Peter Owen, chairman of IBC’s Council for the past 15 years, is stepping down. But he will continue coming to the show.
“I’ll be back next year and for many years afterwards. IBC is not seeing the back of me just yet. I especially want to be back for the 50th Anniversary show in two years.”
Owen, a founder member of Quantel, admits he has seen more than a few changes over the years since he first attended IBC back in 1970.“What has surprised me most is the rise of smartphones.They have affected broadcasting in so many ways, not least in the discussion as to how to get content onto the devices. To this day that discussion continues.
“The other fact is how wonderful today’s broadcast images are, and this doesn’t include Ultra HD ones, which are spectacular. Sit in a darkened lounge and the images are quite fantastic, and perhaps as an industry we should shout about that a little more.”
As to the next five to 10 years, Owen said he is blown away by the new Ultra HD screens. “And NHK’s Super Hi-Vision screens are totally amazing. I am pragmatic about viewing distances from
the display.
“One aspect that hasn’t happened is the domination of the living room by a single screen.I am not sure there’s a role for one large ‘super’ screen to the exclusion of the smaller devices.
“The industry always innovates,” Owen concluded. “And there will always be a role for IBC.”
