Q. Evaluate 3D one year after it was perhaps over-hyped by various industry types at IBC 2010—what is the reality settling down into?
We’re getting a lot of interest in 3D, but more from the post-production business than from the broadcasters at this stage. T-VIPS is providing 3D contribution solutions, including 3D gateways for broadcasters and the cinema industry, distribution solutions for a number of broadcasters in Europe and the United States, as well as providing solutions for some advanced 3D OB trucks. 3D is not something that all our customers need right now throughout their contribution and distribution infrastructure; but it’s something they all ask about. The fact that we’re 3D-ready means that if you deploy T-VIPS solutions you’re future-proofed for 3D. In fact, across the board I think that a move to 3D—at least for relevant content—is in the minds of all our broadcast customers, large and small. Certainly in the areas of the industry that we work in, 3D has moved from hype to reality in a very short space of time.
Q. What broad technology trends do you think will be front-and-centre at IBC?
I think it’s interesting to look at trends in three broad types: those generated from within the broadcast industry, those buffeting us from the outside and a third type, which converges the broadcast world with players traditionally from the outside. The march of IP, advanced advertising techniques and a search for solutions that simultaneously increase video quality while reducing running costs would all be trends from inside the broadcast industry. From outside, I see OTT as the gorilla “nearly in the room” and converging broadband and TV is perhaps the most exciting of all, where we see home networking, interactivity delivered to smartphones and tablets, broadcaster controlled OTT and attempts to merge social and broadcast media as exciting trends to look out for.
Q. What’s new that you will show at IBC and that broadcasters should look for there?
We will be launching a number of products that continue to combine broadcast knowledge with expertise in IP to make a broadcaster’s life easier, reduce running costs, increase the quality of services delivered and enable new revenue streams. But I’m afraid that to find out more you’ll have to wait until nearer to IBC, or even better, visit our IBC booth (#1. B71).
Q. How is your new product offering different from what’s available on the market?
Our new products will have similar differentiators to our existing solutions. Any new video gateway solutions will continue to offer compact, powerful and cost-effective products designed for real-time contribution and distribution of professional video-over-IP networks. New solutions in our nSure range will safeguard the delivery of high-quality video content, by providing 24/7 monitoring, advanced analysis and redundancy switching. And new cProcessor processing and multiplexing products have been developed to address the needs of network operators, TV studios and broadcasters by making the complex simple.
Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?
Our global headquarters is in Oslo, Norway and we have a U.S. headquarters in New Jersey. We have seen a steady growth in both the number of T-VIPS employees and our international network of business partners, who really understand our products and how they interoperate with broadcast infrastructure and operating practices.
Q. How many years have you been going to the IBC show and what’s your fondest memory? What’s your favourite restaurant or pub?
In 2011 I will be wearing my T-VIPS hat for the seventh time, but I first visited IBC in 1996. My fondest memory is from 2007 when T-VIPS won two CSI Product of the Year awards with our JPEG2000 solutions and with our cProcessors (for local content handling in terrestrial networks). That was celebrated with foie gras and champagne at De Compagnon. I love coming to Amsterdam and always have fun whenever I can enjoy good wine with customers, partners and colleagues.
