Traveling from Austin to Aachen to Amsterdam for the IBC 2022 Show exposed to me how irrevocably the world has changed—from the way we travel to how we engage at trade shows and why we interact with technology. There is an insatiable hunger for experience and interaction, and people are ready to jump off the sidelines and be immersed into life and content in tangible ways.
At IBC, technology companies of all sizes and types covered 15 halls of the RAI. Many seemed to be planning not just the immediate future, but for the long-range capabilities needed to keep advancing the world of broadcast, media and entertainment. This was true as well in the MainConcept booth, where we ran a live demonstration of the VVC encoder. As my SVP Deacon Johnson explained in The Codec Marathon: How the Past is Influencing the Future presentation, codecs are slow to be adopted, but once they take hold tend to have extremely long lifecycles. When we chose to feature our new VVC encoder, it was with this in mind. We know the importance of perfecting our VVC technology and the need for advanced features like multi-layer encoding. You can apply now to be part of our VVC Beta Program and be among the first to test it out!
With over 1000 vendors in the exhibit halls, many of our partners and customers including Avid, Adobe, Fraunhofer, and Telestream were there. Chris Chinook, Executive Director of the 8K Association stopped by to look at our demos (watch the video). At the Bubble House, our executives spoke with press and analysts from around the world about MainConcept and our performance breakthroughs streaming multi-layer output with our VVC Encoder as well as 8K live in the cloud. Thomas Kramer, VP Strategy & Business Development, and Geoff Gordon, VP Marketing, were interviewed by IABM TV. Watch the interview video as they discuss MainConcept, where 8K is today and what is needed to advance to the next level. In addition, Thomas and Geoff provide an update on where VVC is today and what applications are ideal for it, as well as what MainConcept is doing to advance these and other technologies and industry standards. In our booth, we were visited by many customers, partners and conference attendees from around the world. We even found the chance to catch up with former colleagues and long-lost friends. It was an industry reunion sure to be remembered by all who attended.
As if the days were not full enough, the evenings resounded with conversation and laughter at lively gatherings in interesting restaurants around Amsterdam. A foodie’s paradise, Amsterdam is home to all types of cuisine. There are bicycle lanes all over the city, and the bicyclists have the right of way for a change! Whether you are in a car or on foot, you must keep a sharp eye out for those on two (and sometimes three) wheels.
By the end of the event, everyone seemed to be showing signs of fatigue. Dealing with extra-long waits in the security lines at the airport was daunting for even the most experienced of travelers, and I’m sure all the attendees were happy when they got home. But is it over? I don’t think so. As Geoff Gordon said in his blog post after NAB 2022, “Being in the same room counts.” From productive networking and impromptu discussions to team building and happy hours, the power of face-to-face human connection cannot be denied.
If you missed us at IBC, look for us at Inter BEE this November or plan to meet with us virtually soon. And, of course, we have already booked our booth in Hall 7 for IBC 2023 and will see you back in Amsterdam next year!