Matthew Postgate, BBC Controller of Research and Development
Press release issued:
15 October 2013
How technology is shaping the future of media will be discussed by Matthew Postgate, BBC Controller of Research and Development , at the annual Richard Gregory Memorial Lecture, organised by the University of Bristol's Bristol Vision Institute, on Monday 28 October 2013.
Matthew Postgate, BBC Controller of Research and Development (R&D), will give this year’s annual Richard Gregory Memorial Lecture, entitled Better than being there – being there better, on Monday 28 October at 6 pm in the Great Hall, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, Bristol. The event is organised by the Bristol Vision Institute(BVI).
Matthew will go on a journey from early crackly, TV screens to the widescreen ultra-high definition smart TVs in people’s living rooms today. Then, using examples from the current work of the BBC R&D, he will talk about the future of multiple screens, deep immersion and explore what that means for the general public and society.
Professor David Bull, Director of BVI and Professor of Signal Processing, said: “BVI has had a long and successful relationship with the BBC’s R&D and it is a great honour that Matthew, who coincidentally is a Bristol graduate, has agreed to deliver this prestigious lecture. This is the fifth in the series in memory of the great interdisciplinary thinker and vision scientist, Richard Gregory.”
Historically the BBC has led or been involved with many of the advances that have shaped the media landscape. The corporation has embraced these changes within its enduring mission to Inform, Educate and Entertain. It is now actively working with emerging technologies to bring ever increasing realism in the images it presents, to give the audience greater control over those images and to augment them to present an experience that is beyond reality.
Admission is free but advance booking is essential via the online form. For further information about the lecture contact Jen Hawkins at j.hawkins@bristol.ac.uk or tel 0117 331 5759.
Further information
Biography
Matthew Postgate is a senior technology executive at the BBC responsible for the corporation's internet platform group, its research and development department and the business unit that manages mass participation with BBC programming. He serves on the board of the Future Media division that develops the BBC audience facing digital services and is also a member of the board of the Technology, Distribution and Archive division that provides the corporation's enterprise technology services. In addition Matthew is a director of Youview Ltd; a joint venture between the BBC, ITV, C4, Channel Five, BT, Talk Talk and Arqiva that is developing a next-generation hybrid television platform.
Prior to his current role within the organisation Matthew was part of the management team that launched BBC iPlayer and was the Controller of BBC mobile where he was responsible for the corporation's mobile services. Before joining the BBC Matthew worked as a telecommunication consultant, was the director of an internet infrastructure start-up and worked at a digital strategy agency for clients including the Royal Mail, BT, Lloyds TSB, Visa and Qinetiq.
About Bristol Vision Institute (BVI)
Vision science research at the University of Bristol is at the forefront of the study of human and animal vision, artificial vision systems and image analysis. The theme is embodied by the Bristol Vision Institute (BVI), which stimulates interdisciplinary research in science, engineering, arts and medicine across both Bristol universities to promote future development of this field.
BVI brings together engineers and scientists from a range of academic disciplines (from 14 Departments) including electrical and electronic engineering, computer science, biological sciences, experimental psychology, mathematics, biochemistry, anatomy, together with external partners such as the Bristol Eye Hospital, the Bristol Robotics Laboratory and UWE’s Machine Vision Group.
