IBC Show Previews A – B

Actus Digital – Stand 7.B44

Among the biggest news at IBC 2023 is the company’s new OTT Monitoring solution, OTT StreamWatch – a game changer for OTT quality assurance. In addition to 24/7 quality assurance, it provides compliance logging, OTT stream monitoring, and aircheck recording of native HLS and other OTT ABR streams. It can be deployed as a stand-alone solution or as part of the Actus Intelligent Monitoring Platform – providing customers with a central interface. OTT StreamWatch is the first product that makes it economically feasible to monitor FAST, IPTV, and OTT streaming channels throughout the entire workflow.

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Appear – Stand 1.C61

Appear, the global leader in media processing and delivery technology, today announced that it will demonstrate at IBC2023 how the efficiency of its elegant engineering has enabled it to become an acknowledged leader in premium global live event contribution.

“We believe that if our engineering is as elegant as possible, then our media processing and transport solutions will always be more power, space, and operationally efficient than our competitors,” said Thomas Bostrøm Jørgensen, CEO at Appear. “This approach has been a critical element in becoming a world-leader in premium live event contribution. At IBC2023, we will show how and why many of the world’s largest rights holders use Appear solutions to get their footage from stadium to studio and beyond.”

Appear supports many of the world’s leading broadcasters, operators and content providers with high quality, low latency media transport, including NBCUniversal, Sky, Megacable, NEP, MLB and NHL. It delivers live contribution services for many of the world’s premier media assets, recently including Eurovision Services for a major tennis tournament in Paris, and PSSI Global for Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Jørgensen concluded: “At IBC, the team and I also look forward to sharing updates on our initial trials of hardware-accelerated SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) – working with major broadcasters and media enterprises, we are enabling them to revolutionise efficiency, ROI and flexibility through transporting high-quality video over the Internet. Traditionally our customers have relied on expensive satellite links and dedicated fibre circuits; the high density of our new hardware-accelerated SRT provides an option to make game-changing reductions to video transport OPEX costs.”

The Appear IBC2023 booth will have a unique sports-bar style experience with three main demonstration pods, showcasing:

• Live contribution with the X Platform, an all-in-one integrated solution, making it possible to create operational efficiencies while saving energy and rack-space.
• A Network Operation Centre (NOC), demonstrating how Appear’s solutions provide operational confidence through workflow security, management and monitoring.
• Linear and OTT distribution with the multiple functionalities and density of the X Platform and XC Platform as well as the high-capacity server-based compression solution, the NEO Series, which has recently been deployed by media companies that are taking back some functionality from the cloud to on-premise, to deliver better cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

“One of the aims of our elegant engineering concept is to make sure that the first iteration of an Appear solution has the correct architecture and all the essential building blocks to make our customers successful, both now and in the future. For instance, at launch our X Platform included a toolset to support the ‘trusted boundaries’ of standards such as SMPTE RP2129. As well as providing amazing functionality, capacity, security and versatility, our elegant engineering concept bakes-in sustainability, as demonstrated in lab tests run by one of Europe’s largest telcos, which saw our solution produce 38x less CO2 and 7x less power per channel than a major competitor,” said Thomas Lind, Director Product Management, Appear.

Solutions on show at IBC2023, include:

X Platform: a high-capacity, versatile, ultra-low latency platform for high-speed video networking, enhanced IP security and advanced compression for the remote production, contribution and distribution markets.

XC Platform: a modular IPTV and broadcast solution supporting content acquisition, compression, stream processing including scrambling and multiplexing, with distribution options for cable, satellite and terrestrial networks.

NEO series: provides all of the benefits of software compression, while removing the complexity found in traditional server-based solutions. To provide the best possible performance, the compression software is pre-installed on Appear hardware, along with fully integrated management, transcoding and streaming.

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arkona technologies – Stand 9.C01

arkona technologies, provider of IP core infrastructure solutions for top-tier broadcast productions, has announced plans to introduce BLADE//runner FLOWS at IBC 2023. FLOWS is a built-in tool that makes configuration of BLADE//runner systems a breeze.

Designed for Tier-1 live broadcast productions where agility and scalability are essential, the BLADE//runner core infrastructure solution provides a wide variety of tools for professional productions, including audio/video routing, compression and processing.

The new built-in FLOWS tool removes all the complexity of the configuration process. FLOWS presents sources, processing functions and outputs in a simple point, click and drag web UI where all the most commonly used parameters are at your fingertips. FLOWS easily allows the user to configure routing between sources, processing functions and destinations to build the desired processing path. Routing sources is as simple as click, drag, and drop the source on top of the desired destination, such as a processor or an output. Processing functions such as color correctors, HDR/SDR converters, delays can be easily and dynamically added or removed directly from the UI. Audio, video, and metadata sources from other ST2110 devices can also easily be added directly into FLOWS.

“One of the most common requests we get from our customers is to simplify configuration so that they quickly can make changes during a production,” explains Erling Hedkvist, sales & business development for arkona. “FLOWS gives them the time they could never get back before by making easy work of configuring workflows. It is a true point, click, drag, and drop tool. No fuss, just spot-on results. We’re so excited to present it at IBC for the very first time.”

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Ateme – Stand 1.D33

Ateme will return to the RAI at IBC to showcase its end-to-end solutions — from contribution all the way to the CDN — including the world’s first solution for operating a cloud DVR in the public cloud.

The global leader in video compression, delivery, and streaming solutions with innovation at its core will also demonstrate new ways of offering state-of-the-art quality of experience on any screen, monetizing audiences, and engaging sports fans in-venue and beyond, while respecting green streaming strategies

“This is an exciting time for our industry,” said Rémi Beaudouin, Chief Strategy Officer at Ateme. “Audience expectations are being shaped by new entertainment experiences such as gaming and social media. Meanwhile, new technologies are enabling innovative ways of consuming and monetizing video content. We are thrilled to go to IBC this year and present the pioneering work we’ve done to help broadcasters and service providers leverage these changes.”

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ATG Danmon – Stand 8.B60

Exhibiting with Danmon Group colleagues, ATG Danmon will promote its comprehensive range of systems integration services at IBC 2023. These include pre-project consultancy, system design and structural layout, installation, workflow configuration, testing and commissioning, documentation, training and, if requested, lifetime support. ATG Danmon representatives at the show will include Paul Shonfeld, Jonathan Hughes and Howard Dixon.

“A substantial strengthening of media industry investment in the broadcast mainstream, corporate, higher-education and parliamentary sectors has been evident over the past year,” comments Paul Shonfeld, ATG Danmon head of sales. “In the broadcast category, we completed a studio control room upgrade for ITN at their London headquarters in Gray’s Inn Road. This included the integration of a latest-generation production switcher, control surface and production server. Transition to the new system was completed over a single weekend to ensure continuity of the facility’s daily transmission schedule. The new infrastructure can be upgraded from HD to 4K-UHD, and SDR to HDR, if or when those capabilities are required.

“Among corporate sector projects recently completed by ATG Danmon is a video production facility for Fortnum & Mason, one of Britain’s longest established retail stores. This comprises a Food & Drink Studio plus a dedicated control room. Created as a multipurpose resource on the store’s third floor, the studio incorporates a kitchen with remotely controlled cameras and adjustable lighting.

“After a careful site survey, we recommended a solution based on compact overhead 4K-UHD HDR cameras with integral motorised pan/tilt/zoom. These have proved highly effective and efficient in many of our recent systems integration projects, notably in newsrooms and theatre venues. The results have proved very eye-friendly both from a video production viewpoint and as experienced by Fortnum & Mason’s customers visiting the suite.”

Manchester Metropolitan University’s School of Digital Arts chose ATG Danmon to equip its new School of Digital Arts. The project tender was issued in two phases. Phase 1 centred on the installation of cabling and interfaces, lighting control and related infrastructure.

“The university gave us very clear guidance at every stage of the project, from initial design specification right through to completion,” says ATG Danmon project manager Howard Dixon. “The result is a comprehensive resource which allows undergraduates, postgraduates and researchers to get to gain experience with the tools and technology deployed across the broadcast, film and wider media industry.”

Following successful completion of MMU SODA phase 1, ATG Danmon was awarded the tender for the much larger Phase 2. This included the design, installation and commissioning of two motion-capture studios, two green-screen studios, a stop-motion studio, film studio, edit suites, a multipurpose studio, a colour grading and editing system and related audio/video equipment.

A high profile project in the parliamentary category was an audio system located in the clock tower of one of Europe’s longest established national government buildings. The assignment formed the culmination of a five-year restoration which included repairs to the clock and the masonry of the tower itself. It allows the chimes from the tower’s five bells to be captured for live transmission as well as for use in news programmes and parliamentary broadcasts. The largest of the five, weighing nearly 14 tonnes, sounds the hour, supplemented by four smaller bells programmed to sound a distinctive sequence each quarter-hour.

“An unusual complication was the need to test the system’s acoustic and electronic performance before the date when the bells were officially permitted to resume their public duty,” summarises managing director Jonathan Hughes. “This was overcome by performing tests at a church with a similar clock tower. The results proved resoundingly successful.”

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AWS – Stand 5.C90

Ahead of and aligned with its presence at IBC 2023, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is launching an AWS for Media & Entertainment (AWS for M&E) solution area focused on monetization. Through a combination of purpose-built AWS services and Partner offerings, AWS monetization solutions for M&E enable customers to simplify and modernize their advertising, licensing, subscription and marketing technology strategies, increase revenue across viewing platforms, and build deeper, more personalized relationships with audiences.

According to an Insider Intelligence Report 2023, for the first time in history, US adults spent more time in 2022 watching digital video compared to linear television. Despite this shift, linear advertising sales (ad sales) still represent the majority of revenues for most media organizations that have yet to fully realize the monetization potential of an increasingly connected viewing audience. In order to align revenue with viewership, media companies are seeking to modernize and simplify their ad sales systems to deliver unified buying, fulfillment, and measurement across their linear and digital properties. As a result, these companies are reimagining business models, leveraging data to maximize yield across direct and programmatic sales, and ensure campaigns are optimally fulfilled across platforms.

Data has also become a critical asset for media companies and their brand customers to drive advertising and marketing decisions and increase profitability. As such, many are looking to reinvent customer data systems to leverage first and third-party data, and update their identity solutions and clean rooms to create a 360-degree view of the consumer journey.

AWS for M&E monetization solutions address the most pressing challenges for media companies in the age of converged video. AWS is facilitating converged TV advertising tools and solutions, which help unify linear and digital advertising technology platforms and facilitate simple, cross-platform operations including buying, fulfillment, and measurement. These solutions include multi-platform campaign planning and sales automation, data-driven optimization, systems interoperability, shoppable content, virtual product placement, and the agile integration of new monetization products. To satisfy the need to unify audience measurement data across various siloed sources, AWS is helping content distributors and publishers adapt and integrate these data sets into their advertising ecosystems.

Customer 360 and data interoperability tools are available in the monetization solution area to help media companies enable privacy compliant first-party data collaboration and increase customer lifetime value, while providing predictive analytics to minimize audience churn. AWS customers also now have access to the latest generative AI tools for use cases such as hyper-personalization, audience segmentation, and ad creative generation. Through a combination of solutions, media companies can reach the right audience at the right time, with the right message. These tools and solutions extend to national TV networks, local broadcasters, regional and national sports networks, streaming platforms, measurement companies, and data providers.

“Today’s M&E companies face a highly complex and competitive landscape, which is only made more complicated by fragmented tools for data management and monetization,” said Marc Aldrich, General Manager – Media & Entertainment at AWS. “Adding this focus on monetization provides truly comprehensive solutions that create opportunities for our customers to holistically optimize their data, advertising, and subscription revenue strategies.”

AWS for M&E monetization solutions include a robust roster of Partners, delivering industry-recognized technology solutions that help customers drive innovation and transformation. This includes AWS Partners such as ActioniQ, Castlabs, Comscore, Databricks, Datazoom, HighTouch, Innovid, iSpot, SpringServe, ThinkAnalytics, Triplelift, and Veritone.

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Bedrock – Stand 5.C78

Get ready to immerse yourself in the most inspiring event in the media, broadcast, and tech world as industry leaders come together once again. Bedrock, in collaboration with our content distribution innovator partner Yospace, is excited to announce our presence at this highly anticipated event. Visit us at Hall 5, Booth C78 to explore Bedrock’s end-to-end streaming services, discover our outstanding editorial tools, explore a wide range of features, and delve into our expertise in SVOD, AVOD, and Hybrid solutions. Whether you’re interested in discussing streaming, OTT, or broadcast, or simply want to enjoy a friendly chat over a cup of coffee, we welcome you to join us!

Discover End-to-End Streaming Services

At our booth, you’ll have the opportunity to gain a comprehensive understanding of Bedrock’s end-to-end streaming services. Our team of experts will be available to showcase how our robust and scalable platform empowers broadcasters and media companies to deliver exceptional content to their audiences across multiple screens and devices. From live streaming to on-demand content, Bedrock has you covered.

Unleash the Power of Editorial Tools

Our booth will be a hub of innovation, featuring demonstrations of our outstanding editorial tools. Experience firsthand how our advanced tools enable content creators and editors to streamline their workflows, enhance content curation, and deliver personalized experiences to viewers. Discover how Bedrock’s intuitive interface and powerful features provide a seamless and efficient content management experience.

Explore a Wide Range of Features

Bedrock prides itself on offering an extensive array of features designed to elevate your streaming experience. During the event, we will showcase our comprehensive feature set, including robust monetization options, advanced analytics and reporting, social media integration, content recommendation algorithms, and much more. Whether you’re focused on revenue generation, user engagement, or enhancing the viewer experience, Bedrock has the features to meet your needs.

Expertise in SVOD, AVOD, and Hybrid Solutions

Bedrock’s deep understanding of the streaming landscape extends to various business models, including SVOD, AVOD, and Hybrid solutions. Our booth will provide insights into the intricacies of each model and how Bedrock’s expertise can help you navigate the challenges and maximize your revenue potential. Discover the possibilities of subscription-based services, advertising-driven models, and the hybrid approach that combines the best of both worlds.

Join Us for a Coffee and Conversation

In addition to exploring our cutting-edge solutions, we invite you to join us for a cup of coffee and a friendly chat about all things streaming, OTT, and broadcast. Our team will be readily available to discuss industry trends, share insights, and answer any questions you may have. Take advantage of this opportunity to connect with like-minded professionals and expand your network.

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to connect with Bedrock at one of the industry’s most inspiring events. Visit our booth at Hall 5, Booth C78 to explore our end-to-end streaming services, discover our innovative editorial tools, explore our wide range of features, and gain insights into our expertise in SVOD, AVOD, and Hybrid solutions. We look forward to welcoming you, sharing our knowledge, and discussing the exciting future of streaming, OTT, and broadcast over a cup of coffee. See you there!

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BHV – Stand 9.C01

BHV, provider of turnkey engineering services, will be back at IBC with its expanded portfolio of design and manufacturing services for hardware, firmware, desktop, and cloud solutions. In addition to its extensive range of in-house and outsourced engineering services, the Company will be showcasing its significantly upgraded TV studio in a Chip solution that now includes 4K 60 rendering and image manipulation and will present a range of wireless and control technologies in Hall 10 on Stand A.20.

BHV will also be highlighting its new alliance with L2Tek, a Silicon supplier recently appointed to represent BHV’s value-added services to the video sector with special emphasis on image rendering and processing. The alliance will offer greater support for clients looking to develop video solutions, buttressed by significant levels of integration with component manufacturers. Executives from both companies will be available to discuss the benefits the relationship brings to customers.

“BHV has now expanded with locations in the US as well as in Europe to provide better support for the key international brands we serve,” said Bill Garrett. ”As part of this development strategy, we are delighted to establish this relationship with L2Tek that will offer significant advantages to our clients and play a key role in our continued growth.”

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Black Box – Stand 10.F40

At IBC2023, Black Box will feature IP-based KVM and AV solutions that empower users with exceptionally intuitive user experiences and incomparable system connectivity for production control rooms and both remote and hybrid productions — including live events — without compromise.

Black Box will show how the company’s cutting-edge solutions ensure flexible, scalable, and secure workflows with industry-leading low-IP-bandwidth usage. Visitors to the Black Box stand will discover new additions to the acclaimed Emerald KVM-over-IP system that unite KVM and AV video wall processing under a single management system. They will experience the company’s fresh approach — integrating automation into Emerald, enabling greater system reliability through predictive maintenance, and simplifying workflows through synchronization of user workstations. Black Box also will highlight full support for the Elgato Stream Deck.

Product managers and global solution experts will be available on the stand to answer questions about how Black Box solutions address a wide variety of broadcast, media, and control room challenges.

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Bridge Technologies – Stand 1.A71

In a sweeping host of advancements that Bridge Technologies will be announcing for its VB440 production probe in the run-up to IBC2023, the expansion of its audio panel, which facilitates virtually unlimited audio monitoring across an unrestricted number of flows, and which now additionally allows for single channel isolation to pinpoint audio issues. The expansions represent Bridge Technologies’ positioning of the probe as a single appliance that gives creatives and technicians alike access to the in-depth information they need to complete their work, whilst at the same time eliminating as much as five rack units’ worth of space, equipment and associated energy draw.

The new audio control panel allows for audio monitoring across a practically unlimited number of flows in a service, with each flow capable of maintaining 64 channels grouped into any required audio bond, from monoaural and stereo channels to fully immersive 7.1.4, with all current Dolby audio standards supported by the probe. As well as providing extensive visual insight into the performance of audio groups with a range of LUFS, Gonio and room meters, users can now also isolate a solo audio channel in order to engage in closer listening for problem identification. This is on top of the existing ability to listen to any audio grouping – including 7.1 – in a stereo downmix through the browser. Combined, these features allow audio engineers to ensure that both channels and flows match expected outputs, not only in terms of audio quality, but actual audio content.

A further additional feature is the ability to access audio quick-controls from any given VB440 screen, allowing the user to toggle audio on and off, or increase and decrease decibel level even whilst they are engaged with the multitude of other engineering and visual analysis tools included within the probe.

This range of extensions to the audio capabilities of the VB440 yet further cements the centrality of the probe in busy IP and SDI-encapsulated production environments, delivering ultra-low latency analytics of compressed and uncompressed data to facilitate not just technological engineering oversight, but – through intuitive visualisation – the production activities of visual creatives and audio engineers. Allowing access to eight users at a time through any HTML-5 browser, production professionals are granted all of the tools they need to complete work even – indeed, particularly – in a remote or distributed environment.

Speaking of these new audio enhancements, Chairman of Bridge Technologies Simen Frostad said: “We are incredibly proud of the quality of the audio visualisation tools that were already embedded within our VB440. But first and foremost, an audio engineer wants to determine what they can hear. Crystal clear audio is fine, unless it happens to be crystal clear French commentary going out on your live English-language sports broadcast. Only listening can tell you that.”

He continued: “The range of listening tools now incorporated into the VB440, from single-channel isolation to 7.1 stereo downmix, and the fact that they can be applied to 64 individual channels within each flow with no limit on flow numbers, is really quite remarkable. It’s even more remarkable when you consider that audio monitoring is just one a much vaster range of production functions handled by the probe”.

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BST Devices – Stand 7.A02

BST Devices, a pioneering Swedish company specialising in advanced camera robotics, is proud to exhibit at IBC2023 for the first time with its sister company, nxtedition. The camACE pan and tilt head, which achieves a remarkable resolution and repeatability of 0.8 arc-seconds with zero backlash, making for precise on-air moves, will be demonstrated at IBC2023. Its radical design with direct drive servos, only one moving part per axis and high damping makes for virtually silent operation and very high reliability: ideal for critical operations like news studios. 

The camACE remote head can be paired with the Altitude lifting column and the silentTrack floor or ceiling rail system, enabling designers to utilise robotic cameras with complete freedom of movement for very quick and precise positioning. The system also supports payloads of up to 45kg, allowing for full studio cameras (complete with prompters) to be used. 

Camera movement is controlled from modular panels which provide intuitive access for programming and live operation. Safety is inherent in the control system, ensuring the protection of equipment, operators and the surrounding environment – meeting all widely recognised safety standards for studio robotics. 

“Our goal is to continue to push the boundaries of camera robotics,” said Peter Elmqvist, CEO at BST Devices. “IBC is a great opportunity to show our platform in action, delivering silent, fast, accurate and repeatable movements, ultimately empowering operators to capture stunning visuals and enhance storytelling.”

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BuyDRM – Stand 1.D92

Our team will be back at IBC in Amsterdam. Are you excited? Well, we are and we would love to meet with you.

This year, we are exhibiting in Hall 1 Stand D92 and you can expect to see us showcase the following:

• DRM to Scale
• MultiCloud Support
• How BuyDRM is uniquely positioned for the future of streaming

DAILY DEMOS:

• Limiting Concurrent Users with DRM
• Streaming at Scale with Sclstrm & BuyDRM
• KeyOS MultiMark Forensic Watermarking

And we go even further. Our experts are standing by to assist you in developing a holistic content security strategy.

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