Argentina. The latest technological developments for the broadcast industry have found great difficulty in their adoption in Argentina. Alejandro Pasika, CEO of Acqua Electronics, told TVyVideo+Radio details about the current situation in the country.
"In Argentina, there have been no major transformations in recent years, mainly due to import regulations that existed until the beginning of December 2023. From the middle of that year, it was practically impossible to import products and quite difficult for the components, so it also complicated local manufacturers," he recalled.
He added that the technologies demanded remain the same, no SMPTE 2110 demands have been observed, for example, from broadcasters and production companies. The other IP technology, NDI, has been set up in very small installations.
"I would say that, so far, the interest in IP technology is still 'academic', many have implemented mock-ups to familiarize themselves with the technology and those who have been able have expanded them lately, but medium or large installations are not yet visible. Cost is another important factor, since like any technology that has not yet taken volume, it is more expensive, in this case, 12 G SDI," said Alejandro Pasika.
This scenario in Argentina has led users to be more open to new brands due to cost issues. "Acceptance is given after an initial performance comparison and then a thorough evaluation of samples in the case of hardware equipment or a Proof of Concept (POC) in the case of software solutions."
Despite the situation described above, the CEO of Acqua Electronics is optimistic about 2024. "Fundamentally due to the measures taken by the incoming government (in office since December 10) since the import of products is being facilitated with a view to normalization in a relatively short period of time and the economy should readjust. And for the projects. We are currently in the process of installing and commissioning a Vision 5 system. This is Qligent's latest version of its global monitoring system (OTT, RF, SDI)."
Finally, he indicated that at NAB Show 2024 he expects to "meet customers, suppliers and colleagues, many of them already friends. As far as technology is concerned, there doesn't seem to be anything very striking. However, NAB has taught us that you can find booths with innovative products or ideas. You have to go through it by observing carefully."
