SMPTE Technical Seions and Exhibitions from IBC04

During IBC2014, more than 50 SMPTE members were speakers during technical sessions, and more than 107 SMPTE sustaining members exhibited products and technologies. Based in a stand within the IBC Partnership Village, the Societys own participation included support for initiatives such as the popular Rising Stars program, which gave new entrants to the broadcast industry the opportunity to meet top industry experts across a series of specially staged sessions and events.

The technical sessions featuring SMPTE members launched with a session on audience tracking and measurement, with Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) Managing Director Jane Clarke announcing that CIMM and SMPTE would begin drafting an open standard for binding identifiers to content.

SMPTE speakers included Hollywood Region Governor Clyde Smith, Fellows Lawrence Kaplan and Phil Tudor, and John Footen all took part in a session focusing on complete IP-based production. Fellow Mark Schubin joined with Robin Boldon and Peter Wilson to explore event cinema. Richard Welsh, governor for the Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Central and South America region, and Standards Director, Howard Lukk, put on a session on tri-focal camera systems featuring Johannes Steurer of ARRI. Finance Vice President Matthew Goldman presented on High-Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).

Ultra-high-definition television (UHDTV) proved to be a popular topic at IBC2014. The Go With UHD-1, or Wait for UHD-2? session produced by SMPTE featured former Standards Vice President Hans Hoffmann of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), Standards Vice President Alan Lambshead, U.K. Section Chair Chris Johns, and Chris Fetner, Andy Quested, and Jim Helman. During the session, the speakers discussed strategies for content creation and delivery to the home using both traditional and IP technologies and subsequently discussed standards and their roadmaps for the two phases of UHDTV. Fetner, who is director of global content partners operations at Netflix and the opening keynote speaker at the upcoming SMPTE 2014 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition , announced during the session that the SMPTE IMF standard is being adopted by Netflix as the format for creating content deliverables for its subscribers. In embracing the standard, Netflix positions itself to achieve economies of scale when streaming content to its 55 million subscribers around the world.

The focus on cinema included a session on virtualized movie production, co-produced by Richard Welsh, who also joined the EDCF Global D-Cinema Update panel along with Angelo DAlessio, governor for the Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Central and South America region; Fellows Jim Whittlesey and Andy Maltz; and Julian Pinn and Peter Wilson. During this session, much attention was paid to the SMPTE-DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format. Understanding that this format provides a stable and future-proof standard for digital cinema playback, the industry is pushing for a rapid transition to SMPTE-DCP and the elimination of interim formats.

Chaired by Pete Lud , immediate past president, a two-part session on laser projection systems included participation by Matt Cowan, who joined other presenters in examining the impact of laser projection technology on digital cinema.

SMPTE Event Announcements at IBC2014

SMPTE provided further detail on the program for the SMPTE 2014 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition , 21-23 Oct. in Hollywood, California, and the preceding SMPTE 2014 Symposium produced by the Hollywood Post Alliance (HPA ) on Oct. 20. In addition to highlighting the technical sessions planned for the conference, announcements revealed plans for an expanded high-tech exhibition hall with more than 80 exhibitors, the Student Film Showcase, and the Annual Membership Meeting. (Full details are available at http://www.smpte2014.org.) SMPTE 2014 will also feature the SMPTE 2014 Honors & Awards Ceremony, during which the Societys honors will be presented. The Societys highest honors will be bestowed upon Leonardo Chiariglione and George Lucas, who will each receive an honorary SMPTE membership; John Logie Baird , who has been named to the SMPTE Honor Roll; and Ioan Allen, who will be given the Societys Progress Medal.

SMPTE announced that SMPTE President-elect Robert Seidel will chair The IP-based Facility: Is It for You? If So, When? on Nov. 13 at CCW+SATCON in New York City.

The Society confirmed details for key SMPTE and HPA events including the 9th Annual HPA Awards Show, set for Nov. 6. The HPA Awards event is the standard bearer for excellence and innovation in the industry, honoring outstanding accomplishments in postproduction and recognizing the creative achievements of individuals and companies. The gala event returns to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. The 2015 HPA Tech Retreat , Feb. 9-13, 2015 in Indian Wells, California, is expected to draw top industry engineering, technical, and creative talent, as well as strategic business leaders focused on technology, from all aspects of digital cinema, postproduction, film, television, video, and related technologies for the exchange of information.

The SMPTE 2015 Forum in Berlin will be produced May 7-8, 2015 in collaboration with the Fernseh- und Kinotechnische Gesellschaft (FKTG), with collaboration from the EBUs Technology and Innovation department. The Forum will examine how factors such as EU policy, net neutrality, copyright, and mining big data are shaping the possibilities in the complex European market and redefining how the industry engages its audience. In exploring these topics, the Forum will look at how connectivity, bandwidth, and media technology improvements will impact media production and distribution across all platforms, from cinema and broadcast to mobile and interactive new media technologies.

Chris Fetner

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