the
channel
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AIB INTERVIEW
And finally all of the above would be
available as “plug-and-play” solutions in
your neighbourhood gadget store!
You are known in the industry for not
following traditional broadcast
engineering solutions, what do you see
as the future for broadcast technology?
In the long term, I think the single
biggest change in broadcast technology
will be the demise of the current delivery
mechanisms. In India, Reliance is rolling
out an “All-in-one” telecom product –
this will have the capacity and capability
to deliver voice, telephony, Internet
access, as well as hundreds of channels
of television content (including
interactive ones) directly to the home
with a single pair of wires (or an OFC).
Such “ultra-wideband” solutions are
being deployed in many places around
the world and we will see broadcasters
shifting from satellite (DTH) and
terrestrial transmitters, or at least
augmenting their reach via these new
delivery engines.
What new technologies are you
currently looking at and how will they
be integrated into your operation?
I am currently working on nascent
technology for a newsgathering project
which will allow live broadcast from any
part of a city without using traditional
microwaves or satellites.
What are your biggest challenges?
My biggest challenge currently is
building my house! On a more serious
note, the biggest challenge that I face
is creating (and running) cutting-edge
solutions for NDTV, which not only save
money but also integrate seamlessly into
our workflow. We launched NDTV
Technologies in February – an
Engineering-for-Broadcast and IT-for-
Broadcast consulting company. We are
offering our services to broadcasters and
start-ups around the world that can
benefit from the 200+ man-years of
broadcast engineering expertise that we
possess. This has been very positively
received by the Indian market where we
are well-known, and we have already
bagged our first substantial contract. I
hope to turn NDTV Tech into a major
profit-making division of NDTV in the
next year.
More broadcasters are using cheaper
technology, and in particular consumer
technology. Is this a good trend?
I have always felt that products in
the broadcast segment are overpriced;
additionally there is no transparency
in their pricing, which varies widely
from country to country, and indeed
from customer to customer within a
country.
On the other hand consumer technology
has advanced tremendously to a point
where in some cases it is subjectively
indistinguishable from professional-grade
gear, and we at NDTV have used some of
it with measurable success over the years.
So yes, I think it’s a good trend, but
systems integrators should carefully
evaluate and test each product before
going in for a bulk purchase.
Do you see NDTV as an international
broadcaster and if so what new
technologies are you using to reach
outside your borders?
Indians are among the biggest ethnic
groups in a number of developed
countries, and we have been running a
live video feed on our website for the
last four years with some success. We will
also shortly expand our channel
distribution, but in doing so I’m afraid
we will be constrained to use the standard
delivery mechanisms that are in each
country. Having said that, I think it is
our content where we will expend our
creative energies!
Finally, what do you most enjoy about
your job?
The fact that no two days are ever the
same. I also enjoy the fact that for any
new technology that that I work on,
the management puts their money
where my mouth is!
Rahul Deshpande, thank you for your
time and good luck with the future
challenges.
