BVE and the Year Ahead

Kieron Seth#

Author: Kieron Seth#

Published 1st April 2011

In the IABM's market survey a year ago, the Director General, Peter White, forecast: “Although the worst appears to be over and a degree of optimism is discernible, 2010 is still shaping up to be a fairly lacklustre year. As we exit the year, however, we do expect to see better signs of market improvement with a more promising 2011 and 2012.” How prescient. Packed aisles at February's Broadcast Video Expo seemed to show all the signs of a real upturn in the industry.

But how good was BVE for the exhibitors and what does this mean for NAB, IBC and the year ahead for the industry?

The feedback from the show floor reveals something strange: a consensus: a great show in February, a precursor of a big year ahead.

The biggest stand on the show floor is Holdan's. With more than a decade of exhibiting under their belt, this distribution company found the show once again justified its investment. Allan Leonhardsen commented:

"For Holdan this is a large undertaking, not just in terms of the cost but also in the planning, designing and preparation required. We showed many products on the stand as well as demonstrating 3D, tapeless HD, asset management workflow solutions. All the effort was definitely worth it. BVE allowed us to meet literally thousands of video and TV professionals and surpass our objectives. BVE 2011 was outstanding."

The Holdan stand was full of new products including the Panasonic 101, the Sonnet Qio, Datavideo's SE-3000, new teleprompters and new solid state recorders. And they weren't alone, with Sony's F3 enjoying its first showing, Avid's Media Composer and Symphony 5.5 making important strides and JVC's new 3D projectors arriving in time for the show.

During the last two years with the market slow, manufacturers seem to have held back on releasing new products. Now as the industry starts to pick up, the work put in by R&D departments is finally seeing the light of day. This bodes well for an exciting NAB and IBC; at BVE all the manufacturers were starting to hint of some very major announcements being less than 2 months away.

As all the camera manufacturers have started the year by releasing new cameras, grip suppliers are gearing up for success with new accessories that suit the latest generation of lightweight, flexible models. As NAB is expected to see some even bigger camcorder launches, the lighting and support manufacturers are readying their new products, in anticipation of the waves of excitement that will emanate from Las Vegas this year.

Nick Allen-Miles, MD of Ianiro UK, has exhibited at UK pro video exhibitions for well over 15 years, making him one of the most experienced stand holders. "In different guises I've demonstrated lights, tripods and bags at virtually every TV exhibition, as well as a fair number of photography shows. As a company, Ianiro is no stranger to European, American and Far Eastern shows. This year's BVE capped them all. After so many years, going to shows becomes an automatic process so it's great when an exhibition takes you by surprise. This may be the year when every show is a cracker."

At the delivery end of the spectrum, Sharpstream were first-timers at the show. "We took a gamble: was the show ready to embrace a pure streaming specialist? Simple answer: yes. We were delighted by the interest all round, whether from independent TV, video companies or corporate production. We're very excited about the new business we've generated." Stated MD, Alan Brown.

Sharpstream's presentation in the seminar theatre confirmed that the show has come of age for video delivery. "Seventy delegates told the story in itself - far above our expectations." Concluded Brown.

The streaming revolution has been driven by both the consumer generated YouTube and the main broadcasters with the iPlayer and the Sky player. The fact that independent TV and corporate producers are now adopting streaming media as a core activity means that the industry is changed for ever. Expect to see encoding, repurposing and delivery as central themes of NAB and IBC.

There was evidence all round BVE 2011 that the industry is back on its feet after taking a battering in the recession. Indeed, IABM's latest report indicates that businesses "feel generally optimistic about the months ahead, with 46% [of respondents] stating that market conditions will significantly improve by spring." With the business climate improving, so many new products scheduled to hit the market in Vegas and Amsterdam and streaming finally making a telling impact on the whole sector, this may be the year when skipping a trade show is not something to take lightly.

Related Listings

Related Articles

Related News

© KitPlus (tv-bay limited). All trademarks recognised. Reproduction of this content is strictly prohibited without written consent.