Review
IFIFA 100: Europe’s biggest tech show celebrates its Centenary in style
A 100: Europe’s biggest tech show celebrates its Centenary in style
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From Einstein to EVs, the 100th anniversary of IFA confounded the doubters with an invigorating edition! Steve May reports from the Berlin super-show…
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t was a big year for IFA. Celebrating its Centenary, the sprawling tech expo missed no opportunity to ram home its birthday message! The IFA100 logo was everywhere; there was even merch to be had, and manufacturers also got in on the act too! Samsung presented the most compelling argument for AI powered picture processing I’ve seen to date. During its jam-packed media event, the brand celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Berlin tech fair by showing a vintage clip of Albert Einstein opening the 1930 International Funkausstellung (as it was then known). The clip played in the centre of a huge hall- wide display, looking small and low res, with scratchy audio – then Samsung switched its 8K AI-powered upscaling on. Suddenly Einstein
filled the entire arena screen. The clip still looked authentically archival but with no obvious pixel breakup; the great boffin was convincingly textured and cinematic.
For added impact, Samsung then used AI to then upscale the audio. It transpires that the real Einstein doesn’t sound anything like the virtual Albert we see selling smart meters on the telly! Another tribute to Einstein, this time in 3D, could be found elsewhere. A Holofan was used to create a three dimensional image from hundreds of RGB LEDs mounted on high speed spinning blades. The result was a 3D illusion that worked without glasses. IFA first opened its doors in December 1924. It was known locally as the Great German Radio Exhibition, a showcase for the latest in tube radio
receivers, gramophones and loudspeakers. In 1928, TVs joined radios on the show floor. After an inevitable hiatus between 1939 and 1950, tech innovations came thick and fast. In 1963 Philips used IFA to introduce the compact cassette; in 1967 Germany began its colour broadcasting service from the IFA radio tower. The CD made its European public debut at the show in 1981, a joint initiative presented by co-developers Philips and Sony. In the 1990s, an assortment of TV brands were using IFA to demonstrate the European standard D2-MAC system, which offered the first widescreen 16:9 pictures outside of Japan’s HiVision.
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