About the event

The 9th International Conference “Digital TV Russia&CIS: Digital Broadcast, Nonlinear Content, Blockchain, Ultra HD HDR” (DTV–2018) was successfully held on October 18, 2018 in Moscow.

The event was attended by more than 150 industry top experts: representatives of telecommunications and broadcasting companies, content providers, manufacturers and suppliers of telecommunications equipment, founders and chief officers of blockchain startups, participants of the ICO and cryptocurrency sector, system integrators, representatives of regulatory authorities and the media.

The strategic partner of DTV–2018 was Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), the innovative partner was Russian Satellite Communications Company (RSCC). The official partner of the conference was National Satellite Company (Tricolor TV). The sessions were sponsored by Iterion and COMCOR (AKADO Telecom) companies. Digital TV Russia&CIS was supported by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the International Academy of Telecommunications (IAS).

The conference plenary session was devoted to the future of digital broadcasting: what the Russian broadcasting market will be like after disabling the state analog broadcasting. Igor Stepanov, Head of the Press Service of the Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network (RTRS), Nikolai Vasilyev, Director of the Terrestrial Services Department of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and Sergey Plotnikov, Director of the Infocommunication Technologies and Multimedia Services Department of the Russian Satellite Communications Company, shared their opinions. Director of Satellite TV Strategy and Development of MTS (STV company) Alexey Lipilin and President of ROSTELESET Association Oleg Grishchenko took part in the panel discussion that concluded the plenary session.

The participants discussed how much people are capable to receive the first and the second multiplexes of the digital terrestrial TV; the return of the antenna farm on the roofs of residential buildings (community antenna television) to the state digital broadcasting; the conditions that are necessary for direct satellite broadcasting operators to bring the number of people with two multiplexes in the Russian Federation up to 100%; the prospects for the development of RTRS-1 and RTRS-2 packages, and possibility of new multiplexes emergence; which TV channels will decide to keep the analog broadcasting without the state support and guarantees of protection against radio interference; the future of the regional TV channels in analog or digital broadcasting; the use of the digital dividend received after the cease of analog broadcasting.

The first session moderated by Alexey Byrdin, Director General of the Internet Video Association, was devoted to the future television: non-linear content and hybrid broadcasting. Benjamin Schwarz, a representative of the Ultra HD Forum and founder of CTOiC, told via video link about the level of deployment of UHD in 2018 according to the Ultra HD Forum. Maxim Skorchenko, Head of Non-Linear Services Development Direction at the National Satellite Company (Tricolor TV), shared the experience of hybrid broadcasting in Tricolor TV. Alexey Ugrinovich, Director General of Dolby in Russia and the CIS, presented a report on the immersive sound DolbyAtmos and a HDR creation – DolbyVision. Maxim Chernov, Deputy Director General for Commercial Activities of AKADO Telecom, spoke about the prospects for the development of Russian content and their own elaborations in its assessment system. Pavel Pogrebinsky, Director of the Information Technologies and Infrastructure Department of the Russia 2018 Organizing Committee, made a report on ensuring the delivery and distribution of digital TV signals at the FIFA World Cup 2018 venues. Elena Yachmennikova, Development Director of Orion Group of Companies, spoke about the role of hybrid solutions in the development of satellite TV operators’ business.

The conference second session under the moderation of Denis Rychka, Vice-President for Communications of the Russian Association of Cryptoindustry and Blockchain (RACIB), was devoted to new technologies for content delivery and promotion from recommendation services to blockchain. Sergey Klimentov, MoviesChain project manager of TVzavr company, told about the global platform for decentralized films distribution based on blockchain technology. The report of NeuroMovies founder Vadim Levin concerned Digital Media as a new paradigm for the entertainment industry. Roman Nikishov, Deputy Head of the Department of design, creation and maintenance of information, communication and engineering infrastructure of distributed automated information systems of Iterion company, spoke about practical experience and prospects for monitoring the quality of content. Stanislav Terentyev, the Director General of Synemico company, made a report on BeProducer – the blockchain platform as a tool for turning the mass audience into a co-producer.

At the end of DTV–2018 the round table “Television and video content: 20 years later” took place. The discussion was attended by Denis Perepelitsyn, SPB TV External Communications Director; Konstantin Novikov, Head of Sales for National Telecom Operators and Content Providers of MegaFon company; Dmitry Bunevich, Head of Integrated Solutions and Business Development of SONY; Pavel Karakhtintsev, Head of Content Management Department of  COMCOR company (AKADO Telecom), media expert, teacher of the Faculty of Communications, Media, and Design of the Higher School of Economics; Arthur Tarasenko, TV producer; Alexander Shirokikh, Director General of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). The participants discussed the estimates of growth in the number of UltraHD subscribers relative to HDTV subscribers, the increase in television viewing in non-linear environments with respect to traditional television, the changes in viewers’ genre preferences, the reduction in average viewing time with the increase in mobile television viewing, differences in content markets and successful business models in various regions of Russia, special aspects of the Far East, the possibility of equalizing the sound quality improving evolution with the video picture quality evolution, uberization in television watching, business models of the future: personalized advertising, Pay-per-view, Prosumer, etc.

The forum participants highly appreciated the level of speakers and moderators of the 9th International Conference “Digital TV Russia&CIS: Digital Broadcast, Nonlinear Content, Blockchain, Ultra HD HDR”, exceptional opportunities for establishing business relations, and quality of organization of the event as a whole.

Welcome to the 10th International Conference Digital TV Russia&CIS on October 17, 2019.