The deadline to submit nominations for the Best of 2021 Awards has been extended to 30th November.

Our Best of 2021 Awards recognizes outstanding broadcast products and solutions brought to market between September 2020 (the 2020 IBC Showcase) and December 2021.

The awards program is supported by Future’s media and entertainment technology brands – TV Tech, TVBEurope and Radio World – and each brand will be providing its own dedicated coverage of all the winning entries. The previously announced Best of Show Awards are now be included in the Best of 2021 program following the cancellation of IBC’s in-person show.

The Best of 2021 Awards is open to companies who have launched products between September 2020 and December 2021

The awards program contains three separate categories to enter depending on the most relevant magazine publication for your product: TV Tech, TVBEurope and Radio World

Full details of how to submit an entry are available on the dedicated Awards’ website.

LONDON—Faced with a rising number of cases in the Netherlands, the IBC has cancelled the in-person event in Amsterdam. 

The decision was made by the IBC Partnership Board today (November 23) based on feedback from IBC exhibitors and visitors after the COVID-19 situation in the Netherlands worsened last week. 

“Due to take place on December 3-6 at The RAI in Amsterdam, IBC20201 will now focus on bringing the content and technology community together via IBC Digital,” the organization said in a statement. 

More information on the digital event is available at www.ibc.org.

Two of the media tech industry’s biggest companies will no longer be exhibiting at IBC.

A source at Grass Valley has confirmed to TVBEurope the company has decided to withdraw from exhibiting at the show, citing the Dutch government’s restrictions as the reason behind the decision.

Blackmagic Design has announced it will no longer be at the show, stating: “Blackmagic Design will not be exhibiting at IBC 2021 due to the Netherlands lockdown measures. We are disappointed but there is too much risk and uncertainty for us to exhibit. We really cannot wait to get back to shows but it’s going to have to wait a little longer.”

Other high-profile company to pull out from the show since IBC’s announcement earlier this week that it intended to go ahead with the show include Telestream and Canon.

In a statement, Dan Castles, Telestream CEO said: “We are disappointed for our customers, our partners, and our staff. But we also have a clear duty to protect our colleagues, their families, and the people of Amsterdam during this extremely challenging and rapidly evolving health situation.

“We were truly looking forward to spending time in person with our industry colleagues but the resurgence of the pandemic and increased restrictions put in place by the Dutch government have left us with no other option than to withdraw our participation. We look forward to better, safer days in 2022,” he added.

Announcing its decision not to travel to Amsterdam Canon said, “After careful consideration, Canon has made the difficult decision not to exhibit at IBC 2021. As a normal course of business, we always fully evaluate the viability of our participation at major trade shows and events. Given the ongoing uncertainty caused by Covid-19 and the understandable concerns that people have around travelling to the Netherlands, which is facing stricter restrictions, it seems inappropriate to continue with our plans to exhibit.

“IBC has been and will continue to be, a hugely valuable event for our business and we remain totally committed to the broadcast and professional video industry, supporting our customers and partners’ demands, today, and over the long term.”

IBC 2021 is due to take place at the RAI in Amsterdam from 3rd-6th December.

For the most up to date list of exhibitors who have announced withdrawals, check "IBC: Here's What We Know."

SAINT-GREGOIRE, France—AVIWEST will showcase its new RACK400 video encoder for sports remote production at IBC 2021 in Amsterdam, Dec. 3-6.

Designed in a half 1U form factor, the new video encoder supports 4K UHD and multicamera workflows with up to four high-res, fully frame-synced feeds. The RACK400 provides robust, error-free transmission over any network (cellular, satellite, IP leased line or the public internet) at low latency, down to 0.5 seconds, the company said.

The encoder enables perfect video sync between multiple cameras for seamless camera switching in the studio, video return to the field for confidence monitoring, full duplex intercom between field crews and studio operators and data bridging for remote control of cameras, tally light or any other IP device during a live event, it said.

AVIWEST will show for the first time a new solution that allows broadcasters to enrich content coverage with live remote interviews in an easy, reliable way, it said.

The company will also feature its PRO460 flagship 4K UHD on-the-move bonded 5G/4G transmitter. Designed for remote and at-home video production, the PRO460 supports 4K UHD and multicamera workflows for up to four high-resolution, fully frame-synced feeds, AVIWEST said.

Housing six globally compliant 5G modems and incorporating patented, high-efficiency custom antennas to ensure high-speed transmission, the PRO460 provides robust, error-free transmission over any network, it said.

See AVIWEST at IBC 2021 Stand 1.D69.

More information is available on the company’s website.

BOSTON—Actus Digital will showcase expanded workflows and enhancements to its AI-based, intelligent compliance and monitoring platform at IBC 2021 in Amsterdam, Dec. 3-6.

The next generation of the platform includes extensive metadata integration for live and recorded content. Advanced search options, optimized content management and categorization, quicker, more accurate content clipping, concatenation and sharing are also new. Using the new capabilities, media companies can automate and semi-automate publishing high-quality video content, the company said.

The company also will highlight new technical-alert reports, additional automated clipping tools and improvements to Actus AdWatch, its solution for automatic ad detection. AdWatch now offers an internal report generator, simplifying the process and generating comparisons to ads that run on competitive channels, it said.

The Actus Digital platform is available as a turnkey on-premises appliance, software that can be deployed on virtual machines or private or public clouds and in hybrid environments.

More information is available on the Actus Digital website.

See Actus Digital at IBC 2021 in Amsterdam, Dec. 3-6, in Stand 7.B27.

LONDON—IBC 2021 is scheduled to go ahead as planned next month, despite the Dutch government imposing a partial lockdown in the country.

The show takes place Dec. 3-6 at the RAI in Amsterdam.

IBC confirmed it plans to stage this year’s show following an IBC Partnership Board meeting, where it was agreed to continue with the planned event as the event’s organizers believe it “can be delivered safely and create the essential business momentum that the industry needs”.

In a statement, IBC chief executive Michael Crimp said:

“As content and technology companies strive to recover from the awful impact of Covid-19, IBC2021 will be the catalyst that brings the industry together again and enables us all to get back to doing business in person.

“We recognize that attending a live event is not for everyone at this time, and we fully respect individual decisions. We will forge ahead with our IBC Digital offering to ensure that whether onsite in Amsterdam or onscreen at home the industry can come together.”

Last week the Dutch government announced a three-week partial lockdown, that currently runs until Friday Dec. 3, the first day of IBC. Restrictions will then be reviewed. Also last week, in the U.S., the CDC issued a travel advisory alert for Americans traveling to the The Netherlands, indicating "a very high level of COVID-19 in the country."

Registration
Visitors can register for the show via the IBC website. The free visitor passes provide access to the exhibition halls, content program and Showcase Theatre sessions, show floor sessions, IBC Accelerator Media sessions, and more. There are also a limited number of Visitor Plus passes that provide fast-track on-site registration, access to Visitor Plus booths, and a dedicated networking lounge.

The show has revealed that some of the high profile media companies are scheduled to attend this year’s show include Disney, Netflix, Apple, BBC, ITV, Sky, BT Sport, France Televisions, RTE, RTL, Amazon Prime, Formula One, Olympic Broadcasting Union, FIFA, UEFA, NHK, Fox, CBC, ABC, Eurosport and ARD Germany. 

Exhibitor Cancellations
In September, Ross Video announced it would not be attending the show, citing concern about “predicted spikes in infection rates from the Delta variant of Covid-19. With the international travel situation continuing to be uncertain and customer appetite for a physical event in December unclear at best, we do not feel able to ask employees, partners and customers to make the trip to Amsterdam.”

Sony also confirmed it is not exhibiting at IBC this year, but is expected to attend to “meet partners and support the event.”

Here is a list of other companies that have announced that they will not have a booth at the show (as of Nov. 17): 

Object Matrix
DHD.Audio
LiveU
Irdeto

Updated Nov. 18:
Xytech
Viacess-Orca
Newsbridge
Aspectra
DVB Project
SDVI
Canon (will still be listed as an exhibitor)

Updated Nov. 19:
Blackmagic Design
Grass Valley
Telestream
Synamedia
CommScope
Object Matrix
vMmix
Schoeps
Broadpeak

The IABM—an association representing its membership of broadcast manufacturers, and an IBC stakeholder—has revealed the preliminary results of a survey into market intent with regard to IBC show attendance. The results so far are that 65.7 per cent of respondents say that they will not attend the show, with only 18.9 per cent saying that they will.

TV Tech will continue to update this list when warrented.

VIENNA—Digitizing and archiving specialist NOA will showcase newly added features to its QualityChecker content assessment tool for jobDB and mediARC at the 2021 IBC Show in Amsterdam, Dec. 3-6.

NOA QualityChecker, an application for validating and adjusting video, streamlines and optimizes archive migration and improves efficiency of the entire archival business process. The content assessment tool is key in streamlining the entire digitization process and reducing overall project costs by facilitating job separation between ingest and technical QC, the company said.

QualityChecker allows QC engineers to load open tasks directly within the standalone client application and present optimized tools and features to process tasks, including locating error sources, ensuring technical quality is within parameters, certifying that content and its descriptive metadata coincide and trimming (in/out) or extracting individual segments from the content, it said.

Part of the QualityChecker enhancements is an improved engine that enables faster operation, quicker task loading, combined functions and improved productivity. The system also now has a new gateway that puts each scenario into context, making it easier for operators to make decisions when validating and processing, it said. 

Improving content assessment means staff can assess certain quality aspects in only a few seconds, no matter the overall length of the content. NOA has added visual interpretation of the complete task to help minimize potential errors even further, the company said.

“We’ve upgraded the entire process from a production perspective by combining analyses, including vector shapes and improved timeline visualization,” said NOA managing partner Jean-Christophe Kummer. “We know that a quality assessment tool plays a critical role in successfully scrutinizing all content, so we are constantly working to enhance QualityChecker’s performance to ease the daily operations of our clients.”

NOA QualityChecker, a part of NOA actLINE product family, is provided as an upgrade or extension to any existing and future video digitization projects with FrameLector in jobDB or mediARC environments, it said.

More information is available on the company’s website.

See NOA at IBC Stand 8.C51.

The organizers of this year’s IBC Show have announced it will take place as planned Dec. 3-6 at the RAI in Amsterdam, despite the Netherlands entering a three week partial lockdown.

The announcement follows a decision at yesterday’s IBC Partnership Board meeting to continue with the planned event as the event’s organizers believe it “can be delivered safely and create the essential business momentum that the industry needs”.

The show will take place in a “protected zone”, with a perimeter fence surrounding The RAI exhibition centre and all attendees entering via two check points, at The Elicium at entrance D and at Hall 5.

To access the show, visitors will be required to show their Covid status and answer health screening questions before picking up their badge or entering the show floor. Social distancing of 1.5 meters will be in place whilst queuing for the entry check.

“As content and technology companies strive to recover from the awful impact of Covid-19, IBC2021 will be the catalyst that brings the industry together again and enables us all to get back to doing business in person,” said Michael Crimp, chief executive of IBC. “We have the support of many of the leading technology companies in the market such as Blackmagic Design, Bridge Technologies, EKT, UK Tradefair, and a full agenda of content and events that will make attending IBC a valuable and rewarding experience.

“We recognize that attending a live event is not for everyone at this time, and we fully respect individual decisions. We will forge ahead with our IBC Digital offering to ensure that whether onsite in Amsterdam or onscreen at home the industry can come together,” Crimp added.

Due to the restrictions brought in by the Dutch government on Saturday, the show will now close at 4.30 p.m. from Friday-Sunday, and at 4 p.m. on the Monday. However, exhibitors and distributors will be allowed to enter the building from 8:00am and stay in the building until 6 p.m.

AMSTERDAM—The Netherlands government has announced a three-week partial lockdown for the country, beginning tomorrow from 8pm local time.

The new restrictions mean that people will be asked to work from home as much as possible, and sporting events will be played behind closed doors. Schools, theatres and cinemas will remain open but with limited capacities, and cafes, bars and restaurants will be told to close at 8pm. Restaurants are able to deliver orders after 8pm local time.

The restrictions will be revisited on Friday 3 December. There is currently no updated guidance on international travel into or out of the country.

In a statement in response to the measures the IBC said: "IBC is aware of the Covid rule changes announced by the Dutch government on Friday evening. IBC is assessing the impact and engaging with our stakeholders. As you can imagine, this is an issue that needs careful consideration and we will communicate our plans as soon as possible. The safety and well being of all IBC2021 attendees remains our number one priority. Thank you for your continued support and patience.”

It is also believed the government is considering bringing back mandatory social distancing measures, legislation that would reportedly take up to two weeks to pass through both houses of parliament.

The number of new coronavirus infections in the country was recorded at more than 16,000 for the second day running today, with the current infection rate of 93.5 per 100,000 people the highest since the pandemic began.

This year’s IBC show is due to take place at the RAI in Amsterdam from 3-6 December.

The Netherlands government updated its Covid protocols as recently as 2 November when it reinstated mandatory face mask rules for the public from 6 November in public areas where no Covid entry passes are used, including supermarkets, shops, libraries, theme parks, and train stations.

IBC subsequently announced that its December show was on track to go ahead in a “safe and comfortable way” as it was exempt from the measures due to it being organised within a perimeter where everyone must show proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test before entering the premises.

We will have more on this story as it unfolds…

CESSON-SEVIGNE, France—Broadpeak will showcase how its advanced CDN is future-proofed for video delivery and leverages an open, dynamic and elastic architecture at IBC 2021, Dec. 3-6, at IBC 2021 in Amsterdam.

Broadpeak’s CDN allows delivery of third-party content, such as HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Disney + and DAZN. The CDN allows service providers to optimize traffic and quality of experience (QoE) dynamically via powerful analytics and a new centralized steering center, which enables service providers to make constant adaptations to the streaming context.

The CDN’s video distribution capability is elastic. All features and components on Broadpeak's CDN are available as containers orchestrated via Kubernetes to adapt the topology to the actual consumption.

The company will conduct live demos of its CDN to show context awareness with the steering center; open caching based on SVA APIs for streaming Disney + content; and video analytics to maximize quality of service and establish better control over the video system with A/B testing.

The company will also highlight its nanoCDN solution, which brings scalability and low latency to the live multiscreen video delivery environment. Broadpeak will discuss how nanoCDN benefits video service delivery and supports the latest trends in live sports rights acquisition and streaming.

Broadpeak will feature its ad insertion solution for monetizing live, cloud DVR and VOD content on every screen. Broadpeak's BkYou ad insertion solution includes fast offline ad transcoding, robust security and anti-fraud as well as server-side ad insertion capabilities with detailed client-side reporting.

See Broadpeak at IBC 2021 Stand 1.B79.

More information is available on the company’s website.

MELBOURNE, Australia—Mediaproxy will feature upgrades to its LogServer logging, monitoring and analysis system at IBC 2021, Dec. 3-6, at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam.

LogServer, which works entirely in software, is designed to log and monitor program output reliably to ensure it is compliant with broadcast regulations. It fits into cloud, virtual or on-premise workflows and supports video, audio and real-time data from the sources used in broadcasting today, including 4K, HDR, 10-bit, HEVC, TSoIP, SMPTE 2110, 2022-6, Zixi and SRT, the company said.

New features include advanced clustering of decentralized systems on IP networks, including cloud, and a new pooled interface platform to simplify configuration at scale, it said. 

"Compliance has drastically changed over the years. It’s become an intrinsic part of both engineering and business. Our customers recognize our strong and continued commitment to providing the best engineered solution,” said Mediaproxy chief executive Erik Otto. “The ever-increasing demands on modern compliance loggers to scale across IP networks challenges us to constantly stay ahead of the curve and we look forward to showcasing this at IBC 2021.”

See Mediaproxy at IBC 2021 Stand 7.B44.

More information is available on the company’s website.

NANJING, China—Magewell will make its trade show debut of the Magewell Cloud management software, which provides centralized configuration and control of Magewell streaming and IP conversion devices, at IBC 2021, Dec. 3-6, in Amsterdam at the RAI Convention Center.

Magewell Cloud offers stream management features, including protocol conversion and SRT relay. Able to run on a cloud hosting platform or on on-premise servers, Magewell Cloud enables integrators, administrator and users to manage multiple Magewell encoders and decoders across many locations through an intuitive, browser-based interface.

The company also will feature its new Ultra Encode family of universal live media encoders. They offer system integrators and video professionals a flexible, affordable encoding solution for live streaming, remote contribution, IP-based production and other applications. Ultra Encode supports H.264, H.265 and NDI|HX encoding and streaming protocols, including SRT, RTMP, RTMPS, RTSP and HLS, the company said.

It can be combined with Magewell’s Pro Convert decoders for end-to-end transport in NDI|HX or streaming formats, it said.

The company will demonstrate interoperable, end-to-end workflows leveraging the combination of its Ultra Encode devices, Pro Convert NDI encoders and Pro Convert multi-format decoders with third-party production tools.

See Magewell at IBC Stand 6.C13.

For more information visit the company’s website.

SOPHIA, Bulgaria—PlayBox Neo will make the European debut of its latest broadcast playout system at IBC 2021, Dec. 3-6, in Amsterdam at the RAI Convention Center.

The company will demonstrate its complete playout solution, handling every element of content management from ingest and pre-production to scheduling and transmission. The modular solution gives broadcasters the ability to choose between hardware-, software- or cloud-based operation. A hybrid approach is also supported. The solution can be scaled from a single regional or thematic channel to a global network, the company said.

"The two years which have elapsed since the last IBC show have seen major advances across many sectors of the broadcast media industry," says PlayBox Neo CEO Pavlin Rahnev.

"Most significant of these have been the need for maximum flexibility in where, when and how broadcasters choose to work given the restrictions imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic," he continued. "Secure IP-based operation has long been a core feature of our technology, allowing easy control of the entire playout process regardless of physical distance. 

PlayBox Neo Capture Suite will make its first European appearance at IBC 2021. It is designed to speed up ingest workflows for TV networks, post-production facilities and playout service providers.

Operators can control multiple ingest channels across multiple servers. Input selection, ingest presets, file-naming conventions, assignment and auto-transfer can be done from a single web interface. The solution includes a web-based multiviewer with black-frame and freeze-frame alarms. It also offers loudness level monitoring, the company said.

PlayBox Neo will also feature its AirBox Neo-20 automated streaming and broadcast playout system. It is available in 1U channel-in-a-box and 3U multichannel versions. Well-suited for local or IP-link remote control, it enables playlist scheduling to be done weeks before transmission. Media files can be finessed, rescheduled or integrated with live production. Playlists can be configured for 24/7 automated operation on any scale, including support for multiple time zones in multiple languages, it said.

New refinements include GPU acceleration for fast file decoding, secure web-based resource monitor configuration support for input and output, automatic alerts for absent or frozen video feeds, PiP digital video effects creation and loudness monitoring, the company said.

Transport stream and XDCAM MXF file clips can be played back while still being ingested. Enhanced connectivity capabilities include NDI input in addition to the existing compatibility with SDI, MPEG-2 TS and IP streams. NDI output is also now included, supplementing the existing SDI, SRT/UDP/RTP stream and RTMPS outputs, it said.

PlayBox Neo will also showcase its Cloud2TV for content ingest, graphic editing, media browsing with metadata management, clip trimming, QC and verification, transcoding, playlist management and audit logging. Available as a SaaS subscription, Cloud2TV is fully compatible with an existing AirBox Neo-20 playout infrastructure. 

See PlayBox Neo at IBC 2021 Stand 8.B71.

More information is available on the company’s website.

LONDON—Following a November 2 update on COVID protocols by the Dutch government the IBC has announced that its "December event can go ahead in a safe and comfortable way."

Under the new COVID protocols going into effect on November 6, the public will be required to wear face masks in public areas where no COVID entry pass is used, including supermarkets, shops, libraries, theme parks, and train stations. 

But IBC Show will be exempt from these measures because it is taking place within an area where everyone must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test before entering the premises, the organizers said. 

This means that it will not be obligatory for IBC2021 attendees to wear a face mask once they have entered the RAI and are inside the IBC Show bubble, the IBC said. 

The new COVID protocols from the Dutch government also mandate that beginning November 6,  bars and restaurants will operate between 06:00 am to 12:00 am. Guests will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, the same evidence needed to access the IBC Show. 

There will also be no change in entry requirements for international travelers, which means the show will remain accessible for almost 100% of IBC’s usual audience, the IBC said. 

Overall, the IBC Show visitor experience remains unchanged, and the new measures announced by the Dutch government will help everyone feel safer when visiting the city of Amsterdam, the IBC said. 

International travelers can check IBC’s travel and safety guide for further information on the documentation they will need to enter the Netherlands and access the show.

“The safety and wellbeing of all IBC Show attendees remain our number one priority, and we’re confident we can uphold that commitment while staging a live event in Amsterdam,” said Michael Crimp, chief executive of IBC. “The recent announcement from the Dutch government will not impact the IBC Show visitor experience but, rest assured, we will be delivering the gold standard in live event safety. We can’t wait to see the industry reunited in Amsterdam in December. It has been far too long, but it’s almost time for us to get together again.”

The IBC’s exhibition health and safety protocols are available on its website. 

HACKETTSTOWN, N.J.—Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint will exhibit in person at IBC 2021 with stands in two exhibit halls where 5G and remote production will be the focus.

“IBC is particularly exciting for Vislink this year, as it’s the first time we’re exhibiting our new integrated product range, following the acquisition of Mobile Viewpoint earlier this year,” said Vislink CEO Mickey Miller.

“This acquisition means that Vislink can now ensure our customers can acquire and deliver video however they need to, over any public or private network. IBC will see us making our Connected Edge video transport concept a reality, through utilizing ubiquitous IP networks and cloud-scale compute across 5G, WiFi6, Mesh and COFDM-enabled networks to acquire, transport and produce high-quality live video.”

Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint will have solutions experts at IBC 2021 discussing their pioneering use of 5G networks for live contribution of wireless camera video and how these platforms will develop going forward. 

In Hall 1 at Stand A63, they will feature Vislink’s HCAM wireless camera and matching Quantum receiver that enables production teams to bring immersive camera views in 4K and HDR with single-frame latency and to cut between wireless and wired cameras at will. 

They also will feature the Mobile Viewpoint UltraLink-Air bonded mobile wireless camera solution, which makes it possible to be on-air in moments and operate entirely remotely and the IP connectivity and workflows at the heart of the latest Vislink and Mobile Viewpoint products.

In Hall 5 at Stand H49, Mobile Viewpoint will feature its vPilot automated studio system using AI technology to automate in-studio camera direction and its IQ Sports Producer, which provides advanced AI-driven production to enable cameras to track sports players automatically.

More information is available on the Vislink website.  

LONDON—IBC has announced that its IBC2021 International Honour for Excellence will be awarded to Barbara Slater, BBC Director of Sport. She is the first woman to hold the post and a pioneer for women in sports broadcasting worldwide, IBC said. Slater will be presented with the award at the IBC Innovation Awards, Nov. 23 exclusively on IBC Digital.

"Disparities still exist between men and women's sport in terms of viewership and coverage, but Barbara Slater has played a pivotal role in helping level the playing field during her time at BBC Sport," said Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC. "The International Honour for Excellence has a long history of rewarding industry pioneers, so it's hugely appropriate we recognise Barbara Slater for her commitment to technological excellence and equality in sports broadcasting."

Slater is a former Olympian, having participated in diving competition in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. After retiring from competitive gymnastics, Slater moved into television and quickly joined BBC Sport, where she has worked for 37 years.

Barbara was appointed BBC Director of Sport in 2009, and among her first projects was developing the network's multiplatform coverage of the 2012 London Olympics. Today, she works closely with other broadcasters and sports bodies, including advising the International Olympics Commission. In 2014 she was made an OBE for her services to sports broadcasting.

"I am extremely honoured to receive this prestigious award," said Barbara Slater. "In my years at BBC Sport, I've seen an industry transformed. Technology has paved the way to an entirely new level in the quality of coverage, the choice, the range. I am so proud of my career in sports broadcasting and would like to say a huge thank you to IBC for this accolade, which in turn recognises the significant advancements women's sport has made." 

Alongside presenting Slater with the IBC International Honour of Excellence, this year's awards ceremony will also announce the winners of the IBC Innovation Awards, the IBC2021 Best Technical Paper Award and a special award recognising excellence in this year's Olympics coverage. Winners will be invited to attend a networking reception at the live event in Amsterdam in December.

OSLO, Norway—Bridge Technologies has announced that it will demonstrate the new HDR capabilities of its VB440 at IBC 2021 (Booth 1.A71). 

These new functionalities allow production professionals to monitor and visualize both HDR and SDR production outputs from anywhere in the world using only an HTML5 browser, thus eliminating the need for specialist HDR-enabled monitors and equipment, the company said. 

Built as a monitoring solution for IP and SDI/IP-encapsulated production environments, the VB440 delivers ultra-low latency analytics of compressed and uncompressed data to provide creatives and technicians alike with the deep insight they need to ensure error-free delivery of live and recorded broadcast, from any remote location across the globe.

Speaking of the new functionality, Bridge Technologies chairman Simen Frostad explained that “as broadcast technology develops, so too do viewer expectations, and with the rise of HDR-ready TVs, viewers are becoming increasingly discerning in relation to image quality. But this represents a problem in the field of broadcast production, because the ability to work with both SDR and HDR in tandem – particularly in live or remote contexts – is both challenging and potentially expensive. It is this challenge that the most recent addition to the VB440 probe addresses: a suite of unique, innovative new HDR tools which allow content producers to adapt their workflows to accommodate HDR in an efficient, accessible, intuitive and accurate manner”.

Frostad also said that the HDR capabilities are “just one of a range of additions we are making to the VB440 – including JPEG XS monitoring and a range of innovative audio monitoring tools - to ensure that it remains at the forefront of developing production standards, particularly those relating to ‘immersive’ viewing. We look forward to showing audiences at IBC the full potential of our award-winning IP production tool”. 

In relation to the addition of HDR functionality, the VB440 starts from the point of being able to identify the type of coded stream coming in, be this HLG, PG, S-Log3, or a number of other standards, either through manual setting or through automatic recognition from ancillary data or NMOS signaling data, the company said. 

The user is then able to access any of the existing wide range of waveform scopes within the VB440 and apply them to this HDR stream. The Graticule has been adjusted to accommodate the needs of HDR more comprehensively, including not only IRE but NITs graticules, as well as an ability to adjust Graticule sensitivity.

An HDR CIE Chromaticity scope has also been added which demonstrates the full color gamut of a given video, and provides a number of options in order to suit the user’s need, the company said. And because HDR still represents a transitional standard that has not fully penetrated the market, the VB440 also facilitates data and image visualization according to SDR parameters.

Whilst these data visualizations are key, what is most fundamental about the HDR capabilities of the VB440 is its ability to give a visual preview of an HDR output image through a non-HDR compatible browser, the company added. 

This is achieved by converting the specific codings of the HDR image into the sRGB color space of the browser, thus effectively ‘mimicking’ a localized preview of what the HDR output will be like for audiences. 

Because it works with any HTML5 browser, the VB440 allows for full production capability to be achieved from anywhere in the world, in real time, the company said. 

Bridge Technologies will be at IBC2021 in booth 1.A71. More information about Bridge Technologies and its products is available at www.bridgetech.tv. 

LONDON—As IBC 2021 eyes a return to an in-person conference, the annual IBC Innovation Awards are ramping up, with the official call for entries now open. Submissions can be entered between now and June 2; winners will be announced on Sept. 12 at IBC 2021.

The IBC 2021 Innovation Awards will focus on innovations underpinned by collaboration within the content and technology industry, per IBC. There will be three categories for this year’s awards: Content Creation, Content Distribution and Content Everywhere.

“Innovation hinges on the success of collaboration, and this is why the content and technology industry has continued to pioneer new projects and services despite challenging global circumstances,” said Michael Crimp, chief executive of IBC. “Broadcasters, service providers and technology vendors worldwide have transcended the barriers of national lockdowns, restricted travel and social distancing. Coupled with the surge in consumer demand for live and on-demand content, they have accomplished the shared mission to keep TV and video on-air and on our screens.”

In addition to the IBC 2021 Innovation Awards, the IBC Accelerator Project of the Year Award will be presented, a new award that selects the most impressive Accelerator team solution as demonstrated through their Proof of Concept Showcase at IBC 2021.

The International Honor for Excellence will also be presented during the conference.

For more information, visit IBC’s website. 

LONDON—IBC 2021 is set to go ahead as planned in September, with organizers saying they are focused on delivering “a fantastic event” at the RAI in Amsterdam.

However, the fall back dates for December are still in place, and an announcement on that is expected to be made in June. Organizers are asking the industry to keep their options open for both possible sets of dates.

The current dates for the show are Sept. 10-13 with the fallback option of Dec. 3-6, 2021.

IBC CEO Michael Crimp said organizers realize this year’s show might be the first large scale event many people have attended in a long time, and the team are putting lots of planning into that. They're working closely with the city of Amsterdam and the RAI, monitoring changes as they evolve.

“The industry is telling us that people are keen to come together again after being apart for a long time. In the coming months, a number of factors will help us decide when the event can happen and in what format. From macro trends such as vaccine rollout and testing, to the willingness of our attendees to travel, we will take all things into consideration as we make those important decisions,” Crimp added.

IBC said it is budgeting for exhibition space to be about 30% less than in 2019, with the two pavilions not being used in 2021.

This year’s event will have more of a festival feel, said Crimp, with a perimeter to the site that will enable them to move around more freely. Attendees will have their temperatures checked before entering the perimeter, and will need to declare that they have recently passed a COVID test.

There will be no on-site registration for people who have not pre-registered.

Inside, the halls will have extra wide aisles and one-way for ease of access. IBC intends to use AI cameras to monitor capacity in each hall. Each exhibitor will be told of their stand capacity, with attendees being scanned in and out to monitor numbers.

Steve Connolly, head of sales at IBC, said support from the industry continues to be strong, with 30,000 square feet of stand space booked so far.

IBC will also run a digital platform for exhibitors alongside the physical event to enable them to promote products and book digital meetings.

LONDON—IBC is now accepting submissions for the Accelerator Media Innovation Program 2021, which highlights R&D projects that attempt to solve business and technology challenges across the content supply chain. Selected projects will be showcased during IBC Show in the fall.

This call for submissions, or challenges as IBC describes them, begins the program’s development cycle. Challenges are set by “champions,” typically broadcasters, studios and other content providers, who are supported by “co-champions” and project “participants” made up of vendor and solution providers. 

Project challenges selected by IBC will go forward to pitch ideas at IBC’s virtual “Kickstart” event in March 2021; additional details on this event will be announced at a later date. After a four to five month development cycle, the winning challenges (an estimated eight to 10) will be presented both physically and virtually during IBC 2021.

Media and entertainment organizations of all sizes can participate in the Accelerator Media Innovation Program.

“The Accelerator program is a managed framework for innovation, introduced by IBC in response to the myriad of disruptive challenges and opportunities of digital transformation, and the need to innovate at speed in today’s fast-changing, dynamic media & entertainment sector,” said Mark Smith, innovation lead and advisor to IBC.

Winning projects in 2020 came from AP, BBC, Olympic Broadcasting Services, Reuters, ViacomCBS and more, and ranged from 5G remote production to IP-based distribution of TV as objects.

The deadline for submitting project challenges is going to be Feb. 26. For more information, visit the IBC Show website. 

LONDON—IBC is now accepting technical paper submissions for the IBC 2021 conference. Technical papers allow for technologists and companies to share their ideas and research to media industry leaders during the annual IBC Show.

Technical paper proposals from the media, entertainment and technology sectors will be accepted. The papers should present original, novel research on solutions to real world problems faced by the international broadcast and digital media industry and are non-commercial.

Among some of the topics that Dr. Paul Entwistle, chair of IBC’s Technical Papers Committee, says could be covered include AI/machine learning, the evolution of virtual and augmented reality, 5G, content security, fake news and sustainability.

“We are genuinely appreciative of the support the industry shows the Technical Papers program and look forward to continuing to showcase authors, whose work sits at the cutting-edge, challenges the norm or shares useful and practical insight,” said Dr. Entwistle.

The Technical Paper submission process is in its initial stage, which calls for 300-word synopses, including an overview of the topic, highlighting unique approaches and key background information. All submission will be reviewed by a panel of professional experts.

The deadline for submitting a synopsis is Feb. 1. For more information, visit the IBC Show 2021 website. 

AMSTERDAM—IBC has announced it currently plans to hold a show in 2021, with the dates set as Sept. 10-13, 2021.

The show is already open for business—a new self-serve rebooking system has been launched.

Mike Crimp, IBC CEO, said demand has been “really strong” so far for the 2021 show, which he believes demonstrates the confidence people have in IBC and the need for the industry to get together again.

“I can’t wait to meet up with everyone again as soon as it’s safe,” added Crimp.

“The enthusiasm from our exhibitor customers to work with IBC in 2021 is really encouraging. Bookings for our Amsterdam event are strong and our customers are also embracing the opportunities we are creating with our new virtual platforms. The future of events is hybrid and IBC intends to be ahead of the game in giving our customers what they need to achieve significant ROI and grow their businesses,” said Steve Connolly, director, Exhibition, IBC.

Announcing that this year’s IBC Showcase will extend beyond the Sept. 8-11 dates as a weekly virtual event, Crimp put some context behind the current situation for those in the industry, and IBC’s role within it. 

“These are challenging times for us all and now, more than ever, IBC has a duty to empower our customers to engage with their audiences and help them make sales, create thought leadership and drive brand positioning,” he said.

“Our strategy to make IBC a 365-day-a-year experience has been accelerated by COVID-19 and we are set on continuing to support the industry through continuous innovation. I believe we are in a unique position to lead the way with a new hybrid approach to engagement; combining targeted online activity with live events, when we can, and giving our customers access to the 150,000 strong global IBC community that we have built and nurtured for over 50 years. I am excited about our Showcase offering, and committed to helping the business survival of our customers.”

For information on the IBC 2020 Showcase, visit www.ibc.org/ibcshowcase.