medium in a context marked by the explosion of digital technologies and convergence. This year, RadioAsia2006 will commemorate 100 years of Radio, with a special session that looks at the triumphs and tribulations of radio over the last 100 years.

Highlights includes a half-day of workshops conducted by two of the most reputed radio training institutions in the world including the Deutsche Welle – Akademie / Radio Training Centre from Germany and the Radio Netherlands Training Centre. It will be followed by a three-day conference where leading radio experts will be delivering papers and presentations.

Nine group pavilions from countries such as China, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, Singapore, the UK and the USA are also expected at the show.

The Italians are returning to BroadcastAsia in a big way. Having participated in the show in 2001 and 2004, the size of the Italian pavilion at BroadcastAsia2006 has increased by over 80 per cent, while Korea and France have also increased their booth space by more than 100 per cent this year.

Complementing the BroadcastAsia2006 exhibition will be a series of enriching and in-depth conference presentations and demonstrations, panel discussions and master classes.

The BroadcastAsia2006 International Conference will take place from the 19 to 22 June and will present a range of topics that extend across the key issues facing the broadcasting industry today.

“The comprehensiveness and relevance of this year‘s conference lineup has also taken the event to new heights. With high caliber speakers with extensive knowledge and experience, delegates will gain an invaluable amount of knowledge and insight when they attend the conference, and it should therefore not be missed,” added Yeoh.

The lineup of conference tracks include:

• High Definition (covering HDTV technology)
  
• IPTV
  
• Broadcasting to Handhelds
  
• Digital Audio Broadcasting
  
• Interactive TV session
  
• Asian D-Cinema Summit (with a keynote address by 20th Century Fox)
  
• Capacity Building of Broadcast Sector
  
• Production (covering production issues and technology updates)
  
• Content Delivery
  
• Protecting Broadcast Content
  
• Satellite Interference Issues in the Broadcast Industry
  
• Testing and Measurement
  
• Two industry dialogues: Developments of contents in / for Asian markets and content and outsourcing.

Highlights at this year‘s International Conference include a keynote sessions by industry leaders, including keynote speaker The Interactive Channel Co. Ltd, Hong Kong chairman Robert Chua.

Chua will be delivering his presentation at the Interactive TV session, and is co-presented by SES, with the Association of the French interactive television developers, publishers and service providers (AFDESI) and the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD).

Other industry speakers include: Orca Interactive, Israel vice president marketing and business development Yosi Glick; GDC, Singapore CEO Dr. Chong Man-Name; MediaCorp Technologies Pte Ltd, Singapore CEO Mock Pak Lum; Pioneer Corporation, Japan senior managing director Osamu Yamada; Australian Communications and Media Authority, Australia manager allocations administration Greg Cupitt and Qualcomm MediaFLO Technologies, USA vice president of engineering and market development Rob Chandok.

BroadcastAsia International Conference director Martin Salter said, “I am very excited with the line-up of topics that address the hot issues facing the fast changing dynamics of the electronic media industry, from the large screen experience of D-Cinema, through the opportunities of IPTV, and to the new challenges of content creation and delivery to mobile devices. Yet current issues like the digital transition are not ignored. Presentations will be delivered by eminent speakers from a broad international base. These key sessions are augmented by specialised sessions from renowned organizations from around the world.”

Held concurrently with BroadcastAsia are a series of seminars and conferences specifically designed to provide insight into new business opportunities and digital technology that are the drivers of the transformation of how we live, entertain and interact.

The Animation and Visual Effects Seminar is a showcase of the latest projects from the worlds leading production companies and education providers. Specifically, this seminar is intended for all digital artists, producers and management involved in the entertainment industry to learn from the world‘s best.

Delegates can rub shoulders with the makers of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and King Kong as animation experts from Academy Award winning studios Weta (known for their work on Lord of the Rings) and Rhythm and Hues (Babe, The Cat in the Hat, Garfield) descend upon the Singapore Expo to share technical advice and knowledge with participants.

Highlights include Rhythm and Hues technical supervisor Bill Westenhofer at will be addressing the seminar on how technologies and techniques have evolved in computer graphics and special effects. Westenhofer is the visual supervisor leading the Rhythm and Hues team on The Chronicles of Narnia. His other credits include Stuart Little, Men in Black 2 and Elf.

Also speaking is Shawn Dunn from New Zealand based animation studio, Weta. Dunn‘s was the animation technical supervisor on King Kong. He has also worked on Hollywood blockbuster, I, Robot, starring Will Smith. Dunn will be providing a global update on the animation industry at the seminar.

Delegates at the Asian D-Cinema Summit can expect to be updated on regional and technological developments from industry leaders such as MediaCorp Technologies CEO Mok Pak Lum and GDC Singapore CEO Dr. Chong – Man Nang.

This year‘s International Conference also promises to be even more interactive. Aside from the usual presentations, more discussions and panel sessions have been planned. Two industry dialogues have been lined up, with a focus on content development and delivery.

Said Yeoh, “It is our desire to provide delegates with the maximum amount of opportunity for ideas exchange, learning, and networking. The conference aims to do just that – increase the level of information sharing, encourage more interaction, and provide them with insights that can be applied in their own areas of work, long after the conference ends.”

BroadcastAsia 2006 is held in conjunction with CommunicAsia2006 and EnterpriseIT2006.