2016 is off to a fast start, with the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas concluding last Saturday, January 9th. The show continues to broaden from strictly “consumer electronics” into a very broad consumer technology showcase, as one of the main areas of focus this year was on automotive technology and autonomous (self-driving) vehicles. Venturing into the North Hall, one might think they’re actually at a car show rather than the largest global trade show for consumer technology, and the car makers are taking notice, with greater participation each year.
For ATEME, however, our focus continues to be in the video space as we continue our global leadership in the development of video encoding and transcoding solutions for studios, programmers and service providers. CES provides some good insight into what is driving consumer demand and how we can answer that demand with high-quality and competitive solutions.
In the Central Hall, the usual leaders in television displays (LG Electronics, Samsung and Sony) continued to show their latest offerings that support the latest in high-dynamic range (HDR) and wide color gamut support. LG’s OLED displays continue to evolve, Samsung showcased their latest SUHD displays, and Sony gave a sneak peek at their new Backlight Master Drive technology, which provided a look at amazing blacks and very broad dynamic range, with a peak brightness level of over 4,000 nits. HDR and wide color gamut support by these and other manufacturers will allow consumers to experience content in a way never before seen in the home, and ATEME is proud to have been at the forefront in developing tools in our TITAN File transcoding software to make this all possible.
ATEME was also proud to participate in a demonstration of the proposed ATSC 3.0 standard with Sinclair Broadcast Group, which involved the transmission of high-dynamic range 4KTV over the air to a prototype reception device developed by Sinclair subsidiary ONE Media, and Technicolor. CES provides a jumping-off point for those of us in the broadcast technology industry to see where consumer electronics are heading so we can continue to innovate and develop solutions to support the development of content and networks that will leverage that technology.
Beyond self-driving cars, wearable technology and drones, CES 2016 provides a look at the technologies we all use today, both at work and at home. Happy 2016!
Tim Jackson VP Media and Distribution Platform Sales