The Broadcast Bridge had a staff of experienced editors on site throughout the show to help provide coverage of the key events and exhibitors. These editors developed multiple reports so you can read about products, speeches and technology that you may have missed. Here are some of my favorite stories from the show. To read more about these events and products, just click the links.

IP solutions visible everywhere

The transition to IP is one of the biggest challenges facing broadcasters and media companies today, with fears over limited inter-working and a lack of recognised standards seen as the most common brake on progress. IBC 2016 allocated an entire booth to demonstrating practical and proven interoperability between products and multiple companies' technology.

The zone brought to life the work of the JT-NM — the Joint Task Force on Networked Media: a combined initiative of AMWA, EBU, SMPTE and VSF — and the AES on a common road map for IP interoperability.

Central to the IBC Feature Area was a live production studio, based on the technologies of the JT-NM roadmap, that Belgian broadcaster VRT has been using daily on-air all this summer as part of the LiveIP Project: a collaboration between VRT, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and LiveIP’s twelve technology partners.

More information on the project is available here: IBC Makes IP Interoperability a Reality with Dedicated Demonstration Zone

Broadcast consultant’s viewpoint

If you prefer a fellow engineer’s opinion, consultant Gary Owen offers his viewpoint on key discussions, companies and the technology he saw at IBC:

Gary says:

I was pleasantly surprised to see the IP Interoperability Pavilion with the EBU/VRT Studio in operation.

I was aware of an interoperability event in the US that took place right before IBC. Rumor is a number of participants sent representatives who hadn’t bothered to prepare while the network techs compromised the integrity of the testing by continually making changes to the network while the tests were going on.

In spite of this little speed bump, the IBC demo looked good and was encouraging. I had a nice chat with Mike Crimp, CEO of IBC, and was interested to hear that IBC is played an active role in establishing the IP Interoperability Pavilion. Mike was very positive about moving IP technology forward and IBC is actively participating in the discussions to create a single standard. You can review Gary's depth show review here: IBC 2016 – A Look At The Technology Displayed

At IBC 2016 Jünger Audio highlighted its focus on providing customers with effective, high quality and automated audio production, particularly in live broadcast environments. The company demonstrated its latest innovations including "Smart Audio". The technology provides a way for broadcasters to ensure that viewers receive a consistent, clear audio experience by employing a chain of intelligent and adaptive real time processing algorithms that work together. For more information about Jünger Audio's technology, don't miss this article: Jünger Audio To Unveil Smart Audio at IBC

The Grass Valley stand was packed from day one. Attendees were greeted with a wide range of solutions ranging from capture to replay to delivery and live production.  Broadcasters' goal is to create, control and connect content to the right audience at the right time. To do this they need 4K/UHD, IP, HDR and other solutions. Grass Valley addressed these issues by focusing on open standards and interoperability to improve production efficiency and increase revenues.

Here are some of the live production solutions shown in the Grass Valley stand:

Native 4K or native HD image capture with new imagers in the LDX 86N Series Cameras. The camera provides 4K with the highest resolution or HD without the typical downsides of 4K acquisition such as rolling shutter or decreased sensitivity.

The direct IP interface for the LDX series cameras enables a direct connection to COTS switches on an IP network, which greatly simplifies remote production over IP.

Extended dynamic range for LDX Series cameras, now with 15 F-stops, provide more lifelike highlights, better color rendition and high contrast without compromise. More on the displayed Grass Valley range of solutions is available in this article: Grass Valley Highlights Live Production Solutions at IBC

At IBC 2016 Bridge Technologies launched NOMAD a unique, innovative and affordable tool for anyone tasked with managing, supporting and optimising IP networks and hybrid networks with RF signals. A highly portable, self-contained and versatile network probe, NOMAD covers all the monitoring requirements of hybrid IP multicast, OTT and RF networks, and provides every conceivable interface for media signal monitoring and analysis. It can monitor Gigabit Ethernet, ASI In/Out, DVB-C QAM cable, DVB-T/T2 COFDM terrestrial and DVB-S/S2 satellite signals with an advanced external 1PPS GPS time-reference. It is specifically designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of those who do not have an in-depth understanding of moving content over IP. The full article provides more detail: Bridge Technologies Announces NOMAD, A Probe for Monitoring Hybrid IP Multicast, OTT And RF Networks

Dalet says it offers a far simpler process for global distribution of content. The company says the Dalet Workflow Engine, available both in Dalet Galaxy and Dalet AmberFin platforms, “is reinventing the way customers can implement these types of workflows”. 

Both platforms support IMF, an industry format that serves as a model to assist with and enhance program preparation and mastering. IBC visitors were shown how the Dalet AmberFin media orchestration platform bundled media assets into an IMF, which can then be imported by Dalet Galaxy for distribution. 

Dalet AmberFin can also generate metadata-rich IMF bundles authored with user-focused tools such as those found in Dalet Galaxy. Want to know more? Go here: Dalet On Simplifying Program Preparation and Mastering

More updates and information on IBC 2016 will appear next week. Stay tuned for the next report.