HD Masters 2009: Making High Definition Work 23-24 June 2009, The Hotel Russell, London

HD Masters 2009: Making High Definition Work 23-24 June 2009, The Hotel Russell, London

LONDON, May 21/PRNewswire/ --

- Each year, the momentum behind HD Masters grows, and this year will be
no different

The 4th annual HD Masters 2009 conference is brought to you by TVB Europe
in partnership with SMPTE and the BKSTS. It is the European event for
excellence in high definition production, infrastructure and delivery to the
home.

Over two days, the conference will showcase cutting-edge developments and
unpick practical case studies, setting new benchmarks for best practice.
Delegates will hear from a 40-strong speaker line-up from across Europe,
including Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and
the UK. John Luff, Television, Technology Consultant and SMPTE Fellow Luff is
also making his debut at this year's conference, sharing the recent
developments currently in practice in the US, as well as address the latest
developments and innovations in HD technology.

The conference programme has been put together by the highly respected
John Ive, now consultant and technologist. Ive's career in the television
industry has spanned for more than 35 years; including periods at the BBC,
the Independent Broadcasting Authority and Sony, in senior management,
operations, marketing, programme-making, and technology research and
development. With his close proximity to the market, the conference programme
delves deep into the most critical technical HD issues that the broadcast
industry currently faces.

The conference will kick-off on Tuesday, 23 June with an insightful
keynote presentation from Danielle Nagler, Head of HD for the BBC. Speaking
for the first time at HD Masters, the presentation will identify the most
important areas of strategic technological developments that will drive
consumer take-up of HDTV. With BBC plans at the forefront of the industry,
this will be a session not be missed.

Day one will follow-on with four in-depth sessions on specific topics;
each featuring a host of recognised experts and ending in an interactive
panel discussion. 'Industry Status' will hear the latest developments from
across Europe, led by David Wood, Chair of the European HD Forum.
Representatives from France, Sweden, Poland, Germany and the US will join
Wood for a cross-continental discussion, drawing on shared learning and
development.

With Media City and BSKYB's new site developments hot news, day one will
also explore the reality of 1080p50 compliant studio builds. Hearing from
fore-mentioned champions, this session will answer critical questions on how
the industry as a whole can progressively move forward.

The day will move on to explore solutions to audio challenges and put
Dolby on the platform. Followed by a tour of the latest production techniques
and processes being trialled and introduced across sports, drama and news.
Led by Andy Quested, Head of Technology at the BBC, the session will also
feature case studies and discussion from WDR Germany and Outside Broadcast.

A special feature presentation from Japan's NHK on Super-High Vision will
bring day one to a close. A drinks reception for delegates and sponsors will
be held post-conference for networking around the exhibits. Exhibitors this
year include: Digital Rapids, Dolby, Everetz, EVS, For-A, Harris, NTT,
Panasonic, Phabrix and Screen Subtitling Systems.

Day two will open with an exceptional keynote from Paul Mason, Head of
Olympic Broadcasting Services London who will provide unique insights to
London 2012.

Following the same format as day one, the grand finale session will be on
the latest developments in 3D; an increasingly exciting area full of
interesting business prospects. Featuring insights from BSKYB and practical
guidance from leading consultants -- this panel will end the conference on a
high.

Other sessions not to be missed on day two will drill down into the
detail of compression and bit rates; spectrum usage and DVB-T2 deployment;
tapeless HD workflow; speciality equipment innovations; equipment
interoperability; SD to HD migration; and future studio design implications.

Speakers include: Richard Salmon, Senior Research Engineer, BBC Research;
Richard Lindsay-Davies, Director General, DTG; Simon Fell, Director of Future
Technologies, ITV; Reinhard Penzel, Principal, JETZT; Chris Johns, Chief
Engineer - Broadcast Strategy, BSKYB; Luk Overmeire, Technology Expert, VRT.

The conference will close at 17.00 on Wednesday, 24 June with a final
conference round-up from session Chairs from across the conference -
summarising the key learnings from the two days to overcome technical
challenges and get HD strategies on track.

HD Masters: Making High Definition Work will take place at The Hotel
Russell in London from 23-24 June 2009. For more information and to secure
your place, visit the conference website at www.hdmastersevent.com, or
contact HD Masters customer services on +44-(0)-20-7921-8039.

Source: UBM Conferences

Louise Challis, UBM Conferences, +44-(0)-20-7921-3921, louise.challis@ubm.com

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