A consumer electronics exec will be at the NAB Show to talk to broadcast engineers about a topic that affects both stations and electronics manufacturers.
The keynote of the Broadcast Engineering Conference will be on the topic “Tsunami Warning — Internet Washing Over Broadcast Receivers,” and given by Brian Markwalter, VP for research and standards at the Consumer Electronics Association, according to NAB’s Radio TechCheck newsletter.
Markwalter asks the question whether the Internet revolution will be a rising tide to lift all boats or a tsunami that will capsize many.
Current broadcast receiver modules, centered upon AM and FM radio, along with TV, are good at handling strictly defined channels but are ill-equipped to handle the nearly infinite number of “content providers” that the Internet eventually can offer. That concept of “channel” alone loses meaning in the IP world.
“Now radio receivers are being connected to the Internet and the number of channels isn’t just doubling, it’s increasing exponentially,” NAB quotes Markwalter. Similarly, “as TV receivers plug into the Internet, the amount of content available seems almost infinite. What does this mean for traditional AM, FM and TV receivers?”
His delivery starts at 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 10.
