Production Technology Seminar 2009 - EBU Technical

Opening speech
Lieven Vermaele, EBU Technical Director, Switzerland
EBU is a union of 75 Active members from 56 countries, and 45 Associate members around the world,
representing a big force towards the industry and Standards organisations. The EBU Technical
Department, in order to become your reference in media technology and innovation, developed this last
year a strategic plan, in three steps:
� 'Have your say' with questionnaires and interviews of the members, to analyse the situation.
� Redefine key missions, vision, values and objectives with the management committees.
� Define a clear activity plan in the different domains.
Our vision and mission are clear, expressed in the following strategic objectives:
� We connect and share, bringing people together, sharing experience (seminars, on-line…).
� We develop and guide.
� We promote (open standards, interoperability, network neutrality, maximised user access, spectrum
requirements…) and represent EBU members in industrial bodies, international organisations,
regulation bodies.
� We drive (pushing for innovation where and when necessary, e.g. time labelling…) and harmonise
(e.g. Digital Radio) for cost efficiency.
We will concentrate our activities in three technological domains, with corresponding programmes:
� Content creation, contribution and production technology, through PMC and NMC and the following
programmes: HDTV and beyond – File-based production systems and infrastructure, and Networks -
Archive and Storage.
� Media delivery technology, through DMC and SMC and the following programmes: Broadcast
technology – Broadband fixed and wireless technology (spectrum and applications).
� Consumer equipment and applications technology, through DMC, and the following programmes:
Display technologies – Applications and Interactivity – Security, Rights and Metadata.
For each programme we defined an activity matrix, matching the strategic objectives (Connect &
Share…).
In order to achieve our goals we changed the organisation to plan – produce – deliver the work.
Program Manager
Hans Hoffmann
Project Manager(s)
Member(s) in residence
Director EBU Technical
Lieven Vermaele
Executive Assistant
Financial Assistant
Deputy Director
David Wood
Pool of Engineers
Program Manager
Peter Mac Avock
Project Engineer(s)
Project Student(s)
Central Office & Members Desk Promotion & Publication Office
We also developed the website, which is becoming:
� One place where the information is put together (news, publications, presentations, seminars and
reports, webinars…)
� The central place of the project groups, with on-line meeting tools such as the 'EBU Network' (finding
a colleague).
© EBU 2009 / Production Technology seminar / January 27 - 29, 2009
Reproduction prohibited without written permission of EBU TECHNICAL & EBU TRAINING
PLAN PRODUCE DELIVER
4