July/August 2018
ertonline.co.uk
‘UHD is a great opportunity for retailers to customise their stores’
THE MD of sat- ellite operator SES Astra GB has called for more retailers to get behind UHD TV on the shopfloor. Speaking in a panel session at this year’s SES Ultra HD
Conference, Mike Chandler (pictured) said: “There is a great opportunity for retailers to customise their stores, so people can experience something new and talk about it with their friends and family.
“For technologies like High Dynamic Range, you need to have a good living-room-like environment [in-store] to show the difference in content. That’s key – you can only demonstrate and up-sell if you’ve got the right tools and environment.” Added Richard Lindsay-Davies, chief executive of the Digital TV Group (DTG): “We know that UHD has come of age – it’s here to stay and it may well become the norm at some point, so we have to plan for it. The good news is that we’re making those baby steps – the consumer electronics market has already done it and we’re on a road map to more and more services. When will all TVs be UHD? It can’t be that far off – two or three years.”
4K content production increasing ‘exponentially’
THE AMOUNT of high-quality content being made in 4K UHD is increasing dramatically, according to one of the biggest post-production companies in the industry. Peter Collins (pictured), head of scripted/pipeline at post-production firm The Farm Group, told the conference that the rise in both production and commissioning has been ‘exponential’. “We’ve seen commissioners understanding the technology and what it requires to create their deliverables,” he said. “And that’s also trickled down into production and understanding the time frames and cost and time implications of creating these projects.” The main difference, he said, was that content was being produced that was future-proof to allow for emerging technologies. “We’ve seen quite a few jobs where they will shoot and master in UHD and 4K, but they will only be HD-deliverable because they want the full version in their back pocket for the future when the technology becomes more widespread.” “It is shifting in both the scripted and non- scripted productions to capturing in this format for now and the future.” However, Mr Collins warned that the technology should not be used for its own sake – particularly HDR – as it can affect the enjoyment of the viewer. “There is a real danger of creating hyper-real and oversaturated images where everything is on ‘vivid’ mode, and that detracts from the reality rather than enhancing it. One of the misunderstood areas of HDR is that you have to push it to the limits in order to engage the audience, whereas what we’ve seen is that it should be used as the icing on the cake.”
Producer and writer Manish Pandey, speaking on the same panel, agreed: “To grab people you think you need to turn everything up and make it hyper-vivid. But if you try and sustain that for 100 minutes in one go, it can leave the viewer feeling a little bit punch-drunk.”
Non-traditional broadcasting still ‘Wild West’, says producer
PRODUCERS who make and distribute content via non-traditional distribution models such as Netfl ix, Amazon or Apple TV are operating in the ‘Wild West’, according to one producer.
Graeme Stanley, CCO, of Insight TV based in the Netherlands, told the conference that revenue from these over-the-top (OTT) platforms “sucks”. Insight produces factual entertainment programmes aimed at a young adult audience. “We are working with lots of partners, for example
we’re on the Amazon platforms in Germany and the UK. We’re agnostic, we’re happy to provide our content to any device across any platform – especially considering the millennial audience we’re attracting, it’s a must. “But, in terms of revenue they suck. At the moment
it’s a market that’s developing and trying to get the price point right, and trying to be on all these devices takes time and money. Each app development can be £15,000 to £20,000 and you’re fighting thousands of others as there’s no barrier to entry. So trying to carve out your niche and get the attention and keep subscribers – it is the Wild West.” Why, then, does Mr Stanley believe that it’s worthwhile pursuing this model? “Do we want to be there? Yes, 110 per cent. Once
you’re past a rather small number of subscribers in the big scheme of things, the economics make it worthwhile and you are positioned for growth. But I would challenge anybody who is running an OTT or service that isn’t connected with a major broadcaster to tell me they’re having a really easy time of it.”
Tackle TV margins or lose more dealers, warns Retra CEO
MORE RETAILERS will fall by the wayside if the industry doesn’t address the lack of margin in the flat-panel TV sector. That’s the view of Howard Saycell, chief executive of electrical retailers association Retra.
“On average, our members make
around nine per cent margin on a flat-panel TV.
If you work out the
overheads and associated costs, when they make nine per cent on the sale of a £550 TV, for example, they’re actually losing money on it,” said Mr Saycell.
“My big fear is that, unless we
address the fact that the retail part of the chain doesn’t actually make any money, then we will lose high- street dealers and then where are people going to actually go and see all of these wonderful innovations and commit their money to it?” He added: “We’re at a serious
crossroads with retail. On a very cautionary note to manufacturers – the traditional way to bring new technology
into the market is to
have it on display in stores and to get passionate salespeople to demonstrate it and be enthusiastic. I don’t see how you do that online.”
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