WASHINGTON—The NAB Show has announced the agenda for the Broadcast Engineering and IT (BEIT) Conference, taking place April 5-9 (Exhibits April 6-9) during the show in Las Vegas.

The event will “launch” with a keynote session featuring a live 4K UHD conversation with NASA astronauts aboard the International Space Station, showcasing new live UHD switching and routing capability at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

"Live from the International Space Station: The BEIT Conference Opening" will explore the evolution of global broadcasting, from the grainy 1969 Moon landing to the upcoming Artemis III mission, expected to be the largest live-streamed event in history. This session will examine the challenges and innovations that will define the future of broadcast technology, content distribution and media consumption on April 5 at 9:30 a.m.

Moderated by Bob Jacobs, retired senior communications executive at NASA, the keynote panel will feature insights from NASA astronaut Tracy C. Dyson, Rebecca Sirmons, general manager and head of NASA+, John Lysic, VP Americas Engineering Services, Harmonic and Frank Governale SVP Production Technology and Operations, Paramount.

This is not the first time the ISS has been in the spotlight at the NAB SHow. In 2017, the NAB Show, NASA, and Amazon Web Services hosted a similar live 4K conversation with the space station.

Engineering the Future: AI, Cloud, Streaming and Next-Gen Broadcasting
The BEIT Conference will feature more than 70 expert-led sessions, panel discussions and technical paper presentations, focusing on the latest advancements in AI-driven workflows, software-defined broadcasting, cybersecurity and Next-Gen TV implementation.

In a recent interview, John Clark, senior vice president, NAB Emerging Technology, previewed what he thought the hot topics would be at this year’s BEIT.

“AI is big everywhere, so we have some pretty interesting sessions around AI and using it in different ways,” Clark said. “Cloud virtualization is also a hot topic, as well as streaming/OTT.

“The conference is focused on broadcasting, but it's actually a bit broader, something I call ‘more broad media,” Clark said, adding that ATSC 3.0 will also be front and center, specifically the Broadcast Positioning System (aka “BPS”). “You can't have a broadcast conference without talking a lot about NextGen TV.”

Clark said the conference has evolved over time to attract a wide variety of technologists in the media and entertainment space. “Attendees include broadcasters, whether it be managers or chief engineers—we even see some programmers and coders attached to a traditional broadcast entity,” he said. “We see the R&D folks as well as universities, researchers and equipment manufacturers as well.”

Attendees will gain firsthand insights into how broadcast engineers and technology leaders are leveraging AI to enhance newsroom integrity, combat deepfake threats and improve production workflows. Sessions will also cover the expanding role of cloud virtualization in media production and distribution, the evolution of streaming/OTT services and emerging trends in ATSC 3.0 and Broadcast Positioning Systems (BPS). Featured brands presenting include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, Intel, Nvidia OneMedia and Paramount.

Key Sessions Include:

• NextGen TV: the New Frontier for Content Interactivity and Immersive Experiences
• From Camera to Cloud: Unlocking Global Collaboration and Real-Time Editing for Live Sports
• Integrated Newsrooms with Generative AI: Efficiency, Accuracy and Beyond
• Software Defined Broadcast: A New Way Forward for Video Production

Recognizing Innovation and Excellence at BEIT
The BEIT Conference will spotlight the groundbreaking research and technical achievements shaping the industry. The Best Paper Award and Best Student Paper Award, co-sponsored by IEEE BTS, will be presented during the opening session, recognizing the most impactful contributions to broadcast engineering and IT. Selected papers will be featured in the official Proceedings of the 2025 NAB BEIT Conference and presented by leading professionals and emerging scholars to share expertise, discover breakthrough technologies and shape the future of media.

Long-Standing Partnerships
BEIT 2025 continues its long-standing partnerships with the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society (BTS), the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE), the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE). This year also features a new relationship with the Public Media Venture Group (PMVG). Notable session collaborations include:

• IEEE BTS Student Paper Award: Recognizing outstanding contributions from emerging scholars in broadcast technology.
• NABA: Is WMAS (Wireless Multichannel Audio System) the Future for Wireless Mics?
• PMVG: A showcase of NextGen TV applications at its laboratory station in Cookeville, Tennessee.
• SBE Ennes Workshops: Two days of specialized tracks covering RF 101 Bootcamp and Media Over IP Essentials.
• SCTE’s Maximizing FAST Channel Revenue: A deep dive into revenue-generating strategies for free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels.

Register for the NAB Show and BEIT here.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. has partnered with Nanoracks, LLC, a Voyager Space company, to send state-of-the-art immersive camera equipment to the International Space Station aboard Northrop Grumman’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission (NG-18), which took off from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia earlier this week.

Capture and technology teams from the Company’s MSG Sphere Studios will collaborate with Nanoracks and the ISS National Lab (sponsoring organization), to work with astronauts on the space station across three missions to validate custom camera technology being developed for the state-of-the-art MSG Sphere venues.

On this mission, MSG Sphere Studios sent the highest-resolution camera system ever launched to the ISS to establish critical baseline knowledge in microgravity conditions and the harsh environment of space. 

The camera will be operated inside the ISS for approximately 60 days, and data and imagery gathered will help shape plans for a new, ultra-high resolution camera system being developed for MSG Sphere. Two upcoming missions will further test camera capabilities in space, including power systems, data transfer structures, and space-hardening of this cutting-edge system. This unique technology will benchmark imagery at a captured level of detail never before possible, MSG said.

“Our vision with MSG Sphere is to create immersive experiences that transport audiences to new places, and there are few landscapes more awe-inspiring than space," said Andrew Shulkind, MSG Sphere Studios’ Senior Vice President of Capture and Innovation, who serves as the program’s project lead and Principal Investigator. “The insights and imagery we gain from this first mission will be invaluable to prepare our groundbreaking camera technology for working in space, and push our collective understanding of Earth and deep space. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Nanoracks, the ISS National Lab and NASA on this project, which we believe will not only benefit the extraordinary vision of MSG Sphere, but also set a new bar for ultra-high-fidelity imaging.”

The ISS National Lab is working with NASA to maximize utilization of the orbiting laboratory to bring value to humanity through space-based research and technology demonstrations. Nanoracks, a leading global provider of commercial access to space, installed and manages the first commercial airlock on the ISS and is designing a commercial space station to succeed the ISS after it is decommissioned. Nanoracks is certifying the camera for in-space use, integrating the camera for launch and will facilitate operations on the ISS to test MSG Sphere’s capture technology.

Scott Rodriguez, Nanoracks’ Vice President of Government Programs, said: “MSG Sphere is one of Nanoracks’ most exciting customers. Commercial access to the ISS continues to open doors for newcomers to the Space industry, leading to incredible technology development, and paving the way for long-term commercial space utilization from science activities to media and entertainment. Nanoracks is proud to be the partner of choice for filming and media projects on the space station, and to help support the success of MSG Sphere’s camera technology in space.

MSG Sphere is a new entertainment medium that will deliver immersive experiences at an unparalleled scale, which requires developing custom content creation tools, including camera and lens technology capable of producing ultra-high-resolution images.

The company’s first MSG Sphere is under construction in Las Vegas and is expected to open in the second half of 2023. Once complete, it will be the largest spherical structure in the world with an exterior exosphere that features a fully-programmable 580,000 square foot LED display, the largest LED screen on Earth. Inside, the venue will house the world’s highest resolution LED screen—a 160,000 square foot display plane that will wrap up, over, and behind the audience at a resolution over 80 times that of a high-definition television. With approximately 17,500 seats and a scalable capacity up to 20,000 guests, MSG Sphere at The Venetian will become the venue of choice for a wide variety of content, including original attractions, concert residencies, product launches and marquee sporting events.

To meet the unique demands of producing immersive visuals at this scale, which requires an extraordinary level of detail and sharpness, MSG Sphere has assembled a team of innovative leaders to develop its own custom production tools with capabilities far exceeding existing systems, the company said. The camera research proposal was submitted to CASIS by MSG Ventures, which is tasked with developing the cutting-edge technologies to support content creation for MSG Sphere.

TOKYO—The International Space Station has a new resident, a Sony α7S II full-frame mirrorless camera. According to Sony, the α7S II is the first commercial camera to be mounted outside of the ISS and is being used to capture 4K video.

The α7S II was the camera of choice for the new exterior platform of the ISS’s Japanese Experiment module “KIBO.” The camera launched on Dec. 9, 2016 and was installed on Feb. 8, 2017. The camera completes an orbit around the Earth every 90 minutes, recording 4K videos and still images.

The camera features high sensitivity up to ISO 409600, wide dynamic range; five-axis image stabilization; internal recording of 4K movies with full pixel readout and no pixel binning; and a 35mm full-frame Exmor CMOS image sensor packed into a compact body.

Footage capture from the camera of the east coast of the U.S. can be viewed below.

WASHINGTON—The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration announced today it will produce the first-ever live 4K video stream from space during a Super Session at the 2017 NAB Show. “Reaching for the Stars: Connecting to the Future with NASA and Hollywood,” will take place at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 26 in room N249 of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The panel is co-produced by NAB Show, NASA, and Amazon Web Services, and will explore how advanced imaging and cloud technologies are taking scientific research and filmmaking to the next level. The live feed from 250 miles above Earth will be encoded AWS Elemental encoding software on board the International Space Station and on the ground at Johnson Space Center.

The U.S. space agency is a pioneer in the application of advanced media—including 4K. By streaming real-time video that captures images four times the resolution of current HD technology, NASA is enhancing its ability to observe, uncover and adapt new knowledge of orbital and deep space.

During the NAB Show Super Session, a live 4K stream will enable NASA astronaut Dr. Peggy Whitson on the ISS to converse with AWS Elemental CEO and Co-founder Sam Blackman, who will be at the LVCC. In conjunction with the live 4K streaming event, NASA astronaut Dr. Tracy Caldwell Dyson and NASA Imagery Experts Program Manager Rodney Grubbs will take part in an LVCC-based panel discussion featuring Hollywood and technology leaders including Bernadette McDaid, head of development, VR & AR, Bau Entertainment; Khawaja Shams, vice president of Engineering for AWS Elemental; and Dr. Dave McQueeney, senior principal investigator, IBM Watson Group. The panel will be moderated by Carolyn Giardina, Technology Editor for The Hollywood Reporter.

The entire event will be available to the public for multiscreen viewing in live 4K and downconvertedHD at the AWS Live website, where video-on-demand also will be available after the event in lower resolutions. 4K-capable devices are required to view 4K content. AWS Elemental will deliver the live stream of the event via an AWS workflow that includes AWS CloudWatch, Amazon Route 53, and the Amazon CloudFront Content Delivery Network for public access in both 4K and HD. Roberts Communications Network LLC of Las Vegas, NV is providing the satellite downlink truck for the transmission from Johnson Space Center to the LVCC. Christie is providing full-resolution 4K projectors for in-room display during the Super Session.
Attendees will learn how:

• 4K and Ultra HD give NASA scientists a clearer, crisper view of their experiments, Earth, and the solar system;
• Live 4K video will help take research to the next level and allow NASA scientists to share discoveries as they are happening instead of after the fact;
• The powerful, first-ever live 4K streaming, cloud-enabled workflow from space works and how it can help commercial space endeavors and content creation;
• Hollywood and NASA inspire one another and the fascinating, surprising outcomes of this decades-long collaboration.

INDIAN WELLS, CALIF.—NASA is now making preliminary plans for deep space human exploration, likely starting with development of a presence at a Lagrange point—a sort of parking place in space—and then, after sorties to the Moon or asteroids, embarking on a crewed mission to Mars or one its moons, said Rodney Grubbs of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Grubbs was on hand at the HPA Technology Retreat to reach out to the imaging community, making space geeks swoon in the process.

“NASA and its international partners would of course want to virtually take everyone on Earth along for the ride,” he said. “But the space environment presents many challenges for the use of commercial motion-image technologies.”

Radiation, operation in a vacuum, and extreme temperatures being just the obvious ones. And then there’s getting the imagery from Mars to the public.

With regard to radiation, Grubbs said hi-res cameras sensors on the ISS have been highly susceptible to ionizing radiation damage. Some cameras can have seven to 10 pixels damaged a day. NASA replaces them about once a year.

“JPL spends a lot of money on cameras,” he said.

There have been efforts to create radiation-hardened cameras.
NASA used a Panasonic 3DA1 on the last ISS flight. It had fewer dead pixels.

“We have absolutely no idea why that camera behaved particularly better than other cameras,” he said.

VR/360 cameras offer the advantage of no moving parts. A Red camera was taken to the ISS. NASA hadn’t really played with Bayer-patterned professional cameras before, Grubbs said.

They’ve found that CMOS is less susceptible than CCD. The Japanese Space Agency had an HD camera on a moon probe, Selene. The camera didn’t suffer as much as was expected. It may have involved proximity to the fuel tanks.

The camera glass can also begin to fade or turn yellow.
Also, the cameras have to work in a vacuum if they’re going to be outside, in which case, heat dissipation is a problem since fans are not practical.

And talk about fickle temperatures—in orbit, in daylight, everything is exposed to 260-degrees plus Fahrenheit, and falls to more than minus 260 degrees in darkness.

Also, there are bandwidth constraints, and video requires orders of magnitude more bandwidth than all other communications. Conventional radio frequency transmission takes power and large antennas. Optical offers more bandwidth in bursts, but has problems with availability and aiming of antennas.

With regard to link integrity, conventional two-way IP connections are not practical due to breaks in links and latency between nodes, Grubbs said.

“If you’re in space, you can have all sorts of disruptions. Solar flares, moons… other planets… all sorts of things,” he said.

On the command and control front, ground command of remote cameras, encoders and related systems typically require two-way communications. Think latency between here and Mars.

“This mission will include relay satellites that pass the data and buffer it. It’s designed with long space links in mind. It’s billed as the Internet for the solar system,” Grubbs said.