The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), dealing in motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, media, entertainment and technology industries, announced that it is partnering with Insight Media, a display-oriented market research and publishing company, to produce the business track within the SMPTE Symposium, which is titled “Next-Gen Image Formats: More, Better, or Faster Pixels?”
The one-day SMPTE Symposium will be held Oct. 21 at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood, Calif., in conjunction with the SMPTE 2013 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition. The symposium will feature separate technical and business tracks, as well as a 4K/UHD display demonstration area that gives visitors a unique opportunity to view the same content on side-by-side 4K/UHD displays and to compare the quality of different manufacturers’ scaling/up-conversion engines.
During the technical track, led by program chair Skip Pizzi, director of digital strategies for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), industry experts will address topics such as higher frame rates, wider color gamut, increased dynamic range, and 4K (UHD-1) and 8K (UHD-2) resolutions. Offering a clear picture of the current technology landscape, the symposium will be valuable to anyone responsible for delivering high-quality imaging in broadcast, Internet, cinema and broadband applications.
“The business track and the new 4K/UHD demonstration area bring a new business dimension to our already strong technical focus at the SMPTE Symposium,” SMPTE executive director Barbara Lange said. “A very timely addition to our education efforts, the business track will provide valuable insight into the challenges and opportunities offered by ultra-high definition formats and services.”
The business track will be led by Chris Chinnock, president and founder of Insight Media, who will focus on the business, investment, and ROI issues associated with broader adoption of 4K/UHD equipment and content in consumer and professional markets. Serving as a complement to the technical track, this parallel event will aid senior business executives, decision makers, product planners and investors in understanding the complex issues involving the roll out of 4K. A series of panel discussions will examine fundamental questions around the timing, positioning and monetization of investments in the 4K/UHD ecosystem.
“The 4K/UHD market is coming, but there are many technical, business, and value issues that remain to be addressed,” Chinnock said. “This event is designed to address all of these issues with a well-crafted mix of presentations, panel discussions and demos.”
A 4K/UHD demonstration area will showcase image processing and scaling engines and their ability to produce 4K/UHD content from lower-resolution sources. By highlighting the exceptional quality of these images, especially when compared with their native 4K/UHD versions, the demonstration will illustrate that content need not be a hurdle to adoption of 4K/UHD.
Industry experts are invited to submit opinions on the key business, investment and monetization issues, as well as their perspectives on how to address challenges and take advantage of opportunities. These ideas will be synthesized to create a series of moderator-led panels for the SMPTE Symposium business track. Those interested may submit proposals to Chinnock by email at [email protected].
