Perspective on NAB 2018 – Top 10 Observations
Perspective on NAB 2018 – Top 10 Observations
Major annual trade shows such as the recent NABShow provide a snap shot in time as to what is occurring in the various industry segments in which many of us work as well as a macro view that encompasses numerous segments.
The Conference sub heading “Where Content Comes to Life” says it all. Content production, distribution and exhibition/display transcends all sorts of market segments. It is not just broadcast as the “B” in NAB once stood for, and it is not just feature films. In the global community that comprises the NAB audience, it is far broader than that. Describing each of the different markets and sub markets that comprise NAB is a blog in itself, perhaps for another day.
We attend each year to gain a sense of what companies are selling, what people are buying and to gain a perspective of the various parts of the value chain in which we and in turn the companies for whom we provide advisory services are involved.
This blog presents a brief overview of our 10 key observations from the Conference from what we saw and heard, and what was less prevalent.
- AI – Each year for the past 25++ years we have attended, there was a key buzz word, the technology that was gaining or hoping to gain traction in the marketplace, that seemingly was at “every” booth. In years past, key buzz words were digital, high definition, 3D/stereoscopic and virtual reality (VR) among others. Some of the product introductions in these areas succeeded and others did not.
This year, AI or Artificial Intelligence, was front and center at a significant number of company booths. This has been building for several years. AI is still at its early stage of development, notwithstanding its incorporation into numerous products and services from a wide range of organizations.
Today’s AI is far beyond the recommendation engines that were developed by the likes of Amazon and Netflix that mined data to suggest what movies, TV shows or retail products “you” would like based on your history as well as those with similar histories. It is also far more than the home speakers such as Alexa and Google Home.
Today’s AI, and especially those on display at NAB 18, represent a combination of machine learning and natural language processing that are incorporated into new products and services. Examples most frequently seen at NAB were tools that analyzed video to determine who was in it, using for example, facial recognition and what was being said, using speech to text. The AI further analyzes the tone of the voice(s), facial expressions and gestures/body language to articulate the context of the content and to record it as a part of a searchable meta data.
Look for AI to be a major disruptor in business in the years to come.
- 8K – 6K and some 8K cameras have been available for a sufficient period of time to be gaining traction. Until a few years ago, only some cameras had the right sensors and sufficient storage to be useful. That has changed. The goal: future proofing content.
8K has been around for displays and projection for several years at CES and at NAB by various companies. NHK and Sharp have been leading the development and deployment for many years. Both are planning to use the technology at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, one of the most sophisticated tech countries in the world. The rest of us will gain as a result.
Editing, grading and other post tools for 8K are beginning to be seen at NAB. Expect more in the coming years.
There are some who think that 8K will gain momentum faster than 4K. It is TBD at this time.
- OTT – OTT is for all intents and purposes a mature product. Products seen at NAB refine and enhance many of the tools currently in place for OTT from better and faster encoding and distribution to merely more companies involved in many aspects of the overall value chain, including start ups and emerging companies that are entering the OTT market with their own niche content.
- ATSC 3.0 – Often characterized as next generation TV, ATSC 3.0 with its ability to provide two-way interactive communication, could be a game changer. It is UHD/4K focused, allows for targeted advertising, video on demand and emergency notifications. We expect ATSC 3.0 to have a much larger presence at future NABShows with 5G mobile internet bringing the tech further into the corporate and consumer realm.
- Dynamic ad insertion – Separate and apart from targeted advertising noted in ATSC 3.0, dynamic ad insertion enables better ads, some of which may be geographically targeted, as well as those that may be time driven. On the latter, think of the myriad of ads on Thursday evenings for “tomorrow’s” movie openings, but updated when the show is watched on a time shifted basis, say 2 – 3 weeks later, when the studio would prefer using the time slot for this week’s “tomorrow” release.
- Storage – Storage and related systems are growing at a significant rate and have been for many years. There seemed to be more companies involved in this market segment than we remember from years past. With more companies buying, why not? That said, cloud storage is likely to be a more major factor in the coming years than it is now.
- VR – Several years ago, VR had a major presence at NABShow. As the hype fades, it seemed to have a far lower profile than in years past. Companies used its capabilities to demo their product as opposed to offering a VR product for sale.
- Next gen theater screen – As we wrote several years ago, the 40, 50 or 60+ inch TV screen of today will be the 40, 50 or 60+ foot LED movie screen of the future. Sony had a brilliant display of their forthcoming offering. We have heard good things about the Samsung version, but have not seen it as yet. The challenge will be convincing theater owners to buy at a time when many are still paying off the equipment purchased to convert to digital cinema using the virtual print fee. Expect initial roll outs to be in Asia.
- Miniaturization – Miniaturization of electronic components has been an ongoing trend for a very long time. Blackmagic’s Pocket 4K camera caught our eye. This extends far beyond the capabilities of the sophisticated cameras on the latest smartphone.
- Favorite NAB – There have been many. One of mine was 1998 when then client Gardy – McGrath, a predecessor company to TV Worldwide, interviewed their founding shareholder and board member Buzz Aldrin and Marty Shindler separately in a webcast. Buzz Aldrin signed this picture in my presence as we talked about space and many other topics. In addition to the excitement of meeting Dr. Aldrin, participating in a newly developed technology as webcasting was very exciting. In a newsletter in 2010, we wrote about it as well as another experience that was at the early stage of development in broadcasting.
