EXHIBITIONS ///
NAB: OTT, Cloud, 4K & 8K
/// By Susan Ashworth
he NAB Show is a barometer of just
where the broadcast and video industry stands. “The television
marketplace has really
rebounded,” said Dennis Wharton, executive VP of communications for NAB. “Four or five years ago, people were not very positive. Now, people are realizing the value of television in terms of being a steady provider of cash flow.” Over the years the show
has evolved from a rather broadcast-specific event to one for any professional that creates, manages or distributes content across any platform.
8K IN A 6 MHZ CHANNEL Much of the show remains centred around technology. Among the big news is the announcement that Japan’s NHK will demonstrate 8K Super Hi-Vision on a single 6 MHz channel, the first such demo outside Japan. Dozens of companies will
also introduce new Ultra HD technology solutions, including Panasonic, who has release a 4K version of its VariCam. The technology seems to be destined for every other stand on the show floor—as the key feature in the Blackmagic production camera; as a feature within EVS’ XT3 media production server; as a function in Grass Valley’s Kayenne and Karrera production switcher line-ups.
Pockets of innovative new technology will find a home in new spaces as well, such as the new Interactive Television Pavilion that is designed to show how technology is being used to provide personalised video experiences through TV, mobile devices and gaming systems. At the Disruptive Media
Conference, the issues will swirl around just that: How the digital and interactive divisions within any media entertainment company can better tap and hold on to consumers.
CLOUD EXPLOSION The organisation is also taking note of the explosive interest in cloud technologies, and will give Amazon Web Services’ Mark Ramberg the mic to keynote the NAB’s Media Management in the Cloud Conference, where he’ll discuss how cloud services have allowed media and
entertainment companies to address a particularly high- flying promise: How to offer consumers content at any time and on any device. Since last NAB the technology has stayed in the headlines; this year, it remains to be seen whether concerns over reliability and security have been sufficiently resolved. The cloud has the
benefit of speed: customers can customize content that
BONDED H.265 & VP-9 SUPPORT
Mobile Viewpoint has announced support for H.265 and VP-9 video codecs on the new WMT Expert-265 backpack encoders. It will be available for release shortly after NAB. All new hardware will ship with an upgraded H.264 codec. Customers will have the ability to upgrade to either the H.265 or VP-9.
www.mobileviewpoint.com
//////////////// 8 TV Technology Europe I April 2014
is broadcast over a traditional outlet by creating micro- targeted content that pinpoints a very specific region, similar to what the BBC started last year with its elastic cloud computing initiative as well as NBC’s HD and on-demand streaming of the Sochi Olympics via cloud technology. The cloud has made such an impact in the last 12 months in part because of its wide reach: cloud-based solutions have the ability to impact each stage of content distribution, including production, delivery and storage.
The industry is also
grappling with OTT. One of the biggest OTT announcements in the last year was taken from cues provided by a wide and fanatic fan base: The WWE wrestling organization announced it would launch an entire network on an OTT streaming platform with a mix of original programming,
documentaries and VOD. The reason? Traditional distribution, whether satellite or telco, wasn’t going to get the job done. “When we started to look at… traditional distribution, it really became apparent that we could really give our fans a much better user experience with an over the top service,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE chief revenue and marketing officer. Analysts have called OTT a
“transformative opportunity” for media and entertainment companies, because of the ability to engage more deeply with a committed viewership and more personalized content. Some of the biggest programming successes in the 12 months since NAB have been in the OTT space, with Netflix finding success in OTT with hyper personalization and a move toward streaming 4K programming, with Hulu, Google and Apple on its heels. ///
FREE PLAYER LICENSE FOR FIRST 1000 VISITORS
Cinegy announced that the first 1,000 visitors to its booth, SL11116, at NAB will receive a free Cinegy Player License. Cinegy Player is a new tool for broadcast professionals that demand quality, precision and playback performance while working with high-end video formats. Cinegy Player includes native support for most broadcast industry standard video codecs within the two most common containers – MOV and MXF. Now included is support for decoding and displaying VANC and Parental Rating values from SMPTE 436M tracks, as well as complete decoding and display of line 608 and 708 closed captions.
www.cinegy.com
SERVER- & CLOUD-BASED GRAPHICS
Pixel Power’s new server-based implementation of its world-class graphics engine is intended to support today’s file-based operations. It is an ideal solution for adding extra graphics capability to support needs such as Quality Control, Web Delivery and post production, or to enhance program material and add graphics overlays for playout and streaming applications. Also on show will be Pixel OnDemand—a first-of-its-kind, software-only graphics solution that enables a media company to break free from traditional CAPEX infrastructure and its cycles of depreciation.
www.pixelpower.com
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