Production world must embrace HD

Although most broadcasters still invest in standard definition, production houses and filmmakers in the Arab world should wholeheartedly embrace high definition as the format of choice for production.

Broadcasters may be slower in adopting HD but they can be excused for not having invested in this format except in some areas of their workflow because the infrastructure in most viewers' homes is still only SD-compliant and huge investments in HD infrastructure at this point cannot be justified.

The choice to migrate to HD, however, should be a lot easier for the production industry. Besides the easy availability of HD cameras all the way from the entry-level to the very high-end, the price differences between SD and HD cameras are not large enough to justify sticking to the older format.

Production houses also have an advantage in shooting everything in HD. When broadcasters eventually move to HD transmission, footage shot in HD will not have to be converted. In fact, the value of content produced in HD will only increase in the future as HD-compliant set top boxes and related TV screens become more common in the viewers' home.

Given this, it seems important that even if media organisations do not see it fit to migrate their entire workflow to HD, they must ideally move to this format within their production environment.

If all new programming content such as drama series and documentaries are filmed in high definition, chances are they can be broadcast even several years later, when the whole world has finally migrated to an HD environment.

At CABSAT 2009, there will be greater focus on high definition and its many merits within the production and editing environment. Several camera manufacturers such as Hitachi, JVC, Sony, Panasonic and P+S Technik will be at the show to display their wares while a substantial number of new production companies will also be there this year to offer their services in HD.

Smaller cameras and new manufacturers are not to be sniffed at. An example of this is Slumdog Millionaire, which won eight Oscars and was mainly shot on a relative newcomer, the SI-2K.

It will be worth your while to visit CABSAT and look at the vast array of HD options available in the marketplace.

On another note, Digital Studio will also celebrate its fifth annual awards at the show. We will celebrate the best and the most creative in the production and broadcast industry. Watch this space next month for a full rundown of all the award winners.

Vijaya Cherian is the editor of Digital Studio.

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