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Beyond Digital – heading towards the horizon

Dr Adrian Woolard, Project Director (North Lab), BBC Research & Development

BBC R&D at MediaCity:UK

BBC MMXIFuture Media & Technology

Both ©1979 Usborne Books written by Kenneth Gatland and David Jefferis.

BBC MMXIFuture Media & Technology

©1979 Usborne Books written by Kenneth Gatland and David Jefferis.

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Storytelling TechnologyMedia

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2011

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Ten Products - doing fewer things better

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Four Screens

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TV & iPlayer

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BBC News

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BBC Online products – increased partnership

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Editorial

Social Algorithmic

Audiences, connected to us and to each other

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BBC Research & Development

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BBC R&D remit

• Maintain the BBC’s position as a centre of excellence for research and development in broadcasting and related technologies

• Pay particular attention to the development of “open standards”

• Conducted within the BBC and in co-operation with university departments and businesses

• The Executive Board must ensure that an appropriate balance between revenue and the value to licence fee payers and the UK economy by making new developments widely and openly available.

Regulatory context: Governed by clause 87 of the Public Charter for BBC.

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A few of our key achievements…

1951 – World’s first TV standards converter1962 – First colour transatlantic TV transmission1965 – First tests of PAL colour TV transmission1968 – Standards converter used for Mexico City Olympics1969 – BBC1 starts colour transmissions1971 – World’s first demo of digital stereo audio recording1972 – CEEFAX launched1988 – RDS launched1990 – First trial of DAB1991 – NICAM stereo launched on BBC21995 – DAB launched2000 – World’s first digital radio camera demonstrated at NAB2002 – Freeview launched2007 – HDTV trial2008 – Freesat launched2008 – DVB-T2 Specification finalised, world-first to have signals on-air 2010 – YouView Specifications approved for UK launch in 2011/12

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BBC R&D: research priorities

Fabric initiative

Archive

Storage

HiFi data

captureData

manipulation in

software

Commodity

technology

Metadata standards & brokering

‘IP glass-to-glass’: the modern media network

New editorial formats and UIs

Managing diversity

Network service

enablers

DVBT-2

YouView

Hybrid of IP and

broadcast

networks

Flexible spectru

m

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Strategic ambition – next 1 to 5 years…

BBC R&D will aid the creation & consolidate a new “broadcasting” system.

This work will lay the foundation for a future BBC that is defined by:

• The parallel development of ‘pervasive’ & ‘immersive’ media experiences

• A drive towards 'IP end to end’ & the radical changes this implies

• An evolving purpose that reflects the shift towards an information society

• Taking a leading role in improving the environmental, financial & social performance of our sector.

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Examples of Work

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Production Magic – content generation

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2011/03/rd-and-blue-peter--ski-rossend.shtml

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Video Vu – virtual flights around Wimbledon with BBC Sport

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2011/06/live-virtual-flights-around-wi.shtml

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Exploring immersive media – surround video

BBC MMXIFuture Media & TechnologyMock-ups of future ‘Collaborative production services in the Cloud’

- Lancaster University, regional SMe’s

Distributed production environment for SME, Freelancer, Public

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Universal Control – BBC R&D releasing research tools for collaboration

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/researchanddevelopment/2011/02/universal-control.shtml

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Ambient Media

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New Data Driven ‘Services’ – Channelography & subtitles

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Content Navigation – BBC Snippets

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Data Art – University of Westminster

http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/data_art/

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Virtual Maestro at Manchester International Festival

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The Telethrone – University of Salford – PhD + general ‘hackery’

Preserving the art of conversation

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Innovation – food for thought

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Cities & the digital workforce…

The big, open-ended question is, “Why should empowered and self-reliant people, equipped with increasingly powerful information technology, ever come to work at all?”

Key reading: http://speedbird.wordpress.com/2010/04/18/rework-and-the-city/

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Relevant across the North

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Innovation Hubs/ Nodes across the regions

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Cautionary tale..

http://www.guardian.co.uk/tech-media-invest-100/top-100-technology-innovators

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www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11706476www.youtube.com/watch?v=NugRZGDbPFU

“Good ideas come from crowds, from networks, the lone genius is the exception rather than the rule”

Worth reading …

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If we acknowledge the importance of technology then we are now in the phase of working out how best to manage & improve it for the public and private good.

Paraphrased from Bronac Ferran, 8 Essays 2009.

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Thank You!

Dr Adrian WoolardProject Director (North Lab)

BBC Research & Development, Future MediaR&D North Lab, 5th Floor, Dock House, MediaCityUK, Salford, M50 2LHE: adrian.woolard@bbc.co.ukW: http://www.bbc.co.uk/rdT: adew