From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia BBC Research
BBC Research
BBC Research
BBC Research logo
Formation 1993
Legal status Subsidiary of the BBC
Purpose/focus Technological broadcasting research
Region served UK
Membership Electronics engineers
Controller, R&D Matthew Postgate
Website BBC Research
Former site at Kingswood Warren
BBC Research & Development is the technical research
department of the BBC. Innovations
It has also been involved in many well known consumer
Function technologies such as teletext, DAB, NICAM and Freeview.
It was at the forefront of development of FM radio, stereo
It has responsibility for researching and developing ad- FM, and RDS. These innovations have led to Queen’s
vanced and emerging media technologies for the benefit Awards for Innovation in 1969, 1974, 1983, 1987, 1992,
of the corporation, and wider UK and European media in- 1998, and 2001.
dustries, and is also the technical design authority for a
number of major technical infrastructure transformation Closure of Kingswood Warren and move
projects for the UK broadcasting industry.
to London
In early 2010 the department had approximately 135 staff
Structure based at three locations: White City, Kingswood Warren
BBC R&D is part of the wider BBC Future Media, and is in Kingswood, Surrey, and the R&D (North Lab) at the
led by Matthew Postgate, Controller Research & Develop- BBC’s Manchester offices at New Broadcasting House, Ox-
ment. In 2011 the North Lab will begin its move into Sal- ford Road, Manchester. In early 2010 the Kingswood War-
ford MediaCityUK along with several other departments ren site was vacated and the bulk of the department relo-
of the BBC. cated to Centre House, in White City, London co-locating
with the main campus of the BBC in London.
History
The department as it stands today was formed in 1993
Future projects
from the merger of the BBC Designs Department and the BBC R&D engineers and researchers are currently active
BBC Research Department. From 2006 to 2008 it was on approximately 50 projects, including 7 active national
known as Research and Innovation but has since reverted and international collaborative research efforts.
to its original name. BBC Research & Development has
made major contributions to broadcast technology, car-
rying out original research in many areas, and develop-
See also
ing items like the peak programme meter (PPM) which • A-weighting
became the basis for many world standards. • CEEFAX
• Dirac (codec)
• Equal-loudness contour
• ITU-R 468 noise weighting
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia BBC Research
• NICAM • BBC R&D Blog at BBC Online
• Peak programme meter • Move
• Sound-in-Syncs • Location of South Lab
• VERA videotape format
• Kamaelia (concurrency framework/set of Video clips
concurrency friendly components) • History of the department and interviews with the
• Backstage.bbc.co.uk staff
• Talk by Matthew Postgate in Manchester in
External links November 2009 at TEDx
• BBC Research at BBC Online
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BBC_Research&oldid=456706372"
Categories:
• BBC Research
• Audio engineering
• Television technology
• Radio technology
• Sound production technology
• Sound recording technology
• Organisations based in Surrey
• Organisations based in Manchester
• Television in the United Kingdom
• Research institutes in the United Kingdom
• Engineering research institutes
• Organizations established in 1923
• Freeview
• DVB
• 1923 establishments in the United Kingdom
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