AmberFin releases the results of a research survey conducted at this year's IBC conference in Amsterdam. AmberFin spoke to industry experts attending to gauge their opinion on what issues would most influence the industry in the coming year.

The results clearly demonstrate the use of multiple platforms such as broadband, IPTV and mobile handsets as key drivers for the industry moving forward. However, although most (60%) felt that the industry has improved its knowledge and use of multiple delivery platforms in the last year, it was agreed by 70% of respondents that content owners could still be distributing their content more effectively across multiple platforms.

The quality of content was named as a key factor affecting take up of these newer delivery platforms. When asked which platforms they felt were being used effectively by the industry 27% named broadband content viewed on a PC, while 15% of respondents named IPTV.

Content consumed over broadband generated one of the most mixed responses overall. Although two thirds said they had viewed content over the internet, quality varied widely between individual experiences, with as many experts saying they had experienced poor or average quality (52%) content as those who had experienced good quality (48%).

Respondents agreed there is potential for better use of specific platforms: 52% of the industry experts surveyed felt that mobile phones and handheld devices could be used more effectively. The potential of using multiple platforms was widely recognised and the experts themselves claimed that they would watch more content if the quality was better. For example:

• 57% would watch more IPTV
• 59% would watch more content on their PC via broadband
• 44% would watch more content on their mobile phone
• 34% would watch more content on their iPod touch or other small screen device

Overall, the research demonstrated that the broadcast industry needs to look at improving the quality of video content on current and emerging media platforms while lowering the cost per deliverable.