NAB – Where Content Comes to Life

Billed as the entertainment playground of the world, Las Vegas plays host to the NAB Show in April, offering broadcasters the answers to coping with the unrelenting demand from consumers for high-speed digital content

Finding new ways to respond to the public demand for digital content is a growing concern amongst industry professionals. And the demand for digital content in all forms has grown.

More consumers access the web and media content from their laptops, smartphones and tablets than ever before.

Deloitte’s sixth ‘State of the Media Democracy’ report reveals 33% of Americans would rather access books, magazines and news content on their laptops, smartphones and tablets than traditional hard copies. This represents a substantial increase in digital content consumption over the past few years; in 2007, 23% of respondents expressed such a preference.

Video content marketing may also merit a boost in light of the news that 42% of Americans regularly stream video content on internet-enabled devices, compared to 28% in 2009. In fact, 14% of respondents say online video viewing is their preferred method of watching content, up from just 4% in 2009.

For broadcasters launching news content marketing campaigns, the increased popularity of mobile platforms should signal the need for website content to be mobile-ready so it can be accessed whether the reader is at home or on the go. A report from eMarketer recently pegged the current international growth of mobile commerce to reach more than US$31 billion by 2015.

Digital content consumption’s growth is no longer something broadcasters can ignore, which is why this year’s NAB show in Las Vegas will focus on new levels in content consumption and its effects on the way the broadcast industry works.

Titled ‘The Great Content Shift: Defining Your Evolution’, sessions will discuss the seismic shifts that are impacting the modern digital world as people demand content anytime, anywhere.

Running alongside these sessions is a six-day conference focusing on radio, digital TV, loudness measurement and control, remote production, green engineering and mobile TV updates. Expert opinion will be delivered by the likes of front-line technician Fred Baumgartner, director of broadcast operations at Harris Corporation in the States and Jeff Andrew, the vice president of engineering and operations at Fox TV.

A three-day Broadcast Management Conference kicks off on April 15. Topics include the impact of regulatory and legislative issues on broadcasting; client-centric sales and new revenue streams; station digital best practices, models and strategies; new media and the newsroom; and leadership and team building strategies.

Of particular relevance to regional broadcasters is a session on audience measurement; 75 ideas in 75 minutes; real world cost-cutting measures for radio stations; the future of advertising in mobile marketing and using Facebook and Twitter as a broadcasting platform.

The speakers for this year’s stream are yet to be announced but the organisers have promised the same calibre of high profile names as in 2011.

Running alongside the conference programme is the popular exhibition, placing in one location the largest collection of vendors driving the future of digital media and entertainment.

Pilat Media will highlight its Integrated Broadcast Management System (IBMS), which offers a flexible and scalable information backbone that can adapt to changing broadcast business requirements.

DNF Controls will demonstrate the company’s array of applications based on its flagship technology, the Flex Control Network. An intelligent and cost-effective solution, Flex Control Network provides a control and connectivity infrastructure that integrates with existing equipment, protecting equipment investments. Also on display will be DNF’s new Production Control Application for live television productions and the new Tally Control System. DNF will also exhibit its AnyWhere Interface Box (AIB) and GTP-32 Control Processor.

Ross’ Vision Series high-end production switcher family continues to evolve with v15 software going to be displayed during the show. This new version extends the rich integration between production switcher, XPression Graphics system and its OverDrive Automated Production Control system. Sports and news workflows will be demonstrated that previously would have required multiple CG channels across multiple platforms, streamlining production tasks without compromising that perfect on-air look.

In addition, Ross Video’s recent acquisition of FX-Motion brings a whole new product line to the Ross booth.  Furio Robotic Camera Systems use an absolute positioning system and rail based tracking along with lift and PTZ head and is ideally suited to automated studios as well as virtual set and augmented reality applications.

Audio specialist Jünger Audio will demonstrate two new additions to its *AP family of loudness control processors. These units are specifically designed to help broadcasters stay within the parameters of its new launch, CALM legislation.

Utah Scientific will show a new family of menu-based router control panels. The panels feature high-resolution, full-colour LCD displays and buttons, offering user-friendly operation for today’s increasingly complex routing systems. Utah Scientific will also be demonstrating on its booth an embedded-audio signal processing for the UTAH-400 series digital routing switchers.

Future Media Concepts is teaming up with NAB to offer a full slate of manufacturer-certified training courses at the Post/Production World conference. It features more than 200 training sessions with learning formats that include half-day beginner boot camps, in-depth sessions, workshops, and full-day immersive programmes. This year’s conference also features a field trip opportunity led by video production and multimedia expert Richard Harrington. It’s a session on HDSLR time-lapsed videography that culminates in a field trip to Red Rock Canyon outside

Las Vegas.

LYNX Technik will be showing its HDMI conversion bricks. The new yellobrik CHD 1812 is a self-contained HDMI to SDI converter with integrated frame synchroniser.  With this brick, facilities can convert HDMI to HD or SD-SDI such as sources coming from broadcast

video cameras. 

Dalet Digital Media Systems will demonstrate several enhancements to its Dalet Enterprise Edition, including the MAM platform to facilitate content distribution to multiple platforms and several new, integrated modules for Dalet MediaLife which is focused on workflows for programme preparation and MAM for production and archives.

A number of top industry names will be on hand to deliver their expert opinions and identify the changes that are forcing industries, businesses and individuals to re-evaluate expectations, technologies and strategies for the future.

Marina Gorbis, executive director of the Institute for the Future, delivers a two-part session titled ‘Making Sense of the Great Content Shift,’ on April 18.

Gorbis is an expert on how digital media affects global interactions and outlines the top five trends shaping the future of the broadcast and telecommunications industries on both an organisational and individual level. Attendees will then be invited to engage with Gorbis directly in a Q&A session live via social media.

Youngkwon Lim from ETRI will present sessions on media archiving and 3D TV. The rise of social media has highlighted the need for broadcasters to get to grips with media archiving more now than ever before, while 3D TV, although yet to reach the masses in the Gulf region is likely to expand across a number of platforms during the next two years. Fox International Channels has confirmed that it is looking to work with operators in the region to begin delivering 3D content to consumers within the next few years.

Trends and technologies impacting the future of entertainment and media will be disclosed during a two-day series of ‘Super Sessions’.

This year’s topics include a conversation with Bruce Rosenblum, president of Warner Bros. Television Group; a focus on mobile video and mobile TV, which looks beyond YouTube; a session on how to connect with consumers and discussions on taking risks with technology.

Completing the high profile line-up of speakers will be Ted Sarandos, chief content officer of Netflix, and Gerhard Zeiler, CEO of RTL Group. Sarandos will participate in a Content Theatre Q&A session on April 17 and Zeiler will take part in a similar Q&A session on April 16. The Content Theatre is a series of presentations from industry leaders who are transforming content creation and delivery.

Zeiler will receive the CORE Award for Executive of the Year in recognition of his consistent ability to build profitability and value in the ever-evolving television and content industry, as well for his impressive track record when it comes to recognising and acquiring phenomenal television hits, such as American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and X Factor, as well as RTL Group’s acquisition of Original Productions and Radical Media.

Sarandos has led content acquisition for Netflix as the chief content officer since 2000. With more than 20 years experience in home entertainment, Sarandos is recognised in the industry as an innovator in film acquisition and distribution.

Before Netflix, Sarandos was an executive at video distributor ETD and Video City/West Coast Video. He also serves on the Film Advisory Board for Tribeca and Los Angeles Film Festival, the retail advisory board for the Digital Entertainment Group and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. 

NAB, held annually in Las Vegas, runs from April 14-19 and is the world’s largest electronic media show covering filmed entertainment and the development, management and delivery of content across all mediums.