We’re excited to see all the efforts driven towards AV/IT convergence and the promise of video everywhere. AV/IT convergence is an industry collision that has and will continue to open doors for many different types of organisations looking to integrate video into their unified communications systems. We’re particularly looking forward to seeing and learning what others are doing in these areas.

We will be showcasing our enterprise IP video solutions portfolio that enables organizations to make high quality video content consistently available across their headquarters, regional offices and beyond, giving staff, visitors and guests the ability to view the content they want, when they want it, on the device of their choice. Our system further enables system integrators and consultants to easily specify and install a full end-to-end IP video system to distribute content over the corporate LAN and beyond via WAN, Wi-Fi, the Internet or a Content Delivery Network, extending media distribution to any device connected over any network. Our product range has recently been extended with our combined IP video and digital signage offering ArtioSign, launched at ISE in February, and the latest version of the AvediaServer, showcased at CABSAT a few weeks ago, which will both be demoed on our NAB booth (#SU11905CM).

This year’s NAB will be all about Ultra HD and High Dynamic Range (HDR). It will be interesting to see how quickly HDR moves from a proof of concept to a reality, and whether it will follow the same route as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) – a lot of hype before mass adoption. However, the primary challenge in the industry is the ever-increasing number of content sources (e.g., cable, DTT, satellite and IP), which can be addressed by deploying an IP video system to deliver high quality content originating from any source to a wide range of devices. In addition to being able to process diverse content sources and resolutions, organizations need to ensure that they comply with the highest level of security. Through embedding HDCPv2 technology, the international standard for content protection, we secure video distribution across an IP network, from source to display, to enable the secure distribution of content from an HDMI video source. This way, the whole broadcast & media industry can confidently stream high quality content, safe in the knowledge that it is truly secure through being compliant with the HDCPv2 standard.

Most of the consumer discussions at NAB will relate to better quality and delivering content to multiscreen. From a technical perspective, I’m looking forward to seeing whether USB-C becomes the new standard interface, instead of HDMI or Display Port, and if WiGig, the Wi-Fi Alliance’s brand for the 802.11ad standard, will be able to replace wired interfaces between source and display now that Intel and Qualcomm have both announced compatible chips and antennas.Another clear area of interest will be 4K. I’m particularly curious to learn how 4K IP workflows are going to evolve, and if we’ve finally reached a point where 4K content becomes readily available to justify the existence of so many Ultra HD displays. In my point of view, the lack of content has been the main hurdle in mass adoption of UHD – price tags for 4K and HD screens are almost similar nowadays, which means that the industry needs to meet the consumer expectation for ultra high quality content. With Sony already trialing 8K, it is high time 4K infrastructure catches up to the display manufacturers if the standard wants to avoid 3D’s fate. However, the business world will be looking at the most effective way to better communicate and entertain audiences, and it’s clear that video will keep playing a central role in that. From a business perspective, the “trending” topics will center on extending the reach of enterprise communications and managing these systems effectively. I will cover both topics during the presentation I will deliver in the Connected Media|IP theatre.

I am very much looking forward to speaking in the Connected Media|IP theatre at 1:30pm on Monday, April 18th. There is quite a strong roster of sessions, ranging from young companies discussing very innovative ways to transform the broadcast industry to bigger players that are already contributing to the market in many ways. It will be a wonderful opportunity to share and learn more from these other industry experts.

Exterity is involved in a number of shows around the world each year, and we have found that providing straightforward and effective answers to the industry’s current challenges always works best. At NAB, we combine new solutions with our existing product portfolio to enable our partners to deploy robust, adaptable and future-proofed solutions for a wide range of users across many sectors we work with across the U.S. – media and broadcast, corporate and finance, education, energy and healthcare to name a few.