IBC’s first in-person event since 2019 may have fewer days and attendees than at its high-water mark, but vendors are packing their schedules with meetings and say they’re excited to be doing business in person again.
Broadcasters, Vendors Tout Cloud Progress At Devoncroft
While previous Devoncroft conferences took place at off-site hotels, the 2022 edition was co-located with the NAB Show and held on the Main Stage of the North Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center. It drew hundreds of senior executives for an afternoon of panel discussions on everything from cloud migration and IP connectivity to virtual production and blockchain technology. Above, Devoncroft Principal Analyst Josh Stinehour (left) and Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley talking technology.
Cloud Dominates Devoncroft Discourse
Public cloud technology has moved into the realm of widespread broadcaster acceptance, discussions at this week’s Devoncroft Partners’ Executive Summit confirmed, although there’s wariness that legacy vendors can make the transition along with them. Labor shortages and supply chain problems also surfaced as major concerns.
The 10th annual Devoncroft Executive Summit will be held, virtually, April 27-29. Recognizing the importance of the event, Starfish Technologies is one of its sponsors. Starfish is a technology company delivering solutions and expertise, particularly in transport stream processing, transport stream splicing, video transcoding, IP delivery of media streams, opt-out signal encoding/decoding and audio description […]
This month’s virtual Devoncroft Executive Summit took the measure of a media technology market radically altered by COVID-19, from a 10% hit to its overall market size, a reassessment of how of it does business and a big potential shift in its sales and marketing efforts. Above, Devoncroft’s Josh Stinehour emphasized that technology investment by broadcasters is an opportunity to drive increased revenues, not simply a cost center.
Experts say the broadcast industry’s transition to IP infrastructure is likely to dominate this year’s show in Amsterdam. But there’s still plenty of room for developments in the cloud, artificial intelligence, OTT, cybersecurity and more to keep technologists busy on both the show floor and in its conference rooms.
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Sales of most media technology companies are basically flat while their R&D and marketing costs continue to run high, forcing some to reexamine how they sell in a traditionally demanding and rapidly changing market. Above, a Vizrt virtual set demonstration this week at the NAB Show.
The list of gear and technologies expected to command broadcasters’ attention and wallets next year includes the transition from SDI to IP infrastructure using clouds; transmitters and other RF gear to handle station migration to new channels; ATSC 3.0; plus a lot of activity involving cameras, bonded cellar, multichannel workflow and virtual sets.
Upbeat reports by Belden, EVS, Avid and other tech vendors in the second quarter cheered investors and may mark a turnaround in a market that had been struggling to keep pace with powerful technology trends like the move toward IP and the shifting demands of their TV customers. In addition, many feel the market may also get a boost from deployment of 4K and other advanced picture formats and new customers in the market.
Zaller: There’s No Stopping The Move To IT/IP
Devoncroft founder Joe Zaller says that the big shift from baseband video to IT files and IP infrastructure now underway will make other upcoming innovations possible for broadcasters. “What I do know,” he says, “is that the future is expensive and I need to find a way to be really efficient and really agile, and IT technology gives me the way to do that.”
The International Association of Broadcasting and Devoncroft Partners have formed a joint venture called IABM DC to deliver a series of market intelligence products and services in the broadcast technology space for broadcast and digital media clients.
TV Techs Doubt IT-Based Playout Readiness
While the growing momentum behind so-called channel-in-a-box technology is intriguing and makes a lot of sense, some broadcast engineers say tech vendors have jumped the gun, racing to market with technology that is not mature enough for American TV station operations. “The single box units are now being utilized more for cable channels than anything else,” says Sinclair’s Del Parks. “At the end of the day, a TV station is probably a little more complex to the degree that it may need some specific pieces of equipment.”
IBC Trends: Cloud, Channel In A Box, 3D
Joe Zaller is just back from Amsterdam’s annual IBC tech extravaganza. He reports that in addition to boasting record attendance, the conference showcased a number of potential television game-changers. Among them: cloud-based or service-oriented architecture (SOA) applications for capturing, producing, processing and distributing video and audio as digital files; IT-based playout — more commonly called channel in a box — which offers the promise of dramatically reducing the cost of broadcast playout; and the latest developments in 3D, expected to be very much center stage next year at the London Olympics.
The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers has chosen Joe Zaller to be its North American market development officer. In this role with the IABM, Zaller will help to develop and implement the IABM’s North American membership growth program; foster awareness of the IABM’s activity, services, and business impact throughout its member community and the North […]
