NAB

If a Broadcast Tower Is Tall Enough, Is It In the Cloud?

This week, the people of broadcast television make their way to Las Vegas, for the annual gathering of the National Association of Broadcasters.

For broadcasters in particular, it’s a weird time to be in television. The word itself — television — is equal parts strongly nostalgic, and tele-vestigial. Say “television” to a millennial, you’re a relic. Say it to any of us who grew up with that one screen as the central viewing device, it’s home.

The identity crisis facing traditional television is evident even in the show’s tagline this year: “Where Content Comes to Life.”

We took a quick poll of our favorite go-to, broadcast-side technologists over the last few weeks, to find out what’s on their shopping lists for this year’s show. Not surprisingly, 4K video, and its consumer-facing brand, UltraHD, will be the main event — but not all technologists are convinced it’s a go.

“I want to see if live TV production gear, like big production switchers, has made any progress — we’re building a big new production facility, but so far it’s only being outfitted for HD,” said one network-side technologist.

Refresher: UltraHD and 4K video is the next big thing coming from the consumer electronics side of the television eco-system — but the rest of that eco-system is still catching up. From the HDMI connectors into 4KTVs, to the physical media (Blu-Ray is arguably still “not big enough” to hold 4K video), to the bandwidth requirements, to the cameras, and whatever else we’re missing, there’s work to be done.

But! The challenges facing the rollout of 4K are nearly identical to those facing HD, when it first hit the market. And if the NAB show floor is any indication, and to use a medical analogy — there are plenty of white blood cells flooding all the problem areas, seeking to make each juncture healthy and well.

And then there’s the other stuff that typically lines the floor of a convention for broadcast engineers.

Or not.

“Betcha I don’t see any transmitters or towers,” said another, who wondered when the “B” in “NAB” switches from “Broadcasters” to “Broadband.”

And, like everywhere else, “cloud” and the transition to Internet Protocol everything, from image capture to production to post-production to screen,” will crowd the exhibit hall. “It will be interesting to see how many possible functions can be stuffed into the cloud, or say that they can,” noted a content-side technologist.

Added another: “Wait a minute: If a broadcast tower is high enough, does that count as being in the cloud?”

Ah, the existential engineers in our tele-vestigial worlds. What would we do without them?

 

This column originally appeared in the Platforms section of Multichannel News.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You Have Eight Years to Move the Bookcase

By now, you’ve probably heard the long list of reasons why UltraHD television is hobbled, even as it dazzles its way to the starting line. Some already liken it to 3DTV, in terms of non-starters.

This week’s translation examines why it’s a bad idea to dismiss UltraHDTV so soon.  Why? Because we’ve seen this movie before. Think back to when HDTV began. Very similar obstacles.

Let’s start with price. Right now, buying a 4K television means finding $20,000 in spare change. But! Ten years ago, the MSRP for a 40-inch HDTV was $30,000. The one constant in consumer electronics is the race to low prices.

And then there’s the matter of an UltraHD signal being too big to move over the digital HDMI cables that connect peripherals (BluRay players, set-tops) to HDTVs today.

Ahem. HDMI cables started lightening our wallets, $50 at a time, when HDTV began.

Speaking of Blu-Ray players: The concern is real that UltraHD will outstrip the technical capabilities of optical disc technology — which would create a need for another form of packaged media.

This one should seem doubly familiar, because of what happens next: Format wars. VHS vs. beta, in the olden days; HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray, in the most recent chapter.

Then there’s the distribution riddle: How to move an UltraHD signal that’s four times as big as a “regular HD” signal, through wired and wireless networks that are already seriously space-challenged.

Remember? HDTV contains 6X the picture information of standard definition digital TV. Bandwidth concerns were (and still are) real. Ten years ago, cable engineers debated whether they’d ever be able to carry 25 HD channels. Better compression and bandwidth management are your best friends (forever!) on that one.

For content creators, UltraHD cameras don’t yet exist that can be deployed at scale. Ditto for editing suite components.

If the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show is any indicator, the vendor marketplace for UltraHD cameras, production gear, and editing suite paraphernalia will catch up.  It just will. It’s a huge business.

So, don’t dismiss UltraHD just yet. Its barriers are not unique, and will very likely resolve themselves.

No, if there’s one thing that will block the success of UltraHD, it’s wall space.  One only notices the gorgeousness of UltraHD displays when they’re huge – 85 inches and up. At the 2013 International CES, for instance, two displays — one “regular” HD, one UltraHD — were shown on side-by-side 55” screens. The picture quality difference was difficult to discern.

This means we have about eight years to figure out where to move the bookcase, to free up a wall for that much better — and much, much bigger – UltraHD TV.

This column originally appeared in the Platforms section of Multichannel News.