MUMBAI: Asia's premier electronic media event BroadcastAsia2004 will be held in Singapore from 15 - 18 June. Themed Redefining Broadcasting, BroadcastAsia2004 will encompass the entire spectrum of the Electronic Media industry.851 exhibiting companies from 45 countries are expected to participate in the event.

"The whole industry is revolving rapidly and the impact of digital technology has redefined the broadcast industry. BroadcastAsia2004's aim is to provide a forum for companies in the industry to discuss these vital issues and share insights on industry developments," said Singapore Exhibition Pte Services Limited (SES) Project Director, communications events, Ho Ko Leong. SES is the organiser of the event.Talking about India's participation in the event, Leong offered that they would be having more Indian companies participating in the show this year.

"We will be doing more visitor promotion trips to India because we feel that Indian companies have a lot to offer the world and BroadcastAsia will serve as a platform for Indian cinema operators to source suppliers of digital projectors, servers and digital cinema systems, while production houses will find the most cutting edge special effects and post-production software."

Leong pointed out that India's software skills and competitive digital production facilities would be sought after by broadcasters and content providers as the country enjoys the added advantages of economical, qualified labour and an English-speaking population.

"BroadcastAsia2004 will also offer Indian companies opportunities to promote their skills in this area to the Asian broadcasting scene," Leong said.

Leong identified Asian D-Cinema Summit, DAB Conference and Media Asset Management as key sessions to be held during the event.

The Asian D-Cinema Summit will discuss on Digital Cinema in Asia. The Summit aims to set the direction for the industry by addressing the key issues of business models, rights management, delivery modes and security. Experts from Eng Wah, GDC Technology, Mukta Adlabs and Singtel will share their views and vision on the topic.

Digital Cinema Day on 16 June included facility visits to one of Eng Wah's digital cinemas at Suntec and movie screenings apart from various other exciting activities. Visitors can also attend important talks at the Asian D-Cinema Summit.

The DAB Conference will highlight developments in the world of DAB through the experiences and success stories of leading DAB players in Asia and Europe. The conference will also probe new revenue streams that can be generated and their business potential.

Media Asset Management conference will look into latest technologies and trends for media asset management, including a case study on Iran Broadcasting.BroadcastAsia2004 has roped in many prominent personalities from the industry to speak in the event. They include Digimax CG supervisor Douglas Creel and Digimax chief operating officer Nickson Fong.

Mukta Ad Labs chief operating officer Dr. Sunil Patil will be one of the panelists in a panel discussion on D-cinema in Asia - The Way Forward, to be held on 16 June. MediaCorp Radio vice president, technology services, Assad Bagharib will speak about SmartRadio.

"We expect 9 delegations from Taiwan, India, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand and China. However, there may be more apart from these," informed Leong. He said that they didn't have any delegations from Europe yet.

"The number of visitors attending BroadcastAsia has increased over the years," said Leong. He said 12,000 visitors were expected to attend this year's event while in 2002 it was 10,951.

"The number of exhibiting companies has increased. 649 exhibiting companies from over 41 countries participated in BroadcastAsia2002. This year, we have surpassed the number of exhibiting companies in 2002. To date, we have 851 exhibiting companies, which will participate in BroadcastAsia. There has also been an increase in the number of participating countries from 41 in 2002 to 45 this year," offered Leong.

Leong identified areas where they would be facing challenges while staging an event of this magnitude.

"Challenges include maintaining and expanding the broad range of solutions exhibited, attracting key movers and shakers of the industry to the event, to have the critical mass of exhibitors and trade visitors, and maintaining BroadcastAsia as a meeting point for major industry players. The biggest challenge, however, the biggest challenge is ensuring that the show theme is relevant to the current state of the industry," offered Leong.

Leong confirmed the recovery of Singapore industry after last year's SARS scare. He pointed out that business travellers were travelling to the country again.

"Recently, Singapore Airlines reported that that their passenger load has returned to normal. These are all very good signs," Said Leong.