BVE: The first BVE from its new home at ExCel London offers more exhibitors, more visitors and an even more packed schedule of seminars than ever before. David Davies looks at what to expect from this year’s event.

After many years at London’s Earls Court, Broadcast Video Expo (BVE) has a new home at the ExCeL exhibition centre in east London.

Although the objective of providing a venue for the exhibition and discussion of the latest content-creation technology remains, the effect of the relocation will be significant. Show organisers say it will provide “more content”, with two extra theatres and space for the Future of Media Summit.

There will also be better infrastructure for visitors and exhibitors, with more restaurants and entertainment venues within easy reach, and the nearby London City Airport making it easier for overseas visitors to attend.

Total floorspace is up by 714 sq m to 13,714 sq m, while the number of exhibitors and brands stands at 350 - an increase of 40 from 2012. The overall number of visitors is also expected to rise, from 15,837 to 16,500.

Adobe is one of many companies planning to showcase cloud-related developments at BVE. For a monthly fee, members of Adobe’s Creative Cloud service can access its entire collection of CS6 tools, with the benefit of new updates as soon as they are released.

Other developments on the Adobe stand include the Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 software video-editing suite, which delivers new features such as Warp Stabiliser to stabilise footage from bumpy cameras and remove jitter, and techniques to trim clips directly in the timeline.

Demonstrations of Avid Interplay Sphere - a remote-editing solution designed to allow broadcasters and post houses to use the latest cloud technologies - will be among Avid’s BVE priorities. In addition, the company’s stand will host demonstrations of Avid Motion Graphics (AMG), Avid Media Composer 6.5 and Avid Pro Tools HDX, while Avid Interplay Central will be showcased in a newsroom workflow environment.

Autocue will host two live broadcast technology shows powered by the Autocue Production Suite.

In addition to its established end-to-end prompting, newsroom, automation, media management and video-server workflow, the suite is intended to replace conventional studio devices such as vision and audio mixers, video players, picture-in-picture inserters, caption generators, still stores, chromakeyers, routers, output switchers and recorders.

Dalet Digital Media Systems will showcase new packaged configurations for its Brio playback and digitisation servers. The new Dalet Brio packages include the IT-based Breo server preconfigured with a specific number of inputs and outputs (2:2 or 4:4), along with embedded applications that allow the video servers to be used in standalone for sport and OB vans (ingest, instant replay and slow-mo, highlight creation and logging), news (feed ingest, newsgathering and contribution) and studios (multi-cam recording and instant replay).

The Dalet Brio servers can also be controlled by automation systems Etere or Harris via video disk control protocol (VDCP). Integrated servers EVS will highlight the fact that its high-speed production servers and Adobe’s Premiere Pro CS6 software video-editing suites are now fully integrated, allowing users to exchange media recorded on EVS servers and send Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 edits back for instant playout.

EVS will also discuss its Enriched Live Production concept and highlight the release of IP Director Suite 6 and its IP Web Browse module, enabling users to access, view and collaborate with live content from any local or remotely connected location.

In its first major outing since its formal merger with T-Vips, Nevion will pinpoint new developments in its integrated solutions for managed media services over IP, optical and terrestrial networks, among them: a complete range of compression solutions for professional video transport applications, such as H.264/ MPEG-4 AVCi, MPEG-2 and JPEG 2000; digital terrestrial solutions for DVB-T/T2 networks, including reliable IP transport solutions, monitoring and switching devices, and advanced management software; and low-latency audio over IP solutions for radio contribution and distribution networks.

4K revolution

4K will be another of the show’s key themes, with Sony further cementing its role in this particular technology by offering the first UK public showing of the full F-series large-sensor camera line-up, comprising the PMWF3, NEX-FS700, PMW-F5, PMW-F55 and F65 digital cameras. As well as pinpointing the technology’s future in ultra-high-definition TV and cinematography, Sony will highlight the potential of 4K picture-stitching to give sports broadcasters the ability to build a complete production remotely using full-HD cutaways of ultra-HD content.

The AG-HPX250, which will be put through its paces by explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes on his 2,000-mile trek across the Antarctic, will be on display at the Panasonic stand. Of the dozen or so Panasonic cameras on display, BVE will be the setting for the fi rst UK showing of the AK-HC3800 studio camera, which features a 2/3- type 2.2-megapixel 3CCD. The AW-RP120 remote camera controller will also have its first UK outing at the show. Monitors on display include the new BT-LH2170 and the TH-42BT300ER.

A packed schedule

The relocation from Earls Court to ExCeL coincides with a further expansion in the BVE seminar schedule, with the new Cinematography & Live Production and Connected @ BVE theatres joining the existing conference spaces.

“We are looking forward to show casing the latest innovation, products and expertise to our visitors, and ultimately helping them produce outstanding content,” says event director Anita Pal of a programme that includes more than 220 hours of sessions with 300 experts.

Geared towards art directors, cameramen, lighting operators and other technicians, the Cinematography & Live Production Theatre will feature presentations from freelance DoP Jonathan Harrison, Grass Valley director of product marketing, imaging, Klaus Weber, Arri LED lighting product manager Ryan Fletcher, and Arri director of business group development Milan Krsljanin.

Connected @ BVE will focus on what broadcasters and content owners need to understand about delivering and monetising content across multiple platforms and devices.

Broadcast Meets IT will host sessions including BBC Worldwide head of digital asset management Rod Carter on the meaning and potential of media asset management, and a panel session exploring the balance between journalistic/creative demands and broadcast technology, with input from BBC journalism technology controller Peter Coles, Sky News picture editor Audrey Heaton and Deluxe Media Technologies managing director Joe Trainor.

The Post Production Theatre will offer presentations from Framestore chief tech officer Steve MacPherson, Maverick TV head of post-production and facilities Donna Mulvey-Jones, Evolutions TV workflow specialist Chris Greybe and BBC S&PP editor Nial Brown.