Q. Evaluate 3D one year after it was perhaps over-hyped by various industry types at IBC 2010—what is it really settling down into?
3D is still very important—for the cinema—but not for most broadcasters. Many of our TV customers have yet to broadcast HD so for them any real interest in buying into 3D is still years away. Many of our customers involved in cinema and Blu-ray distribution need support for 3D, but subtitling is still a relatively low priority; no matter how careful you are, the subtitles will always get in the way of the 3D experience.
Q. What broad technology trends do you think will be front-and-centre at IBC?
Connected TV seems to be getting the hype this year and I expect cloud computing to be more visible this time around, too.
Q. What’s new that you will show at IBC and that broadcasters should look for there?
We will be launching a new product to help broadcasters reduce the cost of providing deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers with good quality subtitles on news and other live programmes, a service that the European Parliament has voiced strong opinions over. We are also interested in exploring with broadcasters the future form of their teletext services as digital switchovers and new HD services become a reality.
Q. How is your new product offering different from what is available on the market?
WinCAPS Q Live has speech recognition more closely integrated than ever before to make for a much easier-to-use live subtitling solution.
Q. Where are you based and how many employees do you have? Anything we should know about your company?
We have about 25 staff, based in the United Kingdom and we’ve been working in this sector for more than 30 years now.
Q. How many years have you been going to IBC and what’s your fondest memory? What’s your favourite restaurant or pub?
Personally I still count myself as an IBC juvenile as this will only be my 10th year. My favourite restaurant is very friendly and not expensive, but it is quite small so I may never get a table again if I tell everyone at IBC where it is. My fondest memory is probably when a colleague fell through a chair—he’s been on a diet since!
