Blurred lines

Ahead of next weeks ISE Show, TVBEurope speaks to key industry experts who share their thoughts on the crossover between broadcast and pro-AV and how far convergence between the two can go

By Jenny Priestley

Published: January 26, 2024 Updated: January 29, 2024

Ahead of next week's ISE Show, TVBEurope speaks to key industry experts who share their thoughts on the crossover between broadcast and pro-AV and how far convergence between the two can go

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As the pro-AV and broadcast technology markets increasingly overlap, TVBEurope asked key industry experts to share their thoughts on the points of crossover between the two sectors and how far can convergence between the two go.

Why do you think we're seeing a convergence between AV and broadcast technology? Ciaran Doran, ISE 2024 Content Production and Distribution Summit chair: For many years executives in all parts of the traditional Television broadcast' industry have wondered what to call the new world of broadcasting - is it anycast, every-cast, multi-cast etc? But this was primarily to address the changing way in which consumers receive and watch content. The days of linear television broadcasting are numbered but still a long way off. More recently the shift is not limited to the way content is delivered but how it is created, who creates it, where it is created and who delivers it.

Brands and corporates are becoming broadcasters in their own right and they're doing it for two reasons in my view,

technologies that create exciting content in a less costly way are more accessible. Cloud platforms, remote operations, virtual production and the democratisation of talent all play a part in enabling content creation and delivery to be more reachable for corporations.

Consumer behaviour is shifting. People are looking for companies that have something to say' rather than just something to sell'. Over the years the best companies have always told a story through their advertising channels but now they're telling the story of their values, their purpose.

Chris Evans, head of pro video and broadcast /senior market analyst, Futuresource Consulting: There's always been the opportunity for the AV world to lean on innovations and technology designed for broadcast, however, there's no denying that the pandemic has been an enormous catalyst for a cultural shift in how we use video in our daily lives. Not just for entertainment but also for communication. As a result, AV users in the corporate, government and education verticals have moved to deploy more video technology at scale across their organisations.

Now a few years down the road, end-users have got to grips with what constitutes good and bad video, and finding the limitations of what they deployed during the pandemic era. As a result, they are equipped with a greater level of knowledge and expertise to think with greater ambition about how they want to improve the way that they use video in the years to come. This is creating opportunities for more advanced broadcast technologies to penetrate the world of AV as production quality becomes a focus.

On the flip side broadcasters and traditional studios are still under pressure to do more with less, so for technology vendors, an expanding addressable market in AV is an attractive opportunity to pursue, whilst maintaining their existing customer base.

Ryan Hansberger, head of product development, Vizrt: I see it as the natural progression of most tech sectors. As time goes on, the price to compete at the highest level decreases, with new technologies becoming more accessible; both in terms of cost and quality. When it comes to product development, to sit on the bleeding edge means a consistent and quick refining of features and processes, and these refinements influence ideas in other related sectors.

If you look at technology in a general sense, a middle-of-the-road GPU from what is built today can achieve and exceed the best version of the same product from three years ago. Because there is more that can be achieved - quicker, better, and easier to access - technology becomes more useful in other settings, and this is especially true in media.

Jessica Lange, marketing director, Guntermann & Drunck: The integration of IP as a transmission standard in AV and broadcasting systems facilitates convergence in addition to ongoing technological developments and changes in user behaviour. This is because IP-based solutions allow for a more flexible and scalable integration of different technologies, enabling efficient production, management, and distribution of content. These aspects play a key role in the increasing convergence of AV and broadcasting technology. In our role as IT infrastructure specialists, we're witnessing a significant shift towards IP-based systems across industries. Historically, this technology has been the backbone of pro-AV. However, its evolution has brought it to a pivotal point it's now swift and reliable enough to fulfil the demands of broadcasters as well. This convergence marks a decisive moment in the technology's adoption, bridging two previously distinct worlds.

Which areas, in particular, do you see it having the biggest impact? CD: Virtual production and access to streaming platforms are the two biggest areas of change. While the adoption of NDI plays a real part in facilitating easy integration and distribution it is after all just a facilitator (a good one nevertheless). Camera technology is constantly evolving and the growth of remote operations and drone cameras is enabling more exciting content to be created using different skills from adjacent markets. But virtual production is no longer a buzz, it's here, ready, operating right now and some of Europe's biggest players a

LINK:	https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/blurred-lines...
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