HD-SDI- the end is nigh?

Among the many new product launches and announcements at NAB this year, there were a couple of things that struck me as interesting indicators of up and coming technology that are well worth keeping an eye on. 

Sony showed the production version of the  NXLIP55 IP Live Production Unit, which enables multiple video data streams to be transmitted over an IP Local Area Network (LAN). The unit enables multi-camera shoots with up to 3 video streams. The system maintains broadcast quality full HD video over the IP network, equivalent to the picture quality of the traditional HSC-300 and HXC-100 HD cameras, though it works with any video signal.

 As well as transmitting three camera signals, the IP55 handles up to 10 audio channels, including intercom, control signals, Tally, General Purpose I/O and genlock. Sony claim it is the only product that supports genlock across IP, and they say the delay from the encode to decode across the network is about 1/2 frame. 

What I felt is significant about this is not that they could stream video across an IP network- that's not rocket-science these days- but that they are proposing this as a workflow going forward to enable remote production across a wide-area network. For instance, they discussed the ability to bring one encoder to a remote location, and bring all the signals back to a control room located at HQ- potentially saving the expense and complexity of sending an OB truck to an event- depending on the event size of course, and depending on having suitably reliable links! 

Another example might be on a golf course, where you could locate one box at the green, with three cameras connected via the NXL box, so you would only need to send one fibre (or network) cable out to the green, potentially providing a significant saving in cable costs and manpower. There's a good article on Sony's web site, http://www.sony.co.uk/pro/article/broadcast-nxl-ip55-1301 worth a look. 

Taken with the recent announcement of a joint task-force on networked media from the  EBU/SMPTE/VSF to establish a set of standards for the exchange of professional media across networks, and developments from manufacturers such as Snell, it's clear that the future direction of professional broadcast equipment lies in the IT domain, and the days of dedicated hardware for media processing may well be numbered. Will we still be using HD-SDI and other dedicated signal transmission technologies for video infrastructure in the future? Once clear protocols, standards, and topologies are established, with sufficient quality and latency, it's hard to see why you'd develop dedicated hardware for any but the most specialised applications. TVB Europe have a good article describing the objectives of the task force in their May issue, (see it here http://content.yudu.com/A20m01/May13/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.tvbeurope.com%2F ) and the Press Release from the EBU is available here- http://www3.ebu.ch/cms/en/sites/ebu/contents/knowledge/technology/news/201304/call-for-participation-in-networ.html

There are many challenges to be overcome before this could become a reality, but it's fair to assume that it will only be a matter of time before these are sorted out and we start to see systems built around networked systems. 

Whilst file-based workflows have become the norm for post-production, graphics, and playout, live production has to date not been a practical candidate for networked media, due to bandwidth, latency, and usability. TV studios and OB trucks have had to rely on the real-time dependability of HD-SDI to transmit and mix the video signals of cameras, and Presentation Suites have been built around traditional signal types with all the attendant dedicated hardware associated with HD-SDI. However, once live signals can be carried across IP networks with sufficiently low delay, and once vision mixers, audio processors, and other infrastructural elements are developed to handle networked signals, the potential to completely redefine the broadcast facility becomes inevitable. 

Imagine a broadcast facility where the studio cameras are networked, rather than tied to a particular gallery control room, and where the traditional video router becomes a data router- albeit maybe a specialised one- and the possibilities start to become intriguing. For instance, imagine a studio complex where all the studio floors are located conveniently at the back of the block, with all the control rooms built in a central office space, with dynamically-assigned facilities. 

Or a remote studio might have the cameras on robotic heads, with the vision control operated from a central studio control block located at a headquarters building located anywhere Whilst this is possible now with adequate links, it's not hard to imagine a scenario where a standard national IP network replaces the dedicated links network. Similarly, and as shown in Sony's trials on the NXLIP55, it would be likely that OB facilities would build central control areas back at base, and just send a minimal crew with cameras to the location, rather than the existing marathon logistical task of send trucks, with all the associated costs. Not of course for every event, and its hard to see it working for major sporting events, but maybe for smaller events, concerts and so-on it would be perfectly practical.

When the day comes that you can use a low-cost network card to connect broadcast equipment in place of expensive dedicated video cards, then the cost of the specialised hardware system are numbered. The major manufacturers are of course tuned in to this, and at NAB, several were showing future technology that could show the way forward. Snell and Harris showed prototype routers with data routing for broadcast, Sony had the NXL as described earlier, BBC Technology showed their Stagebox IP-based  camera back, and even smaller companies such as Broadcast Pix were showing the integration of cloud-based media with live camera feeds in their switchers.

Sp what does all this mean for those of us in the business? Well for the TV studios & OB companies,  I think it points to a future where the cost of entry to the major league is likely to fall dramatically, and as has happened in the post-production market, rates are likely to tumble as new lower-cost players enter the market. For broadcasters, the new architectures should provide a degree of nimbleness and flexibility that might help counter some of the pressures they are under from the new media competitors, and maybe help them provide live programming at lower cost.

However, having said all that, I don't think this is all going to happen tomorrow- as with any new shifts in fundamental technology, it's going to take a while to iron out the bugs, agree the interconnectivity, and replace relatively recent infrastructure, so my best guess would be it's a 4-5 year timescale at a minimum for most facilities, since they'll also need to recoup their current investments,  though I'm sure pockets of users will appear in the meantime.

And as always, I am looking at this with the eye of a systems integrator and distributor- what does it mean for us and our industry colleagues? Well, we need to keep on top of the developments, learn the new standards, and educate our customers, and help them transition to the brave new world as it appears. It will be more about providing consultancy and design, rather than making our money on the hardware as in the past.

As for 4K? Well networked media, given sufficient bandwidth, doesn't care, so it could well be a driver in both directions.... take a file from the 4k camera, into the networked switcher, through the networked Presentation desk, into the networked encoder, out to the transmission network, and into the set top box in the home, without ever converting to baseband- there are a lot of attractions to such a chain.

Till next time, as always comments are welcome.

twitter - @kevineurotek
Linkedin- Kevin Moore- Eurotek
Facebook- Kevin Moore

TV V3.0- where next?

It's been an interesting week for me. I started a new evening course on social media and digital marketing on Tuesday, to try to understand not just how to use the various communications channels, but to get some insight into how others are using them, and what impact all these channels have on the business we are in- there's no doubt that broadcast and online have both a symbiotic and adversarial relationship, and its fascinating to see how this relationship is developing, ever more quickly it appears to me.

So one of the side-effects of my new-found social-media awareness is that I've been spending a fair amount of time reading articles, blog posts, online newsletters, online magazines, and other communications- including press releases!- relating to our business, no doubt much to the annoyance of my colleagues who've been getting "this is interesting......" Comments from me all week! And although of course you can't believe everything you read, there is a common thread running through the stuff I've been reading, and it points to some interesting times coming down the tracks.

Every industry goes through a major upheaval periodically in its history, when the rules of the game change, and a new -sorry to use the word but can't think of another one- paradigm - emerges. Think of the introduction of motorised transport and its effect on the work-horse trading business, or the invention of the steam loom on the clothing manufacturing business. Closer to our industry, look at the effect desktop publishing had on the print business, not to mention of course the Internet itself- in fact this blog wouldn't exist without the emergence of DTP and the Internet - though some might argue that would be no bad thing!

It seems to me that the broadcast media business is undergoing one of these paradigm shifts now, and its going to take a while to figure out the new model. With ever more methods of distributing content, and ever more content creators making content, in some ways we should be entering a golden age for quality TV, movies, and other moving picture content. The challenge is to find a way to get this in front of the viewer, whether via traditional broadcast, subscription service, or online service. Or maybe via some other channel that we haven't thought of yet!

One of the interesting snippets I read in the course of my "research" was that Netflix streamed over one billion hours of programming per month over the past year! That's a phenomenal amount of programming, and that's just one provider, with content that's mostly re-used from traditional broadcast channels. Their newly launched original programming indicates that they appreciate that viewers do want new and interesting, quality content, and by commissioning their own, it seems they are in some ways emulating elements of the existing broadcast business- where they realise that viewer loyalty has more to do with the quality of the content than the brand of the channel.

How much of their revenue will go into original programming is an interesting question, but I think it points to an optimistic future for the production community, especially when taken with YouTube's recent announcement of their intention to commission content, and Amazon's similar announcement.

So traditional broadcasters are looking at many options to try to retain the viewers, and I think we're starting to see the bones of how the broadcasters of the future might operate. Of course, catch-up services are pretty much universal at this stage, and we are starting to see some interesting second-screen deployments- especially around sports events- designed to enhance the viewing experience and hold onto the eyeballs. The potential move to higher resolutions, such as 4K, may not happen for a few years yet, but in the meantime, improvements in HD picture quality are being made through improved production kit, better compression technology (the HEVC demos at NAB were stunning!), and probably just more experience on the part of the producers in squeezing more quality out of the production chain.

The major networks- think the three US FTA networks, HBO, BBC, ITV, and other major content commissioning companies- are among the major providers of content to the new-comers, and they are the ones predominantly funding the cost of series such as the Sopranos, Breaking Bad, David Attenborough's many nature series, and so on. I'm not saying that without these networks, this content wouldn't be produced- but I think it's fair to say that the quantity and perhaps quality might reduce. However, the number of hours that need to be filled isn't going to reduce, so somewhere in all this, it's reasonable to expect that an accommodation will be reached that enables the content production companies to find commissioning organisations, and the content distribution companies to find producers to produce the ideas, pilots, and series. 

So maybe there might be a parallel in the way cinema has developed over the past few years. The emergence of videotape was touted as heralding the end of the cinema, since we could all stay at home and watch the movies, and at lower cost. But in reality, the amount of new and interesting movies available to rent was pretty poor in the main, and renting a movie was pretty much a Friday or Saturday  night takeaway activity- people still went out to the cinema for both the experience, and the quality of the show. But the cinemas had to change too, and they improved their facilities and enhanced the customer's experience, and something similar is likely to happen to the traditional broadcast networks. Maybe not as easily defined as with the cinema market, but by becoming the go-to place for quality first-run content, and enhancing this with improved facilities- be it eventually moving to 4K (as no doubt the major manufacturers would love!), or offering enhanced second-screen experiences, or maybe by tying in additional services to take on the newcomers at their own game, such as with the success of the BBC iPlayer. 

It may be that viewers would be willing to pay a subscription to the traditional broadcasters if they offered the same types of services as the Netflix, Hulu, Amazon type organisations. And the broadcasters have a huge advantage- they are available to everyone in their region, and aren't dependent on someone finding them online. They also have the advantage of being able to offer live programming in a meaningful, timely way- especially sports programming, news programmes, and other time-critical content. And the trend towards using the various social media channels to build community around a programme helps tie the viewer to the scheduled run of the programme, rather than watching it time-shifted, or online. 

So, the shape of the broadcast landscape may be changing, and the view may not yet be well defined, but through the fog, there is the first glimmer of a new dawn for the broadcast industry,  and so long as they are willing to keep pushing the boundaries, and to innovate at the same pace as the startups, then the long and rich heritage, and viewer loyalty they've built over the decades, should enable them to prosper and grow in the future.

It's an exciting prospect, and  I for one feel optimistic that quality -both technical and content- will help the emergence of the Golden Age I referred to earlier.


Meantime, back to my Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest......


As always, comments welcome!


Kevin


Twitter- kevineurotek
Facebook- Kevin Moore
Linkedin- Kevin Moore

NAB 2013- Final Thoughts

NAB 2013 - wrap up.

 

The show finished with its usual gentle grinding to a halt on Thursday lunchtime, and its clear that most of the exhibitors were relieved to have a chance to rest their feet, and maybe take some time to catch up with their colleagues around the show. I'm pretty sure the shopping malls also saw a big increase in footfall, we spent some time ourselves at the Fashion Show Mall to pick up the all important presents for the family, and bumped into lots of NAB shoppers! Closely followed by a relaxing hour and a half by the pool, the first time I got to see it since we checked in!

 I thought I'd take a little bit of time in this post to discuss the Eco-system of the industry we all work in, and the inter-dependence of the various strands of the business. I thought of this as we were discussing the latest digital cinematography cameras over a Mojito in a bar on Wednesday night- often when the best ideas come!

Anyway, one of the guys we were talking to specialises in the rental side of the business, especially camera and grip rental. I asked how he saw the breakdown between the various cameras in the marketplace, and what impact the advent of very low cost products had on his business. He explained that his clientele are driven predominantly by the director and his expertise or knowledge, couple with the budget of course. If its a high-end drama or cinema project, it's likely to be a Sony F65, if its a commercial or other TV drama, it's likely to be Arri Alexa or Red Epic. Anything below that tends to be more budget driven, although he did say the Sony  F55 &  F5 are making an impact. 

So this got me thinking about the  business, and the food-chain from manufacturer through  production company, to end client- whether TV station or cinema or any other outlet.   Of course all elements of the business are struggling and having to cut costs wherever they can. The advent of the digital cinema camera has revolutionised the business in the same way as videotape revolutionised the TV production and news businesses many years ago, and it's an open debate as to which drives which- does lower-cost kit drive down the cost of production, and therefore the budget available, or do lower-cost productions demand lower cost kit, and this in turn force manufacturers to produce kit to suit?

In the past, the cost and complexity of 35mm or 16mm film production meant that only the most worthy projects were shot on film, maybe those with international sales potential, or some other justifiable reason  for the expense.   

But, as with the videotape revolution, the new digital cameras- especially the DSLR models- has opened the market up to a vast increase in the number of producers pitching to TV stations for productions shot on digital. This of course is a good thing, and from a cultural standpoint, the democratisation of content creation helps to promote the diversity of views that a healthy society needs. There is, and should be, a place for these productions in the broadcast landscape, and may exciting and original ideas have been brought to fruition on DSLR cameras.

However, because there are many more production companies shooting lower cost programmes, it gets difficult for the high-end productions to hold onto their share of the programming budget. Not that the commissioning editor would choose to have a production shot on a lower quality system, but the overall environment and cost base tends to be driven lower, which feeds into the time spent refining the production, and leads at times to a more hurried production with less attention to detail.

At the same time, the breadth of technology, especially at the content creation end of the food chain, has fuelled a proliferation of programmes of all genres, from drama to lifestyle, to reality TV and more.

The advent of virtually unlimited TV channels, not to mention online services, has created a huge and hungry beast to consume the content that's produced, with channels dedicated to virtually any interest group. These channels will often repeat programmes endlessly, but even so still demand huge amounts of fresh content on a regular basis. Would these channels exist if the lower cost of production (and of course distribution) didn't enable the quantity of content needed to fill the schedules?

  

We can argue the quality of much of this programming,  but the fact remains that there are many more people employed in the industry now than at any previous time, notwithstanding the loosening of the old labour regulation environment.

And, as resellers, this broadening of the base feeds down to us, with increased markets for the hardware and software that enables the content creation.   So the symbiotic relationship between the broadcaster and the production company, to the facilities house to the systems supplier and manufacturer, creates an Eco-system in which all are dependent on each other.

Without the manufacturer introducing innovative, low cost products, the facilities house or camera person, couldn't offer the services at the cost base they can now. The production company couldn't produce the programme at the same budget. And the broadcaster would have to pay more for the content, and this in turn would  mean fewer channels (which some might argue is a good thing!) and higher advertising costs.

The exact inverse is also true, if you start with the broadcaster, and follow the trail down. So the interdependence of all the various elements of the industry is much deeper than we'd all think on first glance. We truly are an Eco system, with total interdependence on each other.

And nowhere is this more apparent than at a major trade show such as NAB, where you have all the elements coming together- from broadcasters to programme makers to manufacturers to distributors. All getting along splendidly!  It is probably the biggest single reason why NAB and IBC, along with the other major shows such as CABSAT and Interbee have survived so long.

People deal with people, and at the end of the day, a show like NAB is all about the people you meet and the relationships you build. Ours is a truly sociable business, and no matter it's trials and tribulations, there are really very few of us who'd choose to work in a different industry.

So that's it for this year. We'll be producing a review of highlights from the various manufacturers once we're all back at the grindstone, but for now I hope you've enjoyed reading my first blog- it's been an interesting experience, and I've enjoyed it, and the feedback and comments I've received. So thanks to all those who took the time to read and respond, and until next time, remember you can keep in touch via the following:

Twitter- @kevineurotek

Facebook- Kevin Moore

LinkedIn - Kevin Moore

And of course the Eurotek contact details.

Thanks for reading!

Kevin

NAB 2013- Day Three

So, it's the 3rd day of NAB 2013, and despite weary bodies and minds, the Eurotek team are continuing to tramp the halls to see what's new and what the hot topics are. At least the sun is shining today so that's a big plus already!

As I've said in my previous blog posts, the buzz here is all 4K and HEVC. Add to that, broadcasters are talking about Second Screen. We've taken a lot  of time to talk to customers, suppliers, friends, and colleagues to get their views on these issues.

Underlying all the hype on these new technologies, of course is the requirement for manufacturers to sell what's deliverable today, and on the show floors, you can often see a divergence of views between the corporate line promoting  the new technology, and the guys on the ground who have to meet monthly sales targets!  But it's not necessarily a bad thing, and a touch of realism is no harm amidst the hype.

My impression is that 4K for production will most likely become a reality in the near future, fuelled in the same way as HD production was- basically it's not much of a premium in terms of cost for new hardware  and software, so why not future-proof your assets.
With 4K cameras from all the main players coming in both low cost DSLR form factors, (think Canon, Blackmagic etc) to proper production camera types from the traditional manufacturers, acquisition at 4K should be straightforward, and most file based graphics and editing platforms are resolution agnostic.

With high quality cameras from manufacturers such as Sony's F series, Arri's Alexa, and Red's Epic, I think we'll see serious directors insisting on using this level of camera rather than compromising on low cost options. And with studio accessories being shown, the practicality of using these on live events is a step closer- especially as most of the leading vision switcher manufacturers are showing 4K versions of their switchers.


However, as with anything, there is a caveat- 4K images do demand a higher level of quality control, and it remains to be seen if the lower cost solutions will hold up well through the production process. In particular, signal to noise becomes an important measurement, since the high data rates mean that any increase in S/N will be magnified at the processing, and this will show up in keying and compositing operations. Also in transmission, but more of that later.

The delivery of this content to the consumer is a whole other ball-game, and any of the broadcast customers and manufacturer salespeople we spoke to felt the additional costs associated with 4K were probably not justifiable in the current business climate.

So this is potentially where HEVC becomes interesting. With at least double the efficiency of H.264, a 4K Programme could be delivered with not much more bandwidth than an existing HD stream requires, and its possible that premium channels will see 4K as a differentiator- especially for drama and sports. And,  as I said in my first post, Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube have all stated their intention to support 4 K in the future so broadcasters will need to keep up to compete in some way.

The efficient transcoding of the 4K images to HEVC (or H.265 as its being referred to) will require a high quality master to work at its best. So back to the argument I made earlier about source quality and in particular S/N. compression systems rely on being able to dump pixels in frames and this in turn depends on being able to re-use pixels from preceding and following frames. Where the signal to noise ratio is poor, the compression system has to work harder to compress the picture, and this leads to a higher bit rate compressed file for a given target quality. So to maximise the quality of a 4K compressed image (whether compressed to H.264 or H.265) the originating material needs to be as good as possible. So while there are a lot of lower cost solutions being shown, time will tell if these have the performance to produce the pristine pictures that the compression systems will demand. The encoding process will be critical, but even the best compression technology will need to have a good signal to work with at the outset. So a move to higher quality content creation system (whether cameras or post/graphics systems) could be on the cards, and a well-defined QC process will need to be adopted by broadcasters and content delivery organisations.



So, in summary, I guess the 4K hype will become a reality- first for feature film production, then general post and production, and eventually for broadcast- but there's a way to go yet. Interestingly, a couple of people I spoke to said 4K could well become very popular very quickly in the corporate conference display and medical markets, where high picture quality is essential! So maybe that will be its first home.

Talking to broadcasters and vendors, it seems that second-screen is a more urgent topic for them, and there's a lot to chew on in that topic, so maybe that will be the subject of my next post...

As always follow me on Facebook, kevineurotek, and Twitter- @kevineurotek- feedback welcome!

Kevin

Sunday- Partner Meeting Day!

Sundays at NAB are madness for resellers and partners such as ourselves! There are many more meetings to try to get to than is humanely possible, and even with four of us here you still end up missing a couple!

Anyhow, having distilled the collective wisdom of the industry's great and good, there are some common themes arising. Of course, as I said in my first post, 4K is the flavour of the month. Haven't gotten into too many specific products yet- I think we'll probably do a roundup after the show- but I think its interesting to see where the consensus lies in future production formats.

Secondly, clouds are everywhere! If you don't have a cloud strategy, your just not at the races! Now I, like a lot of people, would tend towards the sceptical side of this debate- are the broadcasters of the world going to trust their facilities to a remote, anonymous site? I would have said not a chance, but I'm starting to re-evaluate that viewpoint. It's not that I think that we're going to see everyone move to the cloud today or tomorrow, but I think I can start to see a real practical future for centralised media centres with the broadcasters being the content & schedule publishers.

It's already a reality, and has been for years, with service providers such as Technicolor and Arquiva, but I'm beginning to see the potential for a SaaS model for companies which doesn't require the long term commitment to contracts and bespoke centres. With the arrival of services such as AWS and the development of software from companies like Harmonic, Telestream, and Snell to support "on demand" encoding, transcoding, and shortly playout management, I think we will see a model where a broadcaster can set up with relatively modest investment, and rent the technical facilities as needed, scaling up or down to meet demand. So we could, for instance, see a broadcaster set up a dedicated channel for a short period- say around a major local cultural event- and run it for a couple of weeks just. Regulators equally will have to find a way to regulate this environment, and we all know how long that could take!

This presents a lot of opportunity for new players to enter the market, and equally presents a challenge for traditional broadcast models. It's not that we'll see the demise of the BBC's and RTE's of the world, but they will have to change their model to remain competitive in the new world order.

Having said all that, the old truism that content is king remains valid, and no matter the cost base, if the content is rubbish, then the viewer won't stick with it.

So, where does that leave us looking into the future? Well it's still anyone's guess, but I think if we project forward 4 or 5 years we will see a very different landscape to the one there today, and the forward thinking organisations will start to dip their toes in the water of experimenting with maybe niche content delivery via the new services as they come on stream.

Our job will be to help ensure these new services maintain functionality and quality, and we're looking forward to learning and participating in the developments as they happen

That's my thoughts for the end of Day One (I know the show doesn't officially open till Monday, but us workers have been at it all day Sunday- honest!)

Hopefully tomorrow will bring more insight, and I'll try to keep you all posted with my observations and thoughts as we see more announcements and presentations.

I'm deliberately staying away from straight product announcement posts- there's a million bloggers, PR companies, and newsletters doing that- and I think there's maybe more to be learned for delving beneath the business case for our industry across its various sectors. I hope you agree with this strategy, and if you think I'm on the right track, I'd welcome any feedback.

Till tomorrow (hopefully - but no promises!)

Kevin

NAB 2013- Eurotek's Show Blog

NAB 2013 Blog from the Show Floor


Another April rolls around, and with it another NAB. As usual, Eurotek have a full team on hand to bring the latest news and trends from the show.


Our team this year consists of Kevin Moore, John Roche, Graham Lowen, and this year's Newbie, Roland Degroot. We have independent outside expertise coming in from friends and colleagues, including Liam O'Kelly of Airspeed Telecom, Greg Fahlstrom of HP USA, Dan Desjardins of Weather Central, and Julian Ramm of Scene & Heard, California. And of course we're getting the lowdown direct from the manufacturers in what can only be described as Super Sunday Product Update Day!

All the talk this year is about 4K production, and the range of products to support 4K workflows is phenomenal! Now there are different views on the whole 4K argument, and it remains to be seen if it takes of in a way that 3D didn't.  It's fair to say that the 4K images do look absolutely stunning, and for feature production it probably makes a lot of sense to shoot 4K if the cost overhead isn't too great.

However, there are other viewpoints, and I must say I was particularly taken by a presentation by the renowned director James Cameron last year, in which he argued passionately that a higher frame-rate would have a greater impact on perceived image quality at 2K then a lower (or at least not increased) frame rate at 4K.

It's all about spatial vs. temporal resolution- something I remember talking about with the whole 720p vs 1080i argument. He shot a specially written drama piece with a number of different camera setups, ranging from 24 FPS to 60FPS, and demonstrated clearly that the higher frame rate produced a better picture on any shot with action- including panning shots, tracking shots, and action sequences. He argued that the 24fps frame rate originated because the studios back in the 1920s wouldn't pay for a single foot more of film than they had to, and 24fps was the minimum that didn't  stutter on most footage, but we've lived with the legacy ever since! See http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=55897 for an interesting review of this topic.

However, there is a place for both, and with many of the new cameras being flexible enough to shoot at various frame sizes and frame rates, with a multiple of codecs to choose from, it's about choosing the one that suits your project best.

For broadcasters, it's unlikely that we'll see 4K transmission anytime soon, although both Netflix and You Tube have stated at they intend to support 4K production in the next year or so- possibly as a premium service. This could present an interesting challenge to traditional broadcasters, who are already finding the new online services are biting into their traditional markets, especially among younger viewers, who consume much more of their media online. 4K might present the broadcasters with a differentiator if they can find a way to economically transmit it, and of course the in-house infrastructure requirements to handle the media would need to be developed and introduced. Given that most broadcasters have either only recently, or are in the process of, moving to HD, it's hard to see how they could justify another upgrade, so I don't think it's going to feature too highly on most broadcasters shopping lists.

However, as with last year, the other big topic is OTT - or Over The Top Television. The mobile media market is growing exponentially, and its estimated that the quantity of video material online will quadruple by 2017. Broadcasters know they have to be part of this, and have to make their content available on a variety of Devices, from iPhone and Android devices to PCs, smart TVs, and tablets of all sizes and types. The problem is to find a way to monetize  the content, and to find a way to generate advertising revenue from the online media. Alliances are forming between content producers and distributors, and there is some very interesting dialogue around the future model of broadcast that will enable the content owner and broadcaster to both receive a reward for making the content available.

But it's clear that no matter how they may prefer not to have to face this future, there is no escape- the genie isn't going back in the bottle, so eventually I'm sure a way will be found to let everyone get their share of the revenue. There are many companies showing platforms to enable broadcasters to do just that, and everything from the basic encoding to the CA and CRM systems to manage the users are all showing solutions to help resolve the challenge of the new world order. We'll be looking at some of this technology in later blogs.

I was looking through  some of our posts from last year's NAB, and our former colleague, Lee Griffin, (now at Broadcast Pix), had an interesting observation-

It was interesting seeing the four big themes being pushed at the show: 4K ,  TV Everywhere ( re distribution), cloud based storage and Intel thunderbolt. Thinking about it, it is strange and almost comical that two things completely at the opposite scale of the business should dominate the business, 4 k and mobile

If you think about it Manufacturers are telling us they we need our clients to shoot 4K for normal production now because HD isn't good enough anymore. After working at 4 k throughout the post process, this material gets delivered on phones, iPad and YouTube which are mostly barely better than SD resolution and hugely compressed. So people spend all their time working with huge file formats and finally deliver it to this new world called TV anywhere , think the RTE Player or BBC I-player.
Still relevant today Lee!

So, that's the challenge facing the broadcasters.

But the other parts of the content production food-chain are not necessarily having an easy time of it either. The recent high-profile collapse of Hue & Cry in Hollywood- one of the most renowned VFX houses in the world- just as their most recent high-profile project, Ang Lee's Life of Pi scored an Oscar for Special Effects- highlighted the poor economics of the VFX business and how hard it is for the many companies competing in this market to make a profit. The advent of low-cost and powerful computing hardware, with equally low-cost and powerful VFX software, has opened up the market to multiple players, and has shifted the focus from a small number of highly talented artists, to bulk-processing of effects in low-cost economies, predominantly in Asia. It will be interesting to see how the VFX companies adapt to this new scenario, and it may herald a move to a model similar to the animation world, where the high-level creative work is completed locally and the labour-intensive rotoscoping, compositing, and painting is completed abroad.

So, a big transition in store for old business models across the board, and as equipment resellers, we're not immune. We have to find new ways to engage our customers, and help them to improve their business by providing the best advice, showcasing the latest technology and trends, and find our own way to compete with the lower cost suppliers.

That's why we at Eurotek continue to invest in market research, and why we come to shows like NAB and IBC, so we can keep our skills up to date and share the information with our customers.

As the show progresses, we hope to keep this blog updated with relevant and timely info from the show floor. Keep an eye on our Twitter feeds- @eurotekireland and @kevineurotek and our Facebook page- Eurotek Ireland.

Kevin.