EBU and DVB sign up to Future of TV initiative

The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the DVB and 11 other international broadcasting bodies have lined up behind a new initiative focusing on terrestrial TV.

The Future of Broadcast Television (FOBTV) initiative is focused on ensuring the long-term viability and relevance of terrestrial TV. EBU technology and development director Lieven Vermaele signed a memorandum of understanding on FOBTV on behalf of the EBU at the NAB show last week.

“Terrestrial broadcasting and mobile broadband are both important but neither technology alone will be able to meet future demand for wireless media. We need to innovate using them together, in a complementary way. Broadcast can be the backbone as it can deliver the coverage, quality of service and capacity we will increasingly need. Broadband will extend the range of services and enable access to all categories of user device,” said Vermaele.

The initiative has as its objectives the development of ecosystem models for terrestrial broadcasting, taking into account business, regulatory and technical aspects, the development of requirements for next generation terrestrial broadcast systems, taking into account the needs of a connected society and maximising the efficient use of spectrum, increased collaboration between digital TV development laboratories, and the recommendation of technologies that can be used as the basis for unified new standards.