“A format transition is currently taking place here, although it will take time,” says Claus Pfeifer, Group Product Manager at Sony Professional Solutions Europe, in an exclusive interview with the news service pressetext.de. The Japanese electronics manufacturer currently offers the professional film equipment used to shoot the television and film content that audiences may not see on their screens for another two years.
“The broadcasters’ delayed transition to HDTV is due to the fact that there is still too little content available for transmission in high-definition quality,” Pfeifer explains. However, much of the corresponding HD equipment—ranging from cameras and infrastructure to mixing consoles and transmission systems—is already present at broadcasters. Most broadcasters are nevertheless waiting until enough HD content is available before switching to the higher image quality, Pfeifer says.
German broadcasters were recently criticised by BITKOM for what it described as their delayed transition to HDTV. ARD and ZDF currently plan to begin HD broadcasts only with the 2010 Winter Olympics. Broadcasters in Austria and Switzerland are moving somewhat sooner. ORF, for example, will show European Championship matches in HD resolution. ARD explains the cautious stance of Germany’s public-service broadcasters by pointing to the limited number of viewers equipped with HD-capable receivers.
HD expert Pfeifer understands this position. Even so, he says, some broadcasters already offer programmes in HD quality. “Canal+ already broadcasts in HD, as does the German media group ProSiebenSat.1. However, the offerings are generally still limited to prime time,” the Sony representative tells pressetext. “It will still be some time before broadcasters can move fully from zero to one hundred.”
