Discerning consumers in the United Arab Emirates are driving broadcasters to speed up their shift towards HD transmission and to upgrade their existing facilities at a faster pace, according to the Dubai World Trade Center, the annual organizer of CABSAT 2008, the region’s largest event for the media electronics and satellite industries.
CABSAT 2008 is underway this week (March 4-6) in Dubai, in one of the wealthiest income regions of the world per capita.
The most recently available survey from the Satellite Industry Association on HD showed “a huge upswing in consumer demand for more high-definition content.” That trend is predicted by SIA to prompt 600 percent growth in HD channels over the next five years globally, the study concluded.
CABSAT 2008 this year has partnered with Salam Media Cast, a systems integrator for broadcasting and telecommunications, to host a live, hands-on working HD studio operation during the exhibition portion of the conference. (A similar studio operations set-up was carried out at NAB2005 and NAB2006.)
Most Middle East broadcasters are only now beginning to transition into HD.
