
TVBEurope interviewed Alex Micallef, Vizrts General Manager, UK and Ireland, about the state of the media industry and Vizrts NAB 2018 plans.
Originally published by TVBEurope.
What are the greatest technological challenges in your area of the market?For Vizrt, as well as for our customers, the need to publish content to a steadily growing list of new platforms is a real challenge for allocating personnel and technology to accommodate these platforms. There is a real need in the market for fast, efficient, and automated tools to make multi-platform publishing a reality.
What changes/trends/developments in the industry are having the most dramatic impact on your business? The conversion from traditional SDI workflows to IP-based workflows is on the radar of broadcasters everywhere. It's not a question of if they will make the conversion, it's when. When the change happens it affects their entire infrastructure, from video ingest, to live production and distribution. It forces broadcasters to make a choice on what will be their new standard . Do they choose SMPTE 2110, NDI, or a new format that might pop up next week? Vizrt has built its systems to be agile in this respect, so that we can work with any standard that arises, this ensures that the broadcaster's investment in our software is well protected.
How much of your business is non-broadcast? Are you seeing a growing demand for your expertise from different industries? Non-broadcast customers make up close to 10% of our business. We've seen that grow in a relatively short time, with the number of media companies that are now producing video content for online and digital. Media companies such as newspapers and digital publishers face, in many ways, the same video production needs as a traditional broadcaster, but without having the legacy of traditional production tools. This means we are able to adapt for them the very latest IP tools for live video production and publishing without being held back by legacy workflows. What's been really interesting is to see new workflows and ways of working that we're learning from outside of broadcast and being able to implement these ideas and ways of working into the changing broadcast landscape.
What do you believe will be the main talking points emanating from NAB? NAB is going to be all about publishing or broadcasting your content anywhere and adapting for every channel (i.e. broadcast, online, OTT, social media, etc.) where viewers consume content. From a tools perspective we expect to see a continuation of the themes from recent years - cloud computing, higher resolutions and HDR as well as the increased use of Augmented and Virtual Reality in storytelling.
What are you showcasing at NAB? We will be demonstrating the latest tools for media companies to create and share their stories on-air, online, and OTT with local and cloud-based production systems. We are also going to highlight the latest capabilities of augmented reality tools in the studio as well as how media companies can use videowalls for powerful storytelling. 2018 is also a major sports year with the Olympics and the World Cup, so we are highlighting how to captivate and engage audiences with high-quality sports analysis while generating new revenue streams from sports rights.
What is your business focus for the remainder of the year?As the market leader for broadcast graphics and enhancements, we will continue on our path to bring more powerful, automated tools that deliver visually compelling stories to TV audiences. We will also provide broadcasters with automated tools for branding their content on digital video platforms. Since it is a big sports year, we are also debuting a new tool for advanced sports analysis in the studio, showing efficient tools to drive content in stadium screens, and giving sports rights holders new ways to monetize their live games.
Tead the full interview from TVBEurope.
Related articles
NAB 2018
Vizrt brings immersive football analysis to the studio with the new Viz Libero AR
Vizrt's Viz One MAM now available on AWS at NAB 2018
Related articles
NAB 2018
Vizrt brings immersive football analysis to the studio with the new Viz Libero AR
Vizrt's Viz One MAM now available on AWS at NAB 2018
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
15/04/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BBC World Service has selected its IP ...
15/04/2026
LiveU has announced an expansion of its collaboration with Sony Corporation, add...
15/04/2026
Ateme has announced a collaboration with NVIDIA to support live Apple Immersive ...
15/04/2026
The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a multi-year partnership renewal with DAZN DACH, covering Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein, and...
15/04/2026
Canon U.S.A. (NAB Booth C3825) today took the lid off of the CINE-SERVO 40-1200m...
15/04/2026
Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America and NEP Group will demonstrate a...
15/04/2026
For the fourth year running, independent analysts found businesses across all industries and verticals pay roughly the same amount in fees as they spend on stor...
15/04/2026
The Soccer Tournament (TST) has announced a media rights deal with NBC Sports to...
15/04/2026
JB&A will host the Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event on April 17-18 at Flamingo Las Vegas, ahead of NAB Show. The event features hands-on demonstrations and technic...
15/04/2026
The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth 4931, Central Hall), with demonstrations from Sennheiser, Neumann, and Merging across three areas: Rel...
15/04/2026
NAB Show 2026 will take place April 18-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, wi...
15/04/2026
AI-Media has announced the LEXI Text Encoder and LEXI Voice Encoder at NAB Show 2026, the company's first new encoder hardware release in more than a decade...
15/04/2026
Italian camera support manufacturer Cartoni will introduce several new products at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C6540, Central Hall), including the Master 30 OB fluid h...
15/04/2026
Lawo and swXtch.io have announced a memorandum of understanding at NAB Show 2026, under which Lawo will explore incorporating swXtch.io's groundSwXtch softw...
15/04/2026
CacheFly will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W3129, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), showcasing three new additions to its content delivery platform:...
15/04/2026
Synamedia has announced GO Shorts, a new module within its Synamedia Go OTT platform that uses AI to convert an operator's existing content library into a s...
15/04/2026
The NAB Show kicks off on Saturday, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams a...
15/04/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced an agreement to acquire Comprimato, a live video encoding and processing software company. The deal will unite the two companies...
15/04/2026
Prime Video Sports' NBA Playoffs coverage, which includes the entire SoFi NB...
15/04/2026
Just announced, the SDE standard provides a unified method and file format to ensure consistent and reliably comparable noise predictions
Sports and entertainm...
15/04/2026
From immersive storytelling to laugh-out-loud comedies, podcasts are booming in ...
15/04/2026
Books have always moved with us, whether tucked in our bags or humming in our he...
15/04/2026
For many artists, independent venues are where music careers begin and fan communities take shape. Independent venue operators work hard every day to keep local...
15/04/2026
From gripping thrillers to poignant memoirs, the 21st century has had no shortage of unforgettable books. To celebrate the standout storytelling of our modern e...
15/04/2026
Vintage broadcast experts release second plug-in
Telsie T is the second plug-in to be released by SonicWorld, a German audio company who specialise in servi...
15/04/2026
Includes eight free UAD plug-ins
Universal Audio's latest bundle brings together a selection of their renowned plug-ins and virtual instruments, and is ...
15/04/2026
Maximum uptime for broadcasters: Rohde & Schwarz launches R&S BroadcastShield at...
15/04/2026
Image courtesy of MD Helicopters...
15/04/2026
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, L3Harris VP Mark Farley, and state and local l...
15/04/2026
U.S. Space Forces Ground-Based Optical Sensor System upgrade at the Maui Space S...
15/04/2026
NBCU-Versant notches 13.1% of TV viewing in February, its best since August 2024...
15/04/2026
New data reveals older Kiwis are financially resilient, loyal to local products,...
15/04/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, announces the market launch of the ACCE...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Evergent introduces its Agentic Revenue Orchestration Platform, transforming how subscription businesses across direct-to-consumer streaming, pay-TV, telecommun...
15/04/2026
Harmonic's XOS Media Processor Delivers Exceptional Video Quality to More than Half of U.S. Public Media Viewership
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announce...
15/04/2026
LONGMONT, COLORADO, APRIL 15, 2026 DPA Microphones N Series Digital Wireless System users in North America can now take full advantage of the system's exc...
15/04/2026
Cobalt Iron, a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced the launch of Compass Tape Gateway (CTG), a transformative enhancemen...
15/04/2026
Disguise to Showcase Cutting-Edge Experience Tech for Sports, Broadcast and More...
15/04/2026
Arooj Aftab Makes the Music She Wants to Hear The singular artist explores the juxtaposition of grief and joy, dark and light, in her distinctive sound.
Apri...
15/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/04/2026
Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, is proud to announce its central role in the digital trans...