IBC2022 set to deliver exciting innovations face-to-face as exhibitors, partners, accelerators and others gear up

IBC2022 is set to deliver exciting innovation across the show floor when the event goes live once again at the RAI Amsterdam on 9^th-12^th September, returning as a face-to-face event after two years of virtual formats. With over 1,000 exhibitors confirmed for this year’s show, IBC2022 will be the place to see the latest technology releases from established names and exciting start-ups across the media and entertainment value chain. Further fuelling the IBC crucible of technological creativity and advancement are the latest IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme projects, which bring together pioneering media companies and tech vendors to collaborate on solutions that address real-world industry challenges.

Steve Connolly, Director at IBC, says: “The enthusiasm from across the industry to return to IBC has been fantastic to see. If you add in all the co-exhibitors and partnership pavilion exhibitors coming to the show, over 1,250 organisations will be sharing demonstrations and concrete examples of leading edge technologies – from artificial intelligence and machine learning led tools to cloud advances that are revolutionising remote production to new ways to leverage and monetise content in a fragmented media world driven by a multitude of platforms and devices. What’s more, the Accelerator Programme has a phenomenal array of brands working together across projects focusing on 5G, blockchain, volumetric video and XR, among others.”

Show visitors can discover the myriad of advances on offer from IBC’s 1000 exhibitors, including industry leaders such as Adobe, Amazon Web Services (AWS), ARRI, Avid, Blackmagic Design, Canon, Comcast, Edgio, EVS, Fraunhofer, Google, Grass Valley, Hewlett Packard, Imagine Communications, Lawo, LTN, Mediakind, Microsoft, Nagra, NEP Group, Net Insight, Red Bee Media, RED Digital Cinema, Riedel, Ross Video, Sony, Synamedia, Telstra and many more. There are also many companies making their IBC debut this year, such as Ad Insertion Platform, Ai-Media, Blitz micro, Ceeblue, Castify.ai, Castr Live Streaming, Green Streams, Igalia, LiveAPI, PikoTV, Planetcast International, Riverside.fm, and XroadMedia – to name just a few.

“Technology has been forcibly accelerated across the industry over the last two years and exhibitors are keen to demonstrate these advances to customers and prospects they haven’t met in person for three years in some cases,” Connolly adds. “Our return to Amsterdam as a live event is showing that there really is no comparable substitute for face-to-face business engagement on the scale IBC can deliver.”

In addition to the exhibitors’ on-stand demonstrations, IBC industry partners and other M&E trailblazers will be showcasing technology-driven thought leadership, product innovations and other advances through presentations, panels, masterclasses, case studies and proof of concept (POC) demos in show floor theatres, stages and dedicated content areas throughout IBC2022. These include: the Showcase Theatre in Hall 12 where audiences will hear from speakers from leading industry players such as AWS, Globo, Google and Zixi; the Content Everywhere Stage in its new purpose-built home in the expanded Hall 5 with speakers from LTN, Red Bee, Synamedia, Telstra and many more; and the Innovation Stage in Hall 2, which will be home to the Accelerator presentations among others.

One of the biggest drivers of cutting-edge innovation, the Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, has attracted many of the most inventive players in media, entertainment and technology – as well as some of the biggest. The Accelerator Zone will be in Hall 2 alongside the Innovation Stage.

Launched in 2019 to support the M&E industry by providing a framework for agile, collaborative and fast-track innovation through a multi-company approach, the Accelerator projects involve “Champions”, the media companies looking to contribute to and then utilise the breakthroughs resulting from the work, and “Participants”, the tech innovators working with the media brands to create and execute the POCs being produced and then showcased at IBC.

Some of the Accelerator projects that will be showcased on the Innovation Stage at IBC2022 include:

• ‘Next Generation News Studio’ – Explores what the next generation news studio will look like, examining how integrating the latest production technologies and techniques can deliver news coverage for upcoming audiences – and futureproof it in the process. (Showcase:12th September, 11:15am-12:00pm)

• • Champions: BBC, BBC News, Production Park, Reuters, TV2
  • Participants: NxtEdition, Singular.Live, White Light

• ‘6DOF Audio-led Narrative and Music Experiences in the Metaverse’ – Looks at how “Six Degrees of Freedom” (6DOF) audio content in the metaverse will impact content creation and delivery by creating first-person perspective experiences, including a deep dive into use cases around audio and Audio Definition Model. (Showcase: 9th September, 15:45pm-16:30pm)

• • Champions: BBC, Kings College London, Paramount
  • Participants: Magic Beans, TuneURL, White Light

• ‘Volumetric Video for Broadcasting, Metaverse Production and RT3D Assets’ – Builds on learnings from previous Accelerators, tying together advances in XR spatial design, volumetric video and real-time 3D interactive animated content to build the live studio and IP of the future. (Showcase: 12th September, 10:00am-10:45am)

• • Champions: Connected Ideas Limited, DAZN, ETC/University of Southern California, FOX Sports, Hochschule Luzern, Production Park, RTÉ, Trinity College Dublin, Unity Technologies
  • Participants: Noitom, Volograms

• ‘Media Content Sharing, Monetisation and Micropayment Systems via Blockchain’ – Explores how over-the-top (OTT) platforms can utilise Blockchain for content sharing, micropayments and incentivising new users via NFTs and tokens. (Showcase: 9th September, 12:30pm-13:15pm)

• • Champions: Barco Digital Cinema, DAZN
  • Participants: Eluv.io, Tata Elxsi

BCS Bureau