STVFORUM: Advancing Ultra-High Definition Capabilities to Shape the New Audiovisual Landscape

On the afternoon of June 24, the STVFORUM for the 29th Shanghai TV Festival (STVF) took place at the Central Hall of the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

The forum, themed "Ultra-high Definition and Omnimedia Intelligent Innovation Integration—New Ecology of Radio and Television Industry under High-quality Development", and featuring keynote speeches, industry announcements, and roundtable discussions, delved into the future technological advancements in ultra-high definition, new broadcasting networks, and omnimedia intelligent innovation integration. This forum aimed to enhance the new quality productivity of the industry and accelerate the construction of a modernized new audiovisual landscape.

The forum was attended by Yu Ying, Director of the Science and Technology Department of National Radio and Television Administration; Jiang Wenbo, Member of the Editorial Board of China Media Group; Li Yixing, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of the Radio, Film & TV Design and Research Institute; Fang Shizhong, Deputy Head of the Publicity Department of Shanghai Municipal Committee of CPC and Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Media Group; Zhong Xiaomin, Party Secretary and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television; and Song Jiongming, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Director, and President of Shanghai Media Group.

Over 200 representatives from the National Radio and Television Administration, China Media Group, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism, Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television, Shanghai Communications Administration, China Broadnet Group, the Radio, Film & TV Design and Research Institute, and various national broadcasting stations, industry experts, and innovative technology enterprises participated in the event.

Opening Address

In her opening remarks, Yu Ying, Director of the Science and Technology Department of National Radio and Television Administration, emphasized that new-generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence, ultra-high definition, virtual reality, and the metaverse are rapidly evolving and leading the broadcasting industry towards future audio-visual advancements. The Science and Technology Department will follow the unified deployment of the radio and television administration, actively pioneering in the digital, networked, and intelligent development. The focus will be on enhancement of innovation-driven development capabilities, deeper integration of content and technology, as well as cultivation and faster development of new quality productivity in broadcasting and television, which will empower quality, efficiency, and dynamic transformations in the audio-visual sector.

Fang Shizhong, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of Shanghai Municipal Committee of CPC and Secretary of the Party Committee of Shanghai Media Group emphasized that the broadcasting industry was born from and flourished through technological innovation and will achieve high-quality, sustainable development through continued technological advancements. Shanghai Media Group is dedicated to building a new mainstream omnimedia group with international influence, technological innovation, and industrial competitiveness. Aligning with the goal of making Shanghai a model of Xi Jinping's cultural thought, the group is implementing its core strategy of "News as the Foundation, Culture as the Pillar, Integration for Strength". The focus is on "SMG in AI", using artificial intelligence to reshape the media technology base, accelerate intelligent, ultra-high-definition, and mobile development, and vigorously promote the deep integration and high-quality development of media.

Zhong Xiaomin, Party Secretary and Director of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture and Tourism and the Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television, stated that the Shanghai broadcasting industry is poised to better fulfill its new cultural mission at a new historical starting point. With the goal of building Shanghai into a global center of scientific and technological innovation and an international cultural metropolis, the industry is committed to advancing the development of broadcasting and network audio-visual technology. It aims to comprehensively showcase the achievements of broadcasting technology in content supply, network transmission, technological innovation, industrial development, and standards setting, thus contributing to the construction of a model of Xi Jinping's cultural thought.

Launch of Plans

At the event, supported by the National Radio and Television Administration, China Media Group, China Broadnet Group, the Radio, Film & TV Design and Research Institute, Shanghai Communications Administration, and Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television, Shanghai Media Group officially launched the "Shanghai Broadcasting Ultra-high Definition Capability Advancement Plan".

Ultra-High Definition Channel Development: The plan includes the "Mainstream Media Leading Platform Project", which aims to accelerate the development of the Dragon TV 4K Ultra-High Definition Comprehensive Channel. The goal is to support the channel's capacity to produce and broadcast 4K ultra-high-definition content for four hours daily.

Ultra-High Definition Network Upgrade: The initiative also involves accelerating the upgrade of Shanghai's broadcasting network to fiber-optic and IP-based systems. Within the next 2-3 years, the plan aims to complete the fiber-optic network upgrade for 8 million households in Shanghai, achieving city-wide fiber-optic access capability. Additionally, the plan includes implementing the 4K Ultra-High Definition Set-Top Box Home Access Initiative to support the widespread adoption of 4K ultra-high-definition video applications.

Ultra-High Definition Content Creation: Focusing on a range of genres including variety shows, documentary humanities, sports events, urban historical recordings, and city life services, the plan aims to align with the highest international standards. Leveraging advanced audio-visual technologies, it strives to establish China as a leader in ultra-high definition content creation.

The launch of the "Shanghai Broadcasting Ultra-high Definition Capability Advancement Plan" will further drive technological innovation, content creation, and ecological construction in the ultra-high definition video industry, fostering high-quality development in the broadcasting and network audio-visual sectors in Shanghai.

Keynote Speech

Jiang Wenbo, Member of the Editorial Board of China Media Group, discussed the organization’s major tasks and specific measures in building an IP-based omnimedia ultra-high definition production and broadcasting system, advancing audio-visual technology upgrades, and innovating ultra-high definition TV transmission models. He highlighted that television is at a crucial stage of upgrading to omnimedia ultra-high definition. He emphasized the importance of seizing the opportunities presented by the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the upgrading of broadcasting and television. The focus should be on independent innovation in ultra-high definition audio-visual technology, artificial intelligence, and 5G, to build a self-controlled ultra-high definition production and broadcasting technology system. This will create new quality productivity in the media field, promoting the high-quality development of the broadcasting, network audio-visual, and electronic information industries.

Wang Yeqiu, Director of the Technology and Network Departments at China Broadnet Group, introduced the planning and development direction of China Broadnet’s new broadcasting network and its capabilities in supporting the end-to-end ultra-high definition industry. He stated that China Broadnet has initially built a development base integrating computing and networking. This includes the construction of the China Broadnet IP Backbone Network (CBNET) and the National Cultural Network Backbone Network, as well as the Broadcasting Cloud and National Cultural Big Data Service Platform. Concurrently, efforts are ongoing to develop fixed and mobile broadcasting access, promote the ultra-high definition upgrade of terminals, and collaborate with industry to advance the entire ultra-high definition industrial chain.

Song Jiongming, Director of Shanghai Media Group, introduced the group's thoughts, explorations, practices, and plans in the development directions of "intelligentization, ultra-HD, and mobilization". He emphasized that in terms of "intelligentization", Shanghai Media Group will focus on key areas such as large models for news and information, exclusive large models for financial media, intelligent live broadcasts of sports events, and intelligent sign language digital humans, aiming to create a demonstration-level application for audio and video content production based on AIGC. Regarding "ultra-HD," the group will concentrate on the construction of ultra-HD channels, the transformation of ultra-HD networks, and the creation of ultra-HD content, implementing the "Shanghai Media Group Ultra-high Definition Capability Advancement Plan". In the aspect of "mobilization", the group will continue to strengthen mobile content products, optimize mobile production tools, and promote the construction of new broadcasting networks. Shanghai Media Group will consistently adhere to the goal of high-quality development, identifying and leveraging the convergence points and strengths in urban development, public needs, and technological progress, accelerating the cultivation of new quality productivity in media, and providing stronger support for Shanghai to become the best practice ground for Xi Jinping's cultural thoughts!

Signing Ceremony

During the event, a signing ceremony was held for the "8K Documentary ASIA LOI" between Shanghai Media Group, BBC Studios, and Phoenix Satellite Television. Nick Percy, President of Global Markets of BBC Studios, Zhang Tong, Vice President of Business Development at Phoenix Satellite Television, and Chen Yuren, Vice President of SMG, represented the three parties in the signing.

The agreement focuses on introducing the UHD documentary ASIA and actively advancing the process to achieve a simultaneous global English-language premiere on Dragon TV and a Chinese-dubbed premiere on Phoenix Chinese Channel. The partnership also aims to foster international cooperation in UHD content co-creation and immersive natural exhibitions, making substantial contributions to cultural exchange between China and the UK.

Roundtable Forum

The roundtable forum centered on "New Technologies, New Products, New Opportunities", discussing three new media product lines: City Stories Through Light and Shadow, Outdoor Music Festivals, and Trendy Sports Opportunities. The discussions integrated 5G broadcasting technology support and covered various aspects such as brand building, technical support, and content creation.

Panelists included Pan Wei, General Manager of the Commercial Innovation Center of Shanghai Media Group; Feng Yu, Director of the New Media Display Business Group at Shanghai Motion Magic Digital Entertainment Inc.; Han Lei, Executive Deputy Director of the East Radio Shanghai, Shanghai Media Group; Lin Yunchuan, Director of the Technical Center of Shanghai Media Group and General Manager of Shanghai Media Tech Co., Ltd.; Chen Anda, Deputy General Manager of Shanghai West Bund Development (Group) Co., Ltd.; and Yu Xiang, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and General Manager of Shanghai Oriental Cable Network Co., Ltd. They delved into the theme of "Building a High-Tech Audio-Visual Industry Ecosystem and Connecting Thousands of Industries in the City".

Sourced from: SMG Release

The 29th STVF is hosted by the National Radio and Television Administration, China Media Group, and the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government, and organized by Shanghai Municipal Administration of Radio and Television and Shanghai Media Group, with co-organization by the Administration Committee of Lin-gang Special Area of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and special support from Shanghai Lingang Special Area Investment Holding (Group) Co., Ltd.