In Broadcast - October 2016 - 80

www.inbroadcast.com | Vol: 6 - Issue 10 | October 2016

InUSA

2016 IBC Highlights
Broadcaster Confusion
Contributing Editor Michael Grotticelli discusses the technological quandary that broadcasters
and broadcast equipment manufacturers find themselves in...

ucked among the glitzy virtual
reality exhibits, lengthy discussion
panels on 4K and 8K production and
the multitude of demonstrations of
the different ways to deliver video to
consumers, U.S. (and international)
broadcasters attending the recent 2016
IBC Show in Amsterdam were quietly
lamenting the industry's current state
of confusion as to what step to take
next.
Even while traditional broadcasters
are launching new OTT on-demand
platforms in order to keep up with the
competition, those I spoke to at the
show, who asked not to be identified
by name, said the feeling is that even
with new pipelines into peoples'
homes (and hands), there's still no
clear business model for making it all
profitable.
Desirable Technology
"We find ourselves constantly
chasing the next big technology, only
to find that consumers are not that
interested," said one engineer from a
major American network. "I think this
year, we're taking a step back and
reassessing what our goals are and
how they align with what the public
wants."

This sentiment is supported by the
fact that several equipment suppliers
at the show stated they are struggling
to find new customers amidst an
environment where broadcasters are
increasingly buying Commercial-OfThe-Shelf (COTS) hardware to run taskspecific software applications. These
manufacturers have also begun to
leverage cloud computing, which saves
customers money, but results in fewer
physical boxes sold. Basically, it's a
tough position to be in.
Charlie Vogt, CEO of Imagine
Communications, said during his
company's annual press conference
that the next few years would see a
lot of segment consolidation in the
industry. By 2020, he predicted that
IP products would be ubiquitous and
by 2025, he expects his company to be
selling more IP-centric product than
SDI-based technology. "It's just the
way things are going," he said.
Sandbox Challenge
To that end virtually every vendor
showed some type of Internet Protocol
(IP) product or one that supported
the protocol. Indeed, IP-delivered
video was a main focus at this year's
show, with many live demonstrations

that prove the technology is ready
for primetime. As one example, the
LiveIP Project codenamed "Sandbox,"
hosted by Belgian broadcaster VRT
in partnership with the EBU, saw
a studio set up, content recorded
and then distributed throughout
the RAI Convention Centre. The
EVS booth served as a virtual data
centre while Nevion supplied the
fibre infrastructure. Other companies
offered equipment as well. The studio
provided live cut-ins for the IBCTV
Daily channel. Protocols in use include
SMPTE 2022-6 (video), AES67 (audio)
and PTP (synchronisation).
Moving from a baseband SDI world
to everything running over an Ethernet
cable is a concept that makes sense
on paper, but is challenging at best
to implement. Broadcasters are faced
with the concern of when to make the
transition, or even if it makes sense to
do it in the first place. IP brings a lot of
benefits, in terms of resource flexibility
and efficiency, but at what cost? That's
a question broadcasters will wrestle
with for the next five years, at least.
Virtual Reality
Virtual reality demonstrations were
prevalent on the show floor, but most

seemed prototypical gimmicks and
not a technology that could increase
a broadcaster's bottom line. Several
vendors said they were working with
VR content creators and even an
emerging VR network of on-demand
channels, but none of it really
attracted broadcasters' attention.
Not when U.S. broadcasters are faced
with a new proposed transmission
standard (ATSC 3.0), new audio-overIP networking methods (AES67 and
Dante), and having to produce more
content with fewer resources. On the
show floor there were many solutions
for how to do all of this, but hesitation
regarding the right course of action is
the main reason buyers are holding
back.
A Cycle Of Progress
The development of broadcast
industry technology typically runs in
cycles, and some years the IBC Show
reflects the fact that there's simply no
reason to promote a new technology
when the existing ones are performing
just fine. This year's gathering was
such a year.
As my engineer friend alluded to
earlier, sometimes it's good to take
a step back and re-evaluate where
your company is and where you
want it to go. Should you be thinking
IP infrastructure for the future,
absolutely. Should you be in a hurry
to implement 4K production capability
when all you produce is the evening
news, perhaps not. It's these types
of conundrums that resulted in the
confusion seen walking the convention
show floor.
Broadcasters want a delivery
mechanism that handles all of
their needs and makes them more
productive. They want a scalable
platform that can grow naturally
as their needs do. And they want a
crystal ball to show them the roadmap
to success. The 2016 IBC Show had
all of those answers, but it was a bit
confusing finding them.
The more than 55,000 attendees at this
year's IBC Show were challenged by a
plethora of technology and business
model decisions

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