In Broadcast - In Show Guide 2016 - 3

www.inbroadcast.com | IBC2016 InShow Guide | 9-13 September

Education is High on the List
Foreword by
Michael Grotticelli

s one of the premier annual
events for professionals engaged
in the creation, management and
delivery of entertainment and news
content worldwide, this year's IBC
conference and exhibition looks to be
another important step on the way to
a tapeless, cost-effective and highly
flexible broadcasting future.
The 15 exhibition halls, grouped by
umbrella themes - such as Creation,
Management and Delivery - are
complemented by 'experimental'
areas - such as the Future Zone and
IBC Hackfest - that are designed to
add unique value to the attendee
experience.
This year's show in Amsterdam will
be less about snazzy new product
introductions and more about
educating the industry about emerging
technologies. Visitors will see a wide
variety of stands promoting everything
from enhanced 4K and UHD production
to
archiving
and
distribution.
Remaining topical will be drones (and
how to fly them safely); virtual and
augmented reality, which continues
to penetrate the live sports market;
as well as new types of interactive
media designed for smartphones and
portable tablets. If you've got a need,
there's a solution out there somewhere
on the exhibit floor.
Enhanced Vision
In the area of acquisition, a lot of
activity has occurred among the many
manufacturers that offer cameras
- including new models, new price
points and new features. While 4K
tools are now widely available to
complete an entire workflow, the
more data intensive 8K is advancing
at a surprisingly rapid rate, given
that there is little interest from
broadcasters (except for major

sporting events and large digital
signage). Among some key products
news, while Blackmagic, Ikegami,
Panasonic and Sony will unveil new
4K cameras they initially introduced in
April at the NAB Show, Red Digital will
show its new Weapon camera with an
8K Helium sensor. Ikegami and Hitachi
will both show 8K studio and ENG-style
models, respectively, as well. The
8K format is being promoted almost
exclusively by Japanese national
broadcaster NHK, which calls its
system 'Super Hi-Vision.'
There's been a lot of debate about
High Dynamic Range and its ability
to enhance the viewing experience
with improved brightness and colour
rendition, and this year's IBC show will
feature a number of technical panel
discussions on the topic. This area is
currently a moving target, so those
interested in pursuing HDR acquisition
should seek out more information
from the many sources that will be
here in Amsterdam.
There will also be a plethora of
4K-compatible
editing
systems,
shared storage arrays, and playout
servers to help finish and distribute 4K
content. Of course, broadcasters are
not transmitting full 4K (4096 × 2160
pixels) but Ultra High Definition (at
the slightly lower resolution of 3840 ×
2160).
This saves bandwidth and makes
content easier to move through a
production workflow. Indeed, for
many new customers, HD is no longer
a consideration when they can buy
a 4K camera for only slightly more.
Even for countries where HD is still
the predominant format (and yes,
some are still SD), professional video
organisations are looking at the longterm value of shooing in 4K, even if the
final output is HD.

IBC Show next generation systems

Engaging Streams
With new devices such as tablets and
smartphones gaining popularity for
the consumption of live broadcast TV,
DVB said it has (and will demonstrate
live) a technical solution to reach
these devices. In a live demo at the
IBC Show, a DVB-T2 signal will be
converted into Internet Protocol
utilising a server integrated in the TV.
The signal will then be streamed to IP
client devices.
Multiplatform video delivery will
also be a key subtext to this year's
show. Many broadcasters around
the world are now using a myriad of
systems to automatically encode and
distribute audio and video to all of
the various portable devices in the
market today. Vendors this year will
show new enhancements, such as the
integration of social media posts into
live broadcasts, as a way to retain
viewers, and keep them fully engaged
in a programme.
Future Realities
While numerous UHD channels
have gone on air (or will soon launch)
worldwide in the past year, new types
of enhanced (or immersive) audio are
emerging to replace current stereo
and 5.1 surround sounds systems. DTS,

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Phillip Izzard
pizzard@inbroadcast.com

Editor
Steven Preston
ed@inbroadcast.com

International
Business Development
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Design & Production
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Dolby Labs and Fraunhofer Institute
are some of the pioneers in this
field, and they will all have exhibits
showing their latest innovations. All
of these companies are talking about
a new codec that can be utilised to
broadcast 22.2 surround channels and
is backwards compatible with the 5.1
format.
In terms of immersive video
applications, while companies like
ChyronHego and Vizrt are showing
new types of AR and VR graphics
and virtual sets, Japan-based NTT
Laboratories is exhibiting a new
concept that will enable viewers to
experience the feeling of actually
being in a sporting venue. It calls this
immersive public viewing approach
'telepresence' and said it will be ready
for wide scale deployment in 2020. See
it in the IBC Future Zone area in Hall 8,
stand G03s.
The IBC Show offers a unique
opportunity to meet with and learn
from the professionals on the front
lines of video production and delivery.
There are a lot of choices to make
regarding the next generation of
broadcasting.
If you haven't thought about it
already, now's the time, and the IBC
Show is a good place to start.
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