CDSA

IBC 2017: MESA Members to Showcase M&E Solutions in Amsterdam

(This is the first of two stories previewing what MESA’s members are up to at this month’s IBC conference)

The U.S. may have CES and the NAB Show, but on the international stage the annual IBC conference has established itself as a must-attend event for those in the media, entertainment and technology space.

A record 55,000-plus attendees and 1,700-plus exhibitors attended IBC in 2016, and those marks should be surpassed during the 2017 installment, running Sept. 14-18 in Amsterdam.

More than 30 members of the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) will be sharing their products, services and technologies at IBC. Here’s a look at what some of them have planned for the show:

24i Media

24i Media will be showcasing its collection of turnkey OTT apps and solutions, including its SmartOTT white-label product and SmartOTT Backstage content management system, the SmartOperator front-end offering for TV operators, and SmartTemplate and SmartApp products.

”We’re very excited about the news and innovations we’ll share at IBC this year,” said 24i CEO Martijn Van Horssen. “We’ll demonstrate how our OTT TV app products optimize personalization, accelerate time to market, reduce cost and complexity of multiplatform delivery, and in turn simplify monetization across all devices and brands.”

24i Media will be located at booth 14.D30.

Amazon Web Services

In addition to sharing the latest innovations in cloud services (booth 5.C80) AWS Elemental is also responsible for the 4K 4Charity Fun Run, being held Sept. 16, with proceeds from the event going to two charities: Stichting NewTechKids and Heifer International.

Since its first iteration at IBC in 2014, the 4K 4Charity Fun Run has raised more than $450,000 for nonprofit organizations, drawing nearly 4,000 participants combined. AWS Elemental hosts the charity run in Las Vegas and Portland as well.

“IBC is where the 4K 4Charity Fun Run Series began and each year, the people and companies who participate make this event an incredibly fun and rewarding experience for all,” said Laura Barber of AWS Elemental and co-founder of the series. “As our industry recognizes the need—and seizes the opportunity — to expand its support for diversity and inclusion initiatives, we’re grateful for the generosity of IBC, our participants and sponsors who come together to support the important work of Heifer International and Stichting NewTechKids.”

Applicaster

Media apps provider Applicaster will be on hand to tout how its SaaS platform allows broadcasters and content owners to launch both complete app services and to integrate select functionalities into third party apps. The company can be found at IBC at booth 14.P17.

Aspera

IBM’s Aspera will be putting its hybrid multi-cloud SaaS offerings Aspera Files and Aspera Transfer Service, geared toward fast, secure collaboration between public and private clouds, with on-premises infrastructure, front and center at IBC, at booth G20. Experts and partners (including Fortium, NexGuard and others) will be on hand during the entire show to demo Aspera’s work in live streaming, multi-cloud SaaS solutions, and technology integrations.

Additionally, Aspera will hold a cocktail reception at its booth on Sept. 15 at 5 p.m.

Caringo

Storage solutions provider Caringo will show off the latest additions to its Swarm scale-out cloud and object storage system at IBC, including several new features for its Caringo Swarm offering. Caringo is also offering a free, full-featured 100 TB Swarm license to qualified M&E firms. Caringo will be at booth 6.B03.

Cisco

New partnerships and tech advancements are set to be announced by Cisco (booth 1.A71) on the eve of IBC, and the networking tech giant will also be hosting a media and client cocktail reception on Sept. 15, featuring the panel discussion “The Future of the Digital Ecosystem: A Curated Conversation at IBC with Cisco, Customers and Partners.”

Being held 5-7 p.m. at The First Floor Restaurant at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre, the panel will be moderated by MESA executive director Guy Finley, and features Conrad Clemson, Cisco SVP and GM of service provider platforms and applications; Dave Ward, CTO of engineering and chief architect for Cisco; Keith Jackson, CTO and SVP of engineering, operations and technical services for NBCUniversal; Roger Crothers, head of technology for BBC-Wales; Ralph Atlan, CTO of CANAL+ Edition; and Grass Valley president Marco Lopez. To register, visit bobgoldpr.com/Cisco2017IBC.

Deluxe

At booth 7.H30, Deluxe will share its latest end-to-end broadcast solutions, technology that helps simplify the complexities emerging from the changing windows, platforms and screens of today’s global content market. Cloud-based sales and marketing solutions and Deluxe’s scalable IP-based broadcast solutions will also be showcased.

Dolby

From its object-based sound tech Dolby Atmos to its high-dynamic range video offering Dolby Vision, Dolby will have plenty to show off at IBC (booth 2.A11). And Dolby goes into the show with unique standing: IBC will be awarding its highest accolade, the International Honor for Excellence, to Dolby, a nod to the company’s 50-plus years of advancements in the entertainment technology space.

“In our 50th anniversary year, this is a great opportunity to reflect on how far we have come since 1967, and how IBC continues to reflect the innovative, cutting edge of our industry,” said Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC. “Dolby’s great achievements in changing the soundtrack of all our lives, over 50 years, cannot be underestimated, and I am delighted that Dolby is the recipient of the IBC2017 International Honour for Excellence.”

The award will be received by Craig Todd, SVP and CTO of Dolby, Sept. 17.

FilmTrack

FilmTrack CEO and co-founder Jason Kassin will be on hand at IBC, sharing how his company’s integrated cloud-based rights management solution is helping hundreds of media and entertainment companies gain better insight into their avails reporting, and better-allowing them to make more out of their content.

Fortium

At IBC, media and entertainment digital content security solutions firm Fortium will show off its new encryption on-the-fly technology, MediaSeal LiveFolders, via a new partnership with SaaS solutions provider Signiant. LiveFolders functionality will be showcased as an enhanced security feature working with Signiant’s Media Shuttle, a software-as-a-service solution for sending and sharing large media files. The demo will be available at Signiant’s booth, 14.L08.

“LiveFolders is an essential component to total workflow security,” said Fortium CEO Mathew Gilliat-Smith. “It makes encryption fast, simple and routine. It avoids common human errors, such as sending a file to the wrong party, that can lead to costly security breaches.”

Margaret Craig, CEO at Signiant, added: “We’re working closely with customers to accommodate their desire for the Media Shuttle framework to support a broad range of workflows, and we are excited to be demonstrating Fortium’s security in Media Shuttle for situations where extreme content security is paramount.”

G-Technology

G-Technology’s storage solutions have long been geared toward the needs of creative professionals, and at this year’s IBC the company will show off the latest versions of its Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C storage solutions. The company will also demo its G-RACK 12 high-performance Media NAS, which is designed for the performance needs of post-production, broadcast and design teams. G-Technology will be located at booth 7.J31.

Globecast

Globecast will use IBC to launch a new integrated platform that enables customers to clip, edit and publish content instantly across multiple outlets, giving users the ability to create VOD files from live streams, and syndicate to other services and across social media outlets.

Globecast (booth 1.A29) will also promote its GCXN solution, which manages the transport of broadcast and media services online, and will announce its new Cloud Channel Playout solution for SD, HD and 4K channels.

GrayMeta

Media player and metadata solutions firm GrayMeta will use IBC to demo its GrayMeta Platform — which allows users to connect to all storage locations via one interface, and employs machine learning to enable search of everything associated with a digital media asset — as well as GrayMeta Iris — a media player, geared toward analyzing media usage and optimize workflows. GrayMeta will be at booth 8.C21.

HGST

Storage solutions company HGST will offer up the latest it has in the enterprise optimization software and hard disk and solid state drives space. Located at booth 7.F39, HGST will highlight the full breadth of customers relying on its solutions, covering creative professionals, Fortune 500 companies and everyday consumers.

IBM

At stand M16, IBM will be bringing a heavy focus on its AI-empowered Watson media solutions, a host of AI offerings that aim to not only offer advanced video insights, but also analyze unstructured video data, with the goal of finding new monetization opportunities, via improved content search and discovery, better viewer recommendations, and streamlined operations.

Irdeto

Digital platform security solutions firm Irdeto plans on showcasing its 360 Security suite at IBC, highlighting an offering that promises comprehensive security across the content value chain, for studios, sports rights holders, and OTT and broadcast operators. Irdeto will be located at booth 1.D51.