IBC identifies latest tech trends

Broadcast

p32-35

article here

also here

AI, 5G, XR, metaverse and edge computing are the five tech trends identified by IBC as being most in demand when the show returns on 15-18 September.

IBC organisers also continue to reshape the event for a more sceptical post-Covid audience citing internal research that what its target community wants most is engagement.

“Networking, especially structured networking, was cited by 80% of our attendees, looking for new connections and new audiences,” explained CEO Mike Crimp.

“Most reassuringly for us they said that IBC has a very strong track record in this area and were confident we could keep it going.”

Research highlighted the popularity of The Future Zone, an area of laboratory tech which was dumped from the show in 2022 as IBC stripped back to its core conference and exhibition.

It returns, supported by the EBU, along with the Innovation Awards and technical papers, a fixture since IBC’s birth in 1967.

The IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, where groups of companies come together to demonstrate proof of concept to solve problems, was “hugely successful” on debut in 2022 and is well underway. “IBC has evolved from a premier showcase of new technology to being an incubator as well,” Crimp said.

Not returning is the Big Screen conference agenda dedicated to cinema technology. “IBC is the best of the old school trade shows with a conference and a show floor in one place, but this year we wanted to re-examine the structure of the event,” Crimp said.

This includes a two-day peer reviewed paid for conference for which VIPs can pay more for greater access, followed by a two-day free conference called Changemakers. This is a people-centric programme addressing topics like gender equality and inclusive tech with speakers including Alexandra Hussenot, UK Lead at Women in Immersive Technologies.

Headline speakers in the premium conference includes CTOs from the Hollywood majors, Valerio Motti, VP, FAST Channels at Fremantle and BBC Studios Productions CEO Ralph Lee.

The convergence of technologies such as games engines and LED panels used to create and display content for broadcast and business applications has led to the ISE Show in Barcelona wooing broadcast vendors for its show next February. IBC has responded by tapping up AV exhibitors, media partners and trade associations.

“We are seeing a lot of crossover between M&E and what is termed broadcast enterprise,” said show director Steve Connolly.  “There won’t be a hall dedicated to ProAV but it is one of the adjacent sectors we are keen on expanding especially with all the virtual production being developed.”

While ISE continues to expand and IBC has arguably failed to grow its base from traditional broadcast, there are still reasons to celebrate IBC’s distinct identity. Its base in Amsterdam, is more conducive to networking and suits the relative bijou nature of the broadcast industry.

Exhibition floor space is expected to top out around 45 sqm with the volume a good indicator of visitor numbers to the RAI. Last year 37,000 attendees came to cover a floor space of 37 sqm.

Exhibitors including Zixi and LTN Global have doubled their pitch size from 2022. Grass Valley, Ross Video and Gravity Media have also “significantly expanded their original footprint” according to Connolly.

Panasonic and Samsung, 2022 absentees, have resigned to join a hundred first time IBC exhibitors including Chinese IT giant Tencent, Korean electronics powerhouse LG (more familiar to visitors at ISE or CES) and IMAX, which recently acquired streaming platform SSIMWAVE.

For those caught up in the horrendous queues at Schiphol Airport last time there was some encouragement but no reassurance that it wouldn’t repeat.

“It seems like it’s going to be ok,” Crimp said. “We’re waiting for them to tell us that. We are pushing them hard.”

There’s an AI for that

The M&E industry is anxiously waiting for regulation on the limits of AI from law suits brought against the likes of ChatGPT developer OpenAI and government legislation in Europe and the US.

In its absence, film studios are training their own AI models on the data that they own.

Adobe has done this too with Firefly, its Gen-AI tool launched in March. “We’re not in the business of replacing creatives,” reassures Morgan Prygrocki, Sr Manager, Strategic Development, Adobe. “That would be counterintuitive. We're really just trying to create a creative assistant that allows you to arrive at final concept faster.”

When it comes to the creative arts the prevailing sentiment is that AI is not going to replace you, but somebody using AI is. 

Michael Kammes, Senior Director of Innovation, Shift Media said, “We have voiceover artists concerned that voice cloning is going to take their jobs, that AI automatically doing edits is going to take the editor’s job but, at the same time, everyone is asking for AI tools.”

Pixellot anticipates that AI will soon automate sports highlights, create social media posts, and optimise workflows. “We see this as a major development at Pixellot, and we have a dedicated working group to lead this change within the company,” hints CEO Alon Werber.

Analytics platform 24iQ is looking into potential use cases for Gen AI. “For example, freeing up editorial time by auto-creating attractive content collections based on prompts like ‘box office smashes,’ or ‘plot twists you didn’t see coming,’ says boss Stuart Huke. “There are also potential benefits for speed of delivery, such as automating trailer creation for every piece of content fo

more effective personalisation. Bottom line, gen AI needs to provide a value proposition that is better than what ‘traditional’ AI/ML can do.”

Cloud versus on-prem

While the move to cloud is inexorable the pace of migration is being questioned. There are even reports of companies pulling processes back from cloud onto premises in order to control rampant (egress) costs. The IABM, in April, reported widespread lack of understanding about cloud economics with mid-size companies, in particular, hesitant to commit. 

“Businesses are rapidly gaining a better understanding of cloud economics, which is then allowing them to better determine the right hosting model for the operations in their businesses,” says Neil Maycock, COO at Pebble. “The term ‘hybrid’ is very overused in our industry, but the reality is that for most businesses that is likely to be their cloud strategy.”

Jon Finegold, CMO, Signiant agrees, “Companies aren’t abandoning the cloud, we’re just seeing a more judicious approach.”

Expect this to be a debate at IBC, wherever AWS is.

Realtime visualisation

The collaborative nature of cloud and the instant creation of photoreal CGI is driving realtime visualisation from automotive and fashion design to live events and entertainment.

One of eight projects selected to develop a proof of concept in the IBC Accelerators scheme aims to live stream Mixed Martial Arts combining high-end photoreal graphics, augmented reality, virtual advertising and spatial audio to audiences viewing on VR and online.

Another Accelerator project plans to develop a means to create and animate synthetic humans that can be integrated into a virtual production alongside real guests. The project will also aim to build a foundation for broadcasters to create ‘virtual translators’, using avatars and sign language for accessibility services and other functions.