The TV Tech family suffered a tragic loss in December with the passing of Susan Ashworth Bader. “Susie,” as she was known to everyone who knew and loved her, was the editor in chief of TV Tech in the late ’90s until 2001 when I succeeded her. 

It wasn’t easy following in Susie’s footsteps. She was loved and respected by her peers both in the TV Tech community and in the industry as a whole. After she moved to the West Coast to focus on her family, Susie continued to write for us (as well as our sister brands Radio World and the NAB Show Daily) right up until this past fall. 

When Susie’s husband Rob died last spring, it was not only a devastating loss to her and her three children, but to her friends who knew her. With Susie’s passing, her three children have now lost both parents in one year, something that is too cruel to consider. 

Although we were on separate coasts, I always looked forward to seeing Susie at the annual NAB Show where we would catch up on what was going on in each other’s lives the previous 12 months. Susie was among the most conscientious, generous and sweetest persons I ever had the privilege of knowing and working with—something that just about anyone who she touched with her kindness already knows. 

Susie and I were in continuous contact throughout the fall as we collaborated on her latest article for TV Tech. However, when I came upon her last email to me in early November, it had nothing to do with work. She had heard about the mass shooting in my home state of Maine and had emailed me to see if my family was alright. That was Susie to a T—always putting her family and friends first.

My colleague Paul McLane, editor in chief of TV Tech sister brand Radio World, perhaps put it best when we were notified about her passing by her brother George:

“There are few people whose very entrance into a room can make the gathering a sunnier and happier one. That was Susie, walking into our [NAB Show Daily] newsroom in Las Vegas on any given April. There are few people who will ask others how they’re doing and really want to hear the answer and listen. That was Susie every day. 

“There are few people whose loss tears at the heart like hers does. 

“But you know all this, from the words you used in your own email: Glowing. Camaraderie. Sincerity. Kindness. Sweet compassion. Maybe sweet compassion, most of all.”

As we honor the passing of a great friend, we’re also very cognizant of the financial burden this places on the family. If you would like to help out, please make a donation at the “Susie Ashworth & Rob Bader Memorial Fund” at gofundme.com.

Susie touched a great many lives during her life and will be greatly missed.   

SAN FRANCISCO—If the year 2020 is any indication, the election this November will bring broadcast stations a share of challenges they’ve never experienced. Social-distancing restrictions, staff reductions, off-site productions and other constrictions will collide in the midst of an election season unlike any other.

The twin events that have dominated 2020—the spread of the coronavirus and the civil uprising in cities across the nation—have compelled broadcasters to make quick changes, from the technology they use to the way they broadcast.

And that includes the election itself.

NEVER-ENDING DRAMA

What with swirling concerns over mail-in ballots and claims of voter fraud, “I think it may be election week or election month,” rather than the typical election night, said Sean McLaughlin, vice president of news for The E.W. Scripps Co. “So what that looks like impacts how you tell that story.”

As a result, broadcasters around the country are taking unique approaches to news coverage, from centralized newscasting to augmented reality options.

Scripps, for one, has decided to take a centralized newscasting approach to its election coverage. With a central desk in Denver and another in Washington, D.C., handling national campaigns, the broadcaster has found nearly everything about this year’s election cycle has been flipped on its head.

“You have this weird confluence of the political environment, economic fallout and the coronavirus,” McLaughlin said. “Every day now has a kind of day-to-day news feel. It’s certainly one of the odder political cycles.”

But the strange tale of 2020 has been a good one for local news. Broadcasters like Sinclair Broadcast Group are giving even greater focus to the impact the elections will have on their local markets.

“[W]e have a great opportunity to showcase our commitment to providing unmatched coverage of the 2020 campaigns in each of our markets,” said Scott Livingston, vice president of news at Sinclair, which owns and operates 294 TV stations in 89 markets.

The network is highlighting that coverage with a new segment called “Beyond The Podium,” a feature that allows each station to highlight coverage that’s important to that market. The network has stations in Top 10 markets like Washington, D.C. as well as in small markets like that of Kirksville, Mo.

“[‘Beyond the Podium’ is a] sub-brand of the local/station election coverage brand that will help showcase meaningful content that goes beyond the typical sound bite and rhetoric,” Livingston said. “It will also provide additional context and help viewers understand what we are doing and our commitment to provide additional perspective on the issues and candidates on a local, regional and national level.”

The virtual nature of both the Democratic and Republican conventions meant that broadcasters needed fewer resources because there were very little to no “physical” events. But there is still a need to provide additional context to what is happening and like all broadcasters, Sinclair is taking advantage of the latest in video conferencing technologies. According to Livingston, the company’s “Beyond the Podium” and “Connect to Congress” coverage are designed to position Sinclair stations as the political news leader in each market, Livingston said.

“Technical advances like Zoom, Skype and Facetime now a part of our normal everyday coverage, and with our coverage commitment year round, we believe we are positioned to create unique content from all our markets.”

For Scripps, the company’s decision to set up a central news desk several years ago made a big difference when the coronavirus hit. “We built up our national desk and [our use of] content sharing and that helped us do our jobs during COVID,” said Ray Thurber, vice president of engineering for Scripps, which owns 60 stations in 42 markets.

This election cycle, the company will rely on augmented reality in some markets, with journalists out in the field continuing to meet the company’s three goals in this new coronavirus world: employee safety, business continuity and fulfilling the tenets of responsible journalism.

SAFETY AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT

This year—on top of changes to technology and techniques—broadcasters also must focus on safety and rights. The Radio Television Digital News Association, the nation’s leading broadcast news organization, is pressing journalists to know their rights when it comes to covering news events, staying safe in the field and in the newsroom, and reporting responsibly.

“Much of our election coverage guidance has been contained within the context of a lot of educational and professional development training and resources we have been providing,” said Dan Shelley, executive director and chief operating officer for RTDNA. “Specifically, we have provided such opportunities in areas such as journalist safety, covering civil unrest, DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] webinars and curriculum.”

Sinclair’s Livingston agrees; protecting its journalists is of utmost importance. “Safety is our top priority and we will continue to re-evaluate policies as we monitor the spread and impact of the pandemic,” he said.

For RTNDA’s Shelley, it’s equally necessary for broadcasters to take the phrase “truth and accuracy above all” to heart, especially in today’s news cycle. It should be part of this election coverage’s key tenets, he said, as well as the need for independence and transparency and accountability for consequences.

That is necessary this year more than any other, he said.

“This year more than in any election period in the past, I am speaking out to journalists to help them avoid spreading disinformation, the intentional spreading of false information by a bad actor or actors, and misinformation, the unwitting spread of false information by someone who is not a bad actor,” Shelley said.

This is particularly true for broadcasters as they enter the quick news cycle of an election season. “As deep fakes and other forms of altered video become more prevalent—and as political campaigns and others increasingly set up faux ‘news’ websites and social media channels—journalists’ role to provide fact-checking and exposure to such methods is critical, even essential, to covering campaigns and politics responsibly,” he said.

Scripps, which was founded as a news company more than 140 years ago, looks at everything they do from a journalism bent, McLaughlin said. Integrity in news reporting is a key tenet of that. “One of the things we’ve tracked is the trust of the local media branch,” he said. And when asked which outlets are questionable when it comes to integrity, “it’s very rare that they’re ever talking about local news,” he said.” We’ve done a good job to maintain our integrity and to stay above the fray.”

The unusual nature of 2020 means that viewers looking for truth are turning to local news. “People now rely more than they ever have on their local news,” McLaughlin said.

From the Democratic and Republican National Conventions to election night itself, much is set to change—or has changed already.

For Spectrum Networks, coverage during this year’s election cycle is all about cross-platform local coverage. For its coverage of the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, local stations focused on how best to highlight national issues that are most relevant to local communities.

“We believe local journalism is essential to building strong communities and a healthy democracy,” said Mike Bair, executive vice president of Spectrum Networks. The Spectrum Networks is a series of 24/7 news and sports networks owned by Charter Communications, which serves more than 30 million customers in 41 states.

To provide the most comprehensive local perspective on the virtual conventions, D.C. bureau reporters and political reporters in each region provided news reports on the impact of the conventions at the state and local levels. Through its Spectrum News App, the networks’ chief national political reporter provided in-depth coverage from a national perspective as well as local curated content from local partner news outlets.

Now knee-deep in the election cycle, broadcasters have revamped their reporting styles and introduced new technology to enhance their coverage.

Sinclair tapped into technologies like Zoom, Skype and Facetime to provide reaction in real time to produce content that is shared among all of its stations. “Our expertise with these technologies will also allow us to access key voices immediately in all of our markets,” Livingston said.

The broadcaster’s digital and broadcast platforms also are working hand in hand to identify important storylines more effectively. “[These conferencing technologies are] a dimension of our digital coverage, which can be shared with broadcast platforms,” he said.

For Sinclair, the technology it has used during its election coverage makes it well-positioned to offer context and focus on key storylines that will have long-term impact. “In today’s news cycle, we’re focusing on unique storylines that separate us from our competitors,” Livingston said.

SAN FRANCISCO—Even with the success that many media and entertainment companies have found in successfully distributing content to more screens, here they sit, facing a similar dilemma: How best to store, manage and deliver content—without putting undue strain on storage and workflow silos—while simultaneously keeping files secure across multiple screens.

Ross Video developed its Inception platform to be the single entry point for content creators—particularly when it comes to handling second-screen programming for social media and web integration.

The way viewers consume content is constantly evolving so it stands to reason that media companies must rely on workflows nimble enough to adapt and evolve through connected, intelligent workflows.

That’s one reason why unraveling digital content management (DCM) in the era of multiple screen delivery is one of the biggest issues facing the industry today.

DCM technologies have come a long way, of course. Who recalls the high-tech process of pawing through racks of labeled tape drives? Today, technologies offer a new means of managing, archiving, distributing and delivering media in a way that offers greater mastery over content.

And now, the priority is to provide for broadcast, social media or the Web. After all, how often these days does breaking news happen at the traditional 6 P.M. timeslot?

“Whether they are writing a story for broadcast, social media or the Web, [users need to be able to] write and publish original content or repurpose content from one platform to another,” said Jenn Jarvis, marketing product manager at Ross Video in Iroquois, Ont.

Some DCM solutions are being used in the traditional sense—to produce rundowns, and to connect to MOS workflows with graphics, video servers, teleprompters and other broadcast devices. But newer breeds of systems combine social media and web into the workflow. For some broadcasters, the Ross Inception newsroom computer system is used as a single-entry point for content creators. “If a story is broken on the website first and we want to flip the content into the evening rundown, it only takes a few clicks to reformat the content, all in the same screen,” she said.

Users need to browse traditional newswires in the same screen where they search hashtags on Instagram; as a result, content can be downloaded for reuse in one click, Jarvis said. When paired with the media asset management tool Streamline, users can browse existing assets and add them to on-air graphics or posts for Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or the web.

“When we design a workflow feature, it isn’t about television or digital, it’s about creating a workflow that bridges the gap between the two,” Jarvis said.

FRAGMENTING WORKFLOWS
And still, one of the biggest challenges around multiplatform content creation is the fragmentation of that workflow.

“Every time we add a new platform or output, it often introduces a new content management system or publishing platform,” Jarvis said, with the average content creator embracing about a dozen logins and tools on average for finding information, browsing assets, and creating and publishing content. “If we can combine those platforms into a single portal that can see all the information and push/pull it as needed, we not only make them more efficient but we start to cut down barriers and remove excuses.”

Yet another key priority: finding a solution that simplifies backend processes and cuts down on searches by managing transcodes and uploads in the background.

That is a key component of the Telurio Just In Time Packager from Imagine Communications, a DCM system that packages assets when content is requested by a user, not before, which can potentially save on the need to pre-packaging video-on-demand assets and limit storage costs.

On the output side, when an asset is requested [from] the library, it will be transcoded into the correct format that’s already supported [and has] the packaging wrapper around it that the player needs,” said David Heppe, vice president of OTT product management for Imagine Communications.

The advantage in packaging an asset in the right delivery format at the time it’s requested comes down to storage costs. Without it, “it might be double or triple in storage costs” that you’re forced to accommodate, according to Heppe.

In addition, new DCM solutions are also offsetting operation costs, more effectively repurposing existing content, unifying remote and local facilities via a single search/access system, and better integrating hardware and software technologies. For example, that may mean pulling content directly into a NLE system from storage, and then placing it into a newsroom computer system for rundown management.

That combination is clearly a priority for a broadcaster like NBC Sports, which selected content creation and media management technology from Avid when it set up production for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The priority was to create, manage, distribute and monetize an extraordinary large amount of content, so it was key to find a platform that would allow NBC staffers to collaborate in real time and create and manage content quickly, according to Darryl Jefferson, vice president of Post and Digital Workflow at NBC Sports and Olympics.

“It’s a lot less of a challenge to move media around as files than it is to ship tapes all over the country,” said Matthew Green, senior digital media engineer with the NBC Sports Group. The network uses the technology for coverage of events like NFL football games, NHL hockey games, motor sports, horseracing and golf.

The robustness of the network’s DCM technology was also put to the test at the 2015 Super Bowl in Phoenix, with production split across several cities: NBC Sports’ Stamford Conn. HQ, at the stadium in Glendale, Ariz., and in downtown Phoenix. By using Avid Media Composers and Symphonies on site at the game, the network remotely grabbed edits created back in Stamford and connected them to production in Phoenix.

In previous years, NBC had to lug an entire football season of games from both teams in a truck loaded full of tapes. Now the network’s DCM platform connects to archive and then searches through an asset management system to find a clip, mark edits in and out, and deliver that newly created clip back for airing.

Where we can, we’re trying to stay off physical tape and do more file movement,” Jefferson said. “That has real dollar value to us.”

‘THE NEW CURRENCY’
Another area providing new value for broadcasters: data analytics. This information is proving useful in the daily job of creating, managing and distributing of content.

Imagine's SelenioFlex File

“Broadcast multiplatform environments are all about data analytics; data analytics is the new currency,” said Alex Holtz, director of market development for news and content delivery for Grass Valley. It’s important that broadcasters have tools that allow them to monitor “likes,” monitor shares, determine how news is faring on one platform versus another, and make decisions from there on what to publish, monitor or delete, he said.

“Something could be performing well on Facebook but not as well on Twitter,” he said. “[Understanding] that is part of the solution.”

The company’s newly released Stratus 6.0, which includes a social media management module, gives broadcasters a way to deal with the immediacy of breaking news. “It becomes extremely fast to work on a file, and within seconds be able to publish for breaking stories as they happen, as well as to track and monitor [the story’s] performance and then follow up with new actions,” Holtz said.

This allows broadcasters to expand on events and drive viewers to the right platform.

“Broadcasters not only have to be able to go live at any point in time and not stick to a linear schedule, but they have to be able to expand immediately on trending stories, protect their brand, and get feedback throughout the lifecycle of a story,” Holtz said.

It’s about getting smarter about the constantly delivery of news; the more intelligence you build around data, the better to plan and target content, Holtz said. “Whether it’s based on the time of day or subject matter, producers need to be better enabled [to tell the right stories].”

NEW YORK—Even though it is said to be one of the fastest growing trade shows in the country, NAB Show New York continues to do what it does best—offer an intimate, personalized look at the latest in media, entertainment and telecom technology for content creators on the East Coast. Produced by the National Association of Broadcasters, the growth of the show has spilled out beyond the confines of the Javits Convention Center, and for two days, Oct. 18 and 19, nearly 9,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors are expected to attend.

The show will reach across the city itself due to the NAB Show New York’s new Media Collective initiative, a weeklong collaboration between NAB Show New York and other simultaneous media and entertainment events.Those include NAB’s co-location at the convention center with the Audio Engineering Society, as well as the connection to events such as the Chelsea Film Festival and NewBay’s NYC Television Week.

NAB Show New York will also play host to two signature events of the New York State Broadcasters Association. Those include the Digital Leadership Academy, which will cover the latest in digital sales training and content development; and the New York Broadcast Leadership and Hall of Fame Luncheon, which plans to honor Bob Pittman, chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia, as Broadcaster of the Year.

On Day One following opening remarks by NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith, a keynote addresses one of the most important topics facing the industry, namely cybersecurity and the implications for media and technology.

The keynote will focus on trends in digital security, including evolving threats and best practices for protecting the privacy of businesses and customers. Kevin Collier, Buzzfeed News, moderates the discussion with Paul Liberman, COO of the sports-tech entertainment platform DraftKings, and chief consumer security evangelist Gary Davis from the cybersecurity company McAfee.

Other notable newbies this year include a new Podcast Studio, where attendees can watch as popular New York-based podcasts record episodes live from the show floor, as well as new session formats and new programs such as Roundtable sessions and short-and-snappy Lightning Talks.

This year, a series of expanded Inspiration Stages are designed to connect visitors with leaders in areas such as advertising and branding, AR/VR, ATSC 3.0, live production and streaming. The stages focus on four main areas — Focus FWD Keynote Stage, Tech FWD Stage 1, Content FWD Stage 2 and Create FWD Stage 3 — that spotlight case studies, explore evolving business models and feature detailed information on key sessions. For example, the Focus FWD Keynote Stage will feature an array of keynote speakers and in-depth roundtable discussions.

NAB Show New York will debut the TV on Wall Street program on Oct. 19. Produced in partnership with S&P Global Market Intelligence and Summit Ridge Group, the one-day conference offers a business perspective on the economic influences driving the evolution of media, including new technologies and investment opportunities. The conference kicks off with a financial overview of the media industry followed by a keynote conversation with FOX Television Stations executive Joe Dorrego. The afternoon keynote will feature Julie Menin, the Commissioner of the New York City Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment.

Also new this year will be a track of sessions known as Best of BEIT that will highlight key research featured within NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology (BEIT) Conference. Held at the Tech FWD Stage 1—an area within the show that showcases top trends in technology as well as the satellite industry—the Best of BEIT sessions will tackle UHD, NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0, cybersecurity and big data. As a companion piece, the show will also feature a roundtable of discussions called Best of BEIT Engage!, which promotes interaction between attendees and industry experts. Expect to see issues such as implementation of IP playout systems and the use of drones in broadcast.

Sam Matheny

“Best of BEIT will provide in-depth explanations and examples of how traditional broadcast engineering functions continue to merge with information technology,” said Sam Matheny, NAB’s chief technology officer.

The uniqueness of this New York-based show remains its location, and NAB will honor the role the city plays in television production with a new “Created in New York” Award.

Marvel Television leaders Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory will be honored for not only building Marvel into a leading television studio with programming such as “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” and “Marvel’s The Defenders,” but also for the role that New York plays in Marvel productions. The two producers will participate in a keynote following their award presentation.

It’s important to recognize those local leaders who have used the city as a backdrop for creating vibrant and compelling programming, the NAB said. “While turning Marvel Television into a powerhouse studio, both Jeph Loeb and Jim Chory proved it is possible to use one location—in this case, New York City—to evoke a wholly unique look and feel to multiple series,” said Chris Brown, NAB executive vice president, Conventions and Business Operations.

Find out more at www.nabshowny.com. 

LAS VEGAS—Even though the plush carpet is rolled away and cappuccino makers are bubble wrapped back in storage, the flurry of conversations, questioning, test driving and demonstrating that took place during NAB 2017 reaffirmed some irrefutable facts.

That the cloud is a force unto itself. That IP technologies are on the upswing. That UHD, HDR and ATSC are technologies with a devoted following. That 8K and wider consideration of virtual reality are on the horizon.

And, that 4K has the opportunity to inspire new generations to get a high-def look at an astronaut’s pores.

It’s not the first time that someone has claimed that this is the year of IP, or HD, or HDR, or 4K. For many of these technologies, signs of some solidification were there. Yet one analyst put it succinctly: there’s a lot of talk, but we still await to see how much real-world action comes from those conversations.

NEXT GEN TV

One area that did garner a lot of positive attention was ATSC 3.0. Since the last NAB Show, WRAL-TV in Raleigh, N.C., had begun broadcasting with the new next-gen television standard, while stations in Baltimore, Cleveland, Portland, Ore., and Las Vegas have been involved in the testing process. At the show, research and consulting firm Devoncroft Parnters hosted a media technology business summit, where network and station group CFOs were wildly supportive of the new technology.

“There’s a lot more to ATSC than I think people are seeing,” said Josh Stinehour, Devoncroft principal analyst and moderator at the summit. Events and announcements at the NAB Show spoke to that support, including live ATSC 3.0 broadcasts during the show, buzz around the ATSC 3.0 Pavilion, regulatory support from commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission, and wide support from the advanced emergency alerting and targeted advertising communities.

For an industry that historically takes the long, slow and steady path to new technology adoptions, the support could be seen as unusual. “I was taken aback by the enthusiasm so many had for ATSC 3.0,” Stinehour said.

FINALLY CLOUD-READY?

Hanging over other discussions was whether the industry was ready for what some say will be a steady progression up into the cloud.

Debate reigned about the merits of cloud-native versus cloud-enabled, and why 2017 might be the year that more mainstream operations begin in earnest to transition their operations to virtualized environments. Citing boosts in agility, scalability and flexibility, a number of media companies are looking into the benefits (as well as the drawbacks) of moving processes like ingest, playout, encoding, OTT streaming and ad insertion into the cloud.

Benefits include monetization opportunities for media companies, new scalability features, the efficiencies that come from cloud workflow operations, and what real-world loopholes exist for media companies jumping into a pay-as-you-go model.

MOVING TO IP

True, the phrase “improved workflow” is bandied about so often it’s nearly lost its punch. Yet it was in full force across the show: from free, new open source codes that propose to smooth media operations to better content management solutions. Many conversations at NAB this year circled around new data management and workflow solutions for modernizing media facilities. “Media companies are challenged to find a balance between tried-and-true production approaches and designing global architectures for the future," said Jason Danielson, media and entertainment solutions manager at NetApp, one of many companies at the show talking about workflow management.

Likewise, everywhere one turned, there were new solutions touting the benefits of an IP infrastructure: when building a new TV news program in Brooklyn, for controlling production switchers via an IP-connected simple tablet, to the benefits of across-the-board IP capability for live productions.

“It was imperative that we adopt a technology platform… that would give us the flexibility and responsiveness to deliver the type of content our audience expects of us,” said Charlie Travis, vice president with Vice Media, a New York media facility that announced its adoption of an IP production infrastructure prior to the start of NAB.

“If we look back at the former transitions of SD to HD, those trends occur gradually,” said Scott Barella, chief technology officer for Utah Scientific, when talking about the move torward a hybrid infrastructure for IP and SDI workflows. “It’s key to show the blend between IP and SDI because this hybrid mix is one way to facilitate the transition.”

Barella is also on the board of directors for the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), a consortium of broadcast technology vendors and media companies promoting interoperability in the IP broadcast environment. Since forming in late 2015, the organization has added more than 75 companies and is a strong advocate of the SMPTE 2022 standard for sending digital video over IP networks. The standard is nearly complete and numerous vendors were showing new compatible gear at the show.

Barella discussed the goal of AIMS and the importance of interoperability in the transition to IP, using the decades-old SDI as the model.

The focus of AIMS was to make sure that HD-SDI had the same sort of behavior in the IP environment,” he said. “What I mean by that is when you plug an HD-SDI cable into a monitor or server, there’s no mistaking what that signal is. And it doesn’t matter what vendor is making that equipment. ‘If they say it’s HD-SDI and I plug it in, I know I’m going to get a picture.’ Imagine that same thought in IP.”

SPACE FOR 4K

A 4K Connection: NASA astronauts Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer made mundane tasks here on Earth — like passing a mic around in zero gravity — look otherworldly when the two connected to the show via a 4K live broadcast.

Even technology formats themselves got a high-profile 15 minutes of fame (more than that, frankly) when astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) connected via a live 4K video stream from space.

During the aptly named “Reaching for the Stars: Connecting to the Future with NASA and Hollywood,” ISS Commander Dr. Peggy Whitson and astronaut Jack Fischer made mundane tasks here on Earth — gulping down a bubble of water from mid-air, passing a mic back and forth — look otherworldly.

Following a conversation about the essential role video plays in facilitating the missions of NASA, the astronauts demonstrated experiments made possible in a zero-gravity environment.

“Because we’re going once around the world every 90 minutes, we get to see all over the world,” Whitson said. “There’s an amazing amount of data, [and video technology] allows us to capture that in high resolution.”

Whitson floated the mic in zero gravity over to fellow astronaut Fischer, who said that 4K and Ultra HD is allowing NASA to not only use higher resolution and higher frame rates to capture different science experiments, but “even more important is the inspirational aspect,” he joked, leaning closer to the camera and urging the audience to get a good look at his pores.

“Granted, nobody wants to go there, but everybody wants to see the Earth from this vantage point,” he said. “And by looking down at the Earth with these amazing new technologies, we’re able to inspire an entire new generation of explorers.”

The biggest impact from these new technologies is that it gives viewers the opportunity to see these amazing sites that astronauts see every day, he said. “It inspires us to push beyond just living on Earth.”

The show also highlighted the increasing demand for 4K/UHD back on the ground. “The demand is there [for Ultra HD], and the industry is excited to fulfill it,” said Madeleine Noland, a consultant with LG Electronics, during a UHD session at the show, pointing to predictions from the Consumer Technology Association that 24.5 million UHD sets are expected to be sold in the U.S. by the end of 2020.

ADVOCATES FOR BROADCAST

Despite the ongoing influence of OTT and cable at the show—seen in the decision to welcome CEOs from cable and video streaming companies to headline keynote events—NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith zeroed the focus back to broadcasting during the show’s State of the Industry address.

“When we talk about broadcasting, it’s very easy to talk about change—both in the way consumers access content and the way broadcasters are delivering it,” he said. “But there are some things technology will never change: Listeners and viewers will always want that local connection that broadcasters provide—with the weatherman who tells them if a storm is approaching, or with their favorite DJ who warns them of the traffic building up ahead.” 

NAB CEO Gordon H. Smith’s advice for broadcasters is to embrace their strengths: "We are live, local and targeted,” he said during the 2017 Opening Keynote address.

“The highest-quality content will always find its way to broadcast TV because of its unparalleled reach,” Smith said. Even in this era of unprecedented competition, he said, TV and radio have ongoing appeal: Broadcast TV airs 90 of the top 100 most-watched television shows every week, with 268 million people tuning into AM/FM radio every week, he said.

We are in the midst of a world that will not stop changing, Smith said. Broadcasters must believe in the virtuous cycle of adopting new distribution platforms to build its overall audience and continue to engage with them.

“[We] need to embrace our strengths: We are live, local and targeted,” he said.

Broadcasters also received key support from one very public figure at the show: New FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. At a session during the show, Pai laid out a regulatory philosophy that broadcasters have waited a long time to hear. “The last thing broadcasting needs is outdated rules to stand in its way,” Pai said to a full house during the show. “That’s why I’ll work aggressively to modernize the FCC’s rules, cut unnecessary red tape and give broadcasters more flexibility to serve their audiences.”

There’s a starting date for those changes: the FCC’s May meeting, in which the commission plans to tackle issues such as the main studio rule and media ownership rule.

The show has completed an arc in terms of attendance. The recession of 2007 to 2009 slashed NAB Show attendance figures by more than 22,000 between 2008 and 2009. In the years since, those number began to climb again. The NAB said there were 103,400 registered attendees for the show in 2017.

The 2018 NAB Show will take place April 7-12 in Las Vegas.

SAN FRANCISCO—For as long as media and entertainment companies have been creating content, they’ve been struggling to answer the question of “where am I going to put it all?”

There are ubiquitous choices, from the cloud to near-line archiving to LTO. But simply stashing it is one thing; then there’s the question of cost, capacity, long-term viability, compatibility and (perhaps most importantly to all of us operating in an omnichannel environment), how to find it all afterward.

Today’s massive file sizes, bolstered by growing image resolutions, are driving growth in data storage. But drive to where? According to the “2016 Digital Storage for Media and Entertainment Report” from Coughlin Associations, storage in today’s environment is multifaceted: for some archiving situations, SATA HDD storage or tape-based libraries are the answer. For new content creators with little on-the-shelf material to store, remote cloud storage is a wise alternative. For those needing fast playback, flash memory and SSD are the answer.

Doug Wynn, vice president of sales for the Americas for SGLTHE HYBRID APPROACH

Some think the future will be a hybrid approach between on-premise and the cloud. “I think as cloud costs—in particular the cost of restoring material—come down, cloud will be a large part of any archive solution,” said Doug Wynn, vice president of sales for the Americas for U.K.-based SGL. “There will likely always be a need for some on-premise storage, but the systems will be smaller in terms of tape slots than you see today,” Wynn said, pointing to the anticipated release of the LTO-8 magnetic tape data storage standard.

Regardless of the application, though, there is little doubt that demand for high-capacity storage devices will peak any time soon.

According to the Coughlin Associates report, “the entire content value chain—of content creation, editing, archiving, distribution as well as consumer electronics content reception devices—provide an accelerating feed-forward mechanism. The continued need for storage for higher-performance and high-capacity workflows are driving strong storage growth in the projection periods,” which the report calculates between the years 2015 and 2021.

Mike Palmer, vice president, business strategy for Masstech

Dave Frederick, senior director of Media and Entertainment for QuantumCLOUD GROWTH

Media and entertainment companies are looking in multiple directions when it comes to storage—many of them skyward to the cloud.

Ticking off benefits like improvements in cost and the ability to enable collaborative workflows, cloud storage usage for the media and entertainment industry is expected to grow about 25-fold between the years 2015 and 2021, according to the 2016 report, with the biggest boost coming from increased demands in the areas of archiving and preservation.

Cloud technologies have proven to be an attractive choice particularly for startups, according to Mike Palmer, vice president of Business Strategy at Masstech in Markham, Ont. “If someone has no legacy archive at all, then the cloud operating model is a good option.”

There are other applications where the cloud is a very viable option, such as serving as a soft second home for daily rushes, or for long-term vaulting of finished goods. Or even for finished content that designed for re-monetization or delivery, according to Dave Frederick, senior director of Media and Entertainment for Quantum in San Jose, Calif.

But it isn’t always the most viable choice, particularly for media companies with a large legacy archive. When it comes to the cloud, the two key components seem to be cost and accessibility.

“If you have a lot of content in a legacy archive, say four to eight years of digitized content, and you’re thinking of moving into the cloud, then the economic model is very different,” than it is for a facility with no legacy archive to upload and host, said Masstech’s Palmer.

There’s also the issue of asset management.

“If you have a small facility with a few hundred files, that’s manageable manually [in the cloud],” said Frederick. “But once you get over a thousand pieces of content, or have half a dozen simultaneous users working on a project, it becomes an untenable. You are then working on administration [more than anything else].”

WHAT’S THE END GOAL?

Pinpointing the right storage option really depends on a facility’s end goal. If a company’s goals are to firmly embrace the cloud in the future, there may not even be a future home for a datacenter with onsite rackspace to host traditional LTO and spinning disk drives. But for those with a large legacy archive, that could be the wiser option, according to Palmer.

“If customers are looking [to store] 5 PB of content that they access infrequently, the answer is datatape,” added Quantum’s Frederick. “It’s the cheapest medium. This is not tape that you touch—these are tape libraries that are automated” and whose content is clearly tracked and categorized.

For some, the answer is turning out to be some sort of hybrid solution. Many of today’s storage options are allowing users to optimize where they keep data and use data.

“The old idea that you just hook up storage to [your content acquisition system] and deal with data later is really not tenable anymore, especially with today’s data sizes,” said Frederick. “[Systems must] move smoothly from high-performance [systems] down to datatape archive, but still be automated, visible and accessible.”

Quantum recently announced enhancements to its StorNext 5 scale-out shared storage system, including the ability to integrate existing public cloud storage and thirdparty object storage. Quantum is one of several companies that will showcase new storage options at the 2017 NAB Show that will serve as sort of an “onramp” into the cloud for those who want a hybrid means of corralling and controlling an archive. “This fits in with the way that users want to manage their data,” Frederick said. Masstech plans to tell a similar story with the introduction of new hybrid solutions at NAB that interconnect the cloud with local tape options. “Each storage type has its own benefits and costs,” Palmer said.

So, too, said SGL. “Dependent on the amount of media that needs to be archived and the various workflows, [there are] solutions as simple as disk-only or LTO tape libraries, or hybrid systems that may be composed of disk, tape and cloud,” said SGL’s Wynn.

Improvements in storage standardization have made headlines as well.

The FlashNet Infinity user interface from SGL offers a dashboard designed to simplify the management of media archives. Last summer, SMPTE announced that multiple vendors had deployed the AXF standard (Archive eXchange Format), a standard that supports the independent exchange of file-based assets and metadata between storage applications. The goal is to ensure interoperability between vendors. Devices from Dell, Signiant, Oracle and others have adopted the standard, though not all vendors have implemented the format into their technologies—including those from Masstech, Quantum and SGL.

“Our customers have not driven us to implement this immediately,” Masstech’s Palmer said in response to the AXF question. SGL’s Wynn said that although its devices have the ability to read AXF tapes, “If there was a customer demand for us to support AXF we would, but to date there has been no call do so,” he said.

In addition to the interoperability question, at the end of the day, there’s also the question of then being able to rifle through all that content that you just took pains to store.

“We all know content is king, but if you can’t find it because it’s on a drive sitting on a shelf it’s useless,” said SGL’s Wynn.

LAS VEGAS—TV Technology asked a cross-section of NAB Show-goers a series of five questions regarding what they considered the main themes, evidence of those, whether or not these initiatives will take hold, and what promising technologies from past NAB Shows did not see daylight. (A complete list of quotes from respondents and links to their full 5Qs is at “NAB 2016 in 21 Quotes.”)

Susan Ashworth, former editor, TV Technology, contributor, NewBay Media Broadcast/Video Group: Q1. How many NAB Shows have you attended?
S.A. 18 years. Don’t tell anyone, since I’m 25.

Q2. What, in your opinion, were the main themes of the show this year?
S.A. Playing nice together (interoperability), looking pretty (4k/8k), looking skyward for answers (the cloud), next-generation offerings (ATSC 3.0).

Q3. What were some examples of these themes?
S.A. New options that allow broadcasters and OTT operators to have their entire operations monitored from a remote location (the cloud, via Akamai’s Broadcast Operations Control Center), Canon’s 8K prototypes (4k/8k), ONE Media’s ATSC demos.

Q4. Do you foresee any or all of these technologies or initiatives taking hold?
S.A. The cloud has already begun to prove its worth in a number of different ways, and as security issues and bandwidth issues continue to be addressed, the technology should continue to be deployed on a massive scale. While much is still to be determined as far as ATSC 3.0, it’s a technology that much of the industry is uniting around, in that it offers new a vastly expanded means for bringing content and services to consumers.

Q5. What technology that impressed you most at a past show didn't see the light of day?
S.A. 3D had so much potential and was such a rallying point for so many people. And then, not. But fear not, it’ll be back.