Definition Live Spring 2023 - Web

ISE PREVIEW INDUSTRY.

“Many vendors cannot be easily corralled into predefined categories. Their innovations are used in a multitude of vertical markets” AV embraces every sector outside that of M&E – from digital signage in retail and airports, to interactive museum exhibits, personalised hotel and hospitality guest engagement, T he divide between professional AV and broadcast market sectors used to be considerable. So much so that there was deemed little demand for a dedicated show for Europe’s AV integrators until 2004, by which time its broadcast counterpart, IBC, was regularly attracting 40,000 visitors to Amsterdam. The last decade has witnessed spectacular growth on the AV side with attendee numbers to ISE 2023 in Barcelona expected to top 50,000 – though still short of its 2019 81,000 record as the hangover from Covid-19 continues. By contrast, visitor numbers to broadcast kit shows have stagnated, reflecting the growing potential of an AV industry valued by trade body Avixa at $75.5bn in 2023, with growth continuing at 5.65% through to 2027, hitting $91.8bn in EMEA alone. What is striking is that much of this growth can be attributed to a digitisation and IT-ification of audio-visual tech. While digital video and advanced audio formats have democratised the market for media and entertainment, the application of the same technology is far wider in AV.

IN THE LIMELIGHT AV is experiencing a boom, as its uses expand far beyond the broadcast sector

military-grade VR and enterprise-wide unified communications. All of which increasingly rely on video and deploy technology that underpins even the most innovative broadcast programming. The clearest examples lie in live events, many of which are combining cinematic techniques, interactive content and theatrical design to provide visitors a sensory experience of fantasy or photoreal environments with a depth of immersion they cannot enjoy at home. This technology is being incorporated into the very fabric of certain structures to make the venue itself a destination. Crucially, an ability to immerse audiences in a shared live spectacular is something that solitary virtual reality does not yet come close to. Another notable technology convergence is the use of LED screens beyond traditional signage. Virtual production techniques with live-action photography shot on stages ringed by LED backdrops are becoming staple to narrative storytelling, as much as for corporate messaging. Related technologies such as game engines and powerful processors are fuelling augmented and mixed reality experiences. Extended reality (XR) – the catch-all for VR, AR and MR – is playing a fundamental role in shaping our future, from digital learning and museums to CAD design and the digital twins for research and engineering. Much of this convergence is being underpinned by the shift to standards- based AV over IP, where the common goal is interoperability and independence from proprietary technology. Various solutions

across the ISE show floor include SMPTE ST 2110, the SMPTE-backed IPMX, NDI, and on the audio networking side, Dante, AES and Milan. The technologies differentiating AV from broadcast were shunted closer together during the pandemic. Other obvious examples are the application of virtual meeting tools as a broadcast standard, while broadcast workflows are being utilised more frequently in enterprise videoconferencing. The two industries are unlikely to converge completely since the principal applications remain different. An example of this in sports streaming is the advance of ultra-low latency powered by 5G networks and Edge compute to deliver 8K VR, real-time betting and viewer- selectable angles of the match. However, there’s no reason why the majority of broadcast kit is any different to that used in the enterprise. Hence, many vendors cannot be easily corralled into predefined categories. Their innovations are present in a multitude of vertical markets, cross-pollinated by the skills of specialist integrators to deliver new and exciting ways of communicating. Which is why more nominally broadcast tech vendors are finding a home at ISE.

LISTEN AND LEARN There will be a brand-new audio demo suite for the first time at ISE 2023

05. JANUARY 2023

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