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Digital broadcasting is the practice of using digital data rather than analogue waveforms to carry broadcasts over television channels or assigned radio frequency bands. It is becoming increasingly popular for television usage (especially satellite television) but is having a slower adoption rate for radio.

Digital links, thanks to the use of data compression, generally have more efficient bandwidth usage than analog links, which allows a content provider more room to provide services, or to provide a higher-quality signal than had been previously available.

It is estimated that the share of digital broadcasting increased from 7% of the total amount of broadcasted information in 2000, to 25% in 2007.^[1]

The premise behind digital broadcasting[link]

NB: For more information on the premise of digital broadcasting refer to the 2002 edition of the World Radio TV Handbook.

Digital broadcasting has been helped greatly thanks to the presence of computers. In fact, with the invention of the integrated circuit in the 1960s and the microprocessor in the 1970s, digital broadcasting seems to have taken a footing in the global village that is broadcasting. However, most broadcasters are switching to digital broadcasting mostly because of a lack of frequency space.

1. In the UK, the FM broadcasting band is extremely limited. It is only possible to fit three BBC services comfortably: BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, and BBC Radio 3. In most areas BBC Radio 4 is also on FM, but for other locations Radio 4 uses AM and longwave because of the lack of space on FM. In fact, this is why BBC Radio Five Live exclusively uses AM. On the commercial radio front, only Classic FM can comfortably fit in FM: TalkSPORT and Virgin Radio use AM. In addition, local radio stations use a mixture of FM and AM. The same can also be said for British television, which exclusively uses the pan-European UHF television band after VHF television (PAL-A) was discontinued in the 1980s. Only BBC1, BBC2, ITV1, and Channel Four could comfortably fit. In addition, Channel Five could broadcast only in a few limited areas because of the strain of the TV band. There are also a few local television stations, but they are mostly low-power and are not affected, if any.
2. In Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Société Radio-Canada (CBC/Radio-Canada) operates four domestic radio networks: CBC Radio One, CBC Radio 2, Première Chaîne and Espace musique. Originally, Radio One and Première Chaîne used AM and Radio 2 and Espace musique used FM. However, most CBC radio broadcasts use FM now, putting strains on the FM radio band. This has left the AM band almost dry, since most local broadcasters are using FM. However, Canada uses the NTSC television system used in the US, so there aren't any problems with television, yet.
3. In South Asia, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation formerly Radio Ceylon, operates a pioneering FM radio station in Colombo.
4. In addition, there are inherent problems with AM and FM. FM in particular is prone to multipath interference and the need to constantly retune the radio because of problems with the signal. AM, by contrast, doesn't suffer with multipath but when going under bridges or in tunnels, reception is absent. AM in particular (as well as LW and SW) is also prone to conditions on the Sun. RDS, known in the US as RBRS, has alleviated some of the problems with FM, but hasn't been fully implemented in AM.

Thus, because of these problems, most broadcasters are switching to digital techniques.

References[link]

Related links[link]

• Digital radio
• Digital television
• ATSC Standards
• ATSC tuner
• Digital Audio Broadcasting
• Digital Radio Mondiale
• Digital Video Broadcasting
• HD Radio
• Satellite radio
• Satellite television

The Right Honourable The Lord Puttnam Kt, CBE, FRSA
Puttnam at the Orange British Academy Film Awards in London's Royal Opera House, February 2007
Born	David Terence Puttnam (1941-02-25) 25 February 1941 (age 71) Southgate, London, England
Occupation	Film producer and Politician
Spouse	Patricia Mary Jones (1961-present)

David Terence Puttnam, Baron Puttnam, CBE, FRSA (born 25 February 1941) is a British film producer. He sits on the Labour benches in the House of Lords, although he is not principally a politician.

Early life[link]

Puttnam was born in Southgate, London, England, the son of Marie Beatrix, a homemaker, and Leonard Arthur Puttnam, a photographer.^[1] Educated at Minchenden Grammar School in London Puttnam had an early career in advertising (see Collett Dickenson Pearce) and as agent acting for the photographer David Bailey and Brian Duffy

Film career[link]

He turned to film production in the late 1960s, working with Sanford Lieberson's production company Goodtimes Enterprises. His successes as a film producer include Bugsy Malone, Midnight Express, The Duellists (Ridley Scott's feature film debut), Chariots of Fire (which won the Academy Award for Best Picture), Local Hero, Memphis Belle, Meeting Venus and The Killing Fields and The Mission with Roland Joffé (which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986) mostly in association with Goldcrest.

He was Chair and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Pictures from 1986 to 1988. During his time at Columbia he was criticised for what some saw as a condescending attitude toward the Hollywood film industry, and for not sufficiently exploiting the studio's few box office hits. This strategic failure contributed to the sale of the studio to Sony.

Politics[link]

He was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) in 1983, knighted in 1995, and created a life peer in 1997, as Baron Puttnam, of Queensgate, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. In 1998 Puttnam was named in a list of the biggest private financial donors to the Labour Party (UK).^[2] In 2002 he chaired the joint scrutiny committee on the Communications Bill, which recommended an amendment to prevent ownership of British terrestrial TV stations by companies with a significant share of the newspaper market. This was widely interpreted as being aimed at stopping Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation from buying channel Five. When the government opposed the amendment, Puttnam brokered a compromise — the introduction of a "public interest" test to be applied by the new regulator Ofcom, but without explicit restrictions.

From 2004-2005 Puttnam chaired the Hansard Society Commission on the Communication of Parliamentary Democracy, the final report of which urged all political parties to commit to a renewal of parliamentary life in an attempt to reinvigorate representative democracy.^[3][4] In 2007, he chaired the Joint Parliamentary Committee on the Draft Climate Change Bill. Puttnam is currently a trustee of the think tank the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Association with education[link]

He was for 10 years chairman of the National Film and Television School and taught people such as Nick Park. He founded Skillset, which trains young people to become members of the film and television industries. In 2002 he was elected UK president of Unicef.

Lord Puttnam was the first chancellor of the University of Sunderland from 1997 until 13 July 2007. He was appointed an Honorary Doctor of Education during the School of Education and Lifelong Learning's Academic Awards Ceremonies in his final week as Chancellor and was granted the Freedom of the City of Sunderland upon his retirement. In 1998 he founded the National Teaching Awards and became its first chairman. He was the founding chairman of the General Teaching Council 2000-2002. He was appointed as chancellor of the Open University in 2006.^[5] He was also the Chairman of NESTA (The National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) from 1998 until 2003. He is also chairman of Futurelab and on the board of directors of learning technologies company Promethean.

Awards[link]

In 1982 he received the BAFTA Michael Balcon Award for his outstanding contribution to the British Film Industry. In February 2006, he was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship. He made the occasion notable by delivering a particularly moving homage to his late father who had died before he received his Oscar for Chariots of Fire.. He also congratulated contemporary filmmakers (specifically George Clooney) for making films with integrity: the lack of such films being produced had been the reason for his retirement from the film industry in the late 1990s.^[6]

In May 2006 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. On 12 July 2007, he was given the freedom of the City of Sunderland.^[7] In 2008, David received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Science from Nottingham Trent University in recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the cultural landscape of the UK, in both economic and creative terms, and for his notable support for the Nottingham City-based GameCity Festival.

He suffers from ME, severely debilitating him on occasions.

In 2009 in partnership with Sir Michael Barber, Lord Puttnam released We Are the People an education documentary featuring high-profile figures discussing their own experiences of education.^[8]

Other Interests[link]

Puttnam co-authored (with Neal Watson) Of Movies and Money, published in Jan 2000 by Vintage Books.

When he became the chairman of Profero, a London based digital marketing agency In April 2007, he explained the move saying: "My experience over the past forty-odd (some very odd) years has encompassed marketing, entertainment and social issues, a fascinating mix that is integral to the daily lives of consumers and citizens. A business that can combine and magnify these dynamics can only create incredible value for their clients and, as a by-product, themselves. To me Profero is in just such a position, and it’s now my job to help them realise their potential."^[9]

He is patron of SCHOOLS NorthEast, an organisation set up in 2007 to promote education and forge relationships between schools in the North East of England.

Puttnam, who had produced Ian Charleson's star-making film Chariots of Fire, contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson: A Tribute.^[10]

He has also preached at Durham Cathedral at the feast of the Cathedral's commemoration of its founders and benefactors.^[11]

Philanthropy[link]

Puttnam is patron of the British branch of Child In Need India (CINI UK).^[12]

Further reading[link]

• Yule, Andrew (1989). Fast Fade: David Puttnam, Columbia Pictures, and the Battle For Hollywood. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-440-50177-6. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• University of Sunderland
• The Open University
• We are the people movie
• Futurelab's Board of Trustees
• David Puttnam at the Internet Movie Database
• "Opening windows". BBC News. 19 February 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/sunday_am/4729128.stm.  - transcript of Sunday AM interview with Huw Edwards
• Speech on 'Educating for the Digital Society' at the IIEA - 19 January 2010
• The short film More About Movies and Money (1998) is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: David Puttnam

Shaun Brown is the former Managing Director of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) in Australia. He was appointed to the position on 14 February 2006 for four years. In 2008, the SBS Board extended his contract until July 2011. During his time at SBS, the broadcaster's ratings share has risen to 6.2 per cent [1] and Australian production has increased. In 2009, Brown likened the cash-strapped broadcaster to Dickensian character Oliver Twist who kept asking the Australian Government for more funding [2].

Career[link]

Brown began his broadcasting career with the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) in Perth in 1970.^[1] He later worked as a reporter, presenter and producer with Television New Zealand (TVNZ), as well as a current affairs producer and presenter at the BBC. In 1994, TVNZ appointed him Managing Editor, News and Current Affairs. He was made Head of TV One in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed Head of Television on an annual salary reported to be $340,000,^[2] responsible for running both TVNZ channels. Brown held this TVNZ position for nine months before the position was eliminated by chief executive Ian Fraser.^[2] He joined SBS as Head of Television in January 2003.^[1]

In New Zealand[link]

Among his reporting assignments was, in 1973, coverage of French nuclear testing at Muroroa Atoll from on board the frigate HMNZS Otago, for which he was awarded the New Zealand Special Service medal in 2002. He also received industry recognition for his work as an investigative current affairs reporter and a producer of election night programs.

During his time at TVNZ, the network was accused by New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark of being "shamelessly ratings driven" according to a report.^[3]

His position as Head of Television at TVNZ ended in 2002. This followed the Hawkesby affair. Hawkesby was hired from TV3 by TVNZ to read the news, replacing Richard Long, but was later sacked. Hawkesby was subsequently awarded a record-breaking $6 million by an arbitrator.^[2]

In Australia[link]

At SBS Brown has lifted investment in commissioned programs from around $4 million in 2002 to around $30 million in 2009. During the same period SBS audience share has increased by 22 per cent to a total share of 6.2 per cent. Brown was a delegate to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 2020 Summit.

Brown has been at the helm of SBS during some controversial times including the 2006 decision by the SBS Board to introduce advertising within television programming as opposed to in-between programming.^[4]

While Brown has admitted SBS audiences reacted strongly to the introduction of in-program breaks,^[5] since their introduction SBS has increased its audience share to record levels and increased the revenue raised through television advertising to $46.3 million in 2007-08 [3].

On 21 August 2007, it was reported that veteran SBS TV newsreader Mary Kostakidis had walked out on the network after nearly 20 years at the helm as a news presenter.^[6]

On 15 April 2011 SBS announced that after an international search, Mr Michael Ebeid (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's head of strategy and marketing) has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of SBS. He will commence on 13 June 2011, succeeding Shaun Brown, who had previously announced his retirement. ^{[7] [8]}

References[link]