06 REMEMBERING MICHAEL COX, 1932-2022
BY DICK HOBBS One of the great joys of IBC and the industry it represents is the wonderful characters that have inhabited it. Mike Cox, who died on April, was most defi nitely one of those characters. He was born in Lancashire, in the north of England, but his father was a Church of England vicar who became priest of the British Church in Marseille on the French Mediterranean. Mike lived there for seven years, picking up a lot of the language and developing his social skills (possibly even his love of wine).
He completed his schooling in England and went on to University College London to study electrical engineering. He was also an active member of the Students’ Union, and once spent a night in the cells of Bow Street police station having been arrested on a demonstration. His studies kindled his interest in television and, while still a student and a member of the British Amateur Television Club, he built a fl ying spot telecine. After a brief
spell with Marconi, he moved into IT, fi rst with Associated Rediffusion, then at ABC Television in Teddington, south-west London. Here his talent for engineering innovation was spotted, and he became ITV’s only development engineer for colour television, in the days before a broadcast format had been selected. He set up demonstrations for all interested parties, and with colleagues from around Europe he designed and built all the bits and pieces necessary to make it all work. is fl air for electronics was matched by a sound business head, and in 1968 he left to set up his own design and manufacturing company, Michael Cox Electronics, which became very successful: one of its earliest products was a PAL coder, of which more than 1000 were sold. From his Rediffusion days he had been involved with the Royal Television Society, which led him to become involved in the papers programme at the very fi rst I in 1967. Cox Electronics exhibited
from 1970. Then, in his own words, “In 1984 I was asked if I would join an IBC committee, led by Dr Boris Townsend. This became a long association with the management of IBC, ending up as Deputy Chairman from 1992 to 2003.” He was deeply involved in the detailed processes which led, in 1996, to IBC becoming owned by six leading trade bodies, ensuring that it is truly run by the industry, for the industry. Even after he ‘retired’ from IBC he was still very much involved, helping with the technical side
including the IBC Info Channel. isitors in the fi rst decade of this century may remember him touring the show with his video camera on a hand-made, wooden shoulder mount – if he could make something work he was always up for it.
All who knew him will remember his vitality, his engineering insights and his good humour. He was an outstanding engineer – and after hours quite the bon viveur. He will be much missed. With thanks to Norman Green for some of the research.
APPEAR IS X FACTOR IN DEUTSCHE TELEKOM’S OTT PLAY Appear
BY ANNE MORRIS
Media processing and delivery technology specialist Appear has revealed that its X Platform forms a central element of Deutsche Telekom’s (DT) over-the-top (OTT) TV service in Germany. The Oslo-based company has been working with the telco for more than three years but has only just announced the OTT collaboration. X Platform is described as a low-latency platform for high- speed video networking, enhanced IP security and advanced compression for the remote production, contribution and distribution markets. Thomas Jørgensen, CEO of Appear, told IBC Daily that DT wanted to ensure that streaming content “has the same quality and
latency as anything delivered via satellite and cable”. Jørgensen said DT chose X Platform because of its “extreme density, with an ability to fi t several UHD channels with a large ABR bitrate ladder into one chassis, while maintaining very low latency and achieving high-quality video over OTT.
He also pointed to DT’s wish to build the OTT value chain with “off the shelf” modularity baked into its design. The telco used a “best of breed” approach to cherry-pick interoperable building blocks, he added.
Speaking on the collaboration, Koen van Benschop, Manager TV Headend at Deutsche Telekom Technik, said: “OTT is going to be a decisive battleground for operators. Though satellite and cable are currently more popular among German customers, the tides are
Jørgensen: Appear X Platform’s ‘extreme density’ is a key part of its appeal
turning. Customers want choice in how they interact with content, they want full control over what they watch and when.” Jørgensen said Appear is working with a number of telcos, including UK-based BT, as they invest in OTT offerings for their prime content. Here, he highlighted the growing interest in live sporting events and the related requirement for very low latency services.
During IBC, Appear is also discussing the refresh of its XC Platform, its recent launch on the US market, and the introduction of a new server-based transcoder in Europe. It will, of course, also be placing a big focus on its green credentials, highlighting the low energy consumption and CO2 production of its X Platform, for example. 1.C61
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