Futures Park
April 8, 2019 - April 11, 2019
Futures Park is a special section of the NAB Show convention floor in Las Vegas that is reserved for presentation of media-related research and development projects from around the world.
We only accept R&D projects that have not yet made their way to commercial availability. Our exhibitors represent the edge-of-the-art media technologies. They are selected by PILOT from governmental, academic and commercial media research facilities for their relevance and interest to broadcasters.
The following exhibitors are scheduled to appear in the 2019 Futures Park:
Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA)
AMWA is an open, community-driven forum, focused on the creation of innovative, business-driven specifications and on technologies for networked media workflows, with 90 member organizations worldwide. Networked Media developments in support of the industry to move to IP-based systems are presented. A range of demonstrations and presentations explain the business and operational benefits of emerging technologies to a wide range of industry stakeholders. This will include future solutions involving cloud-based services and storage plus the adoption of off-the-shelf IT technology. (USA)
AWARN Alliance
The AWARN Alliance, a coalition of commercial and public broadcasters, the National Association of Broadcasters, the Consumer Technology Association, LG Electronics, and global technology companies, is helping guide the development of advanced emergency messaging using ATSC 3.0. AWARN’s demonstration uses low-power SFNs in the LVCC North Hall to provide over-the-air alerts to Next Gen TVs. The demo will converge HTML5-based UX content with the OTA broadcast chain to provide alert versions for televisions rendering both receiver applications and broadcaster applications. (USA)
DiBEG
Digital Broadcasting Experts Group (DiBEG) includes 17 Japanese broadcasters, manufacturers and related entities providing worldwide promotion for ISDB-T, the Japanese digital terrestrial broadcasting system. One function of ISDB-T is the Emergency Warning Broadcast System (EWBS). DiBEG promotes the exchange of technical information and international cooperation facilitating EWBS. With support from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, some DiBEG members have developed “EWBS Superimpose Dissemination System” for ISDB-T countries, which is currently in field verification, and is shown here. (Japan)
Eurofins Digital Testing
Eurofins is an international group of laboratories, providing testing and support services to numerous industries and governments. At this demonstration, a selection of ATSC 3 conformance test material is presented. This can be seen as an enabler for broadcasters to get working ATSC 3 broadcasts and decoders in the market. The demonstration includes a typical test harness to be used when executing the test material on a decoder. (UK)
IRIB R&D
IRIB R&D develops innovative new products and technologies in broadcast/broadband industry that will shape tomorrow. Recent developments have focused on deep learning and AI, novel audio and video processing projects as well as intelligent OTT services. Demonstrations here include metadata insertion into/extraction from compressed video, an integrated analytic and graphical system for soccer matches, a playout system for HbbTV/MHP application developers and designers, a deep learning-based news dashboard and smart correction of EPG data. (Iran)
Korea UHD on Air
Korea UHD on Air is an exhibit showing next-generation broadcasting updates in South Korea, where 4K UHD content has been broadcast terrestrially using ATSC 3.0 since 2018. It highlights service scenarios of 4K UHD broadcasting technologies developed by Korean broadcasters, equipment vendors and wireless telecommunications operators. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) presents more service scenarios from its research and development, including an ATSC 3.0 Channel Bonding System, ATSC 3.0 Broadband/Broadcast Platform, and other projects. (Korea)
Live CGI
Live CGI captures and streams live computer-generated images. Its demos can be seen at LiveCGI.com. The primary demonstration here features a person in a sensor suit streaming into a live virtual newsroom, all generated on a single laptop computer. The company has patent-pending technology to simulcast Live CGI content to virtual reality, augmented reality, television, mobile and PC devices, all with ultra-low latency. The company’s iPad application is the first of its kind. (USA)
Marconi Project
The MARCONI Project, an EU-funded consortium (represented in Futures Park by consortium member Pluxbox), aims to bring radio experiences to the next level by enabling fully interactive and personalized radio solutions, integrating broadcast radio with digital and social media. To realize this goal, MARCONI pursues two objectives: First, consumers will be able to interact with live radio through their preferred communication channel in various ways. Second, radio-makers will be given an integrated view on audience interactions and will be supported by interaction automation services. (Netherlands)
NHK
Japan’s public-service broadcasting organization NHK presents several demonstrations related to its recently launched 8K domestic satellite television service. These include an overview of the 8K satellite broadcasting system, an 88-inch OLED 8K display in a living room environment, a 120 frames-per-second (fps) 8K codec, and a next-generation terrestrial broadcasting system. NHK will also show two future-broadcasting related demonstrations: A glasses-free 3D TV system, and an object-based audio system. (Japan)
OpenZNet
OpenZNet has created the first ATSC 3.0 reference software, bringing ATSC 3.0 closer to reality for the broadcasters and advertisers. In this demo, the company will be demonstrating capabilities of the ATSC 3.0 interactive application environment on the NAB PILOT Gateway, including targeted and local advertisements, product placements, program-based interactivity, social media, games, weather and other interactive broadcaster applications. OpenZNet will also demonstrate a broadcaster’s application framework, enabling broadcasters and advertisers to provide features such as messaging, notification and personalization. (USA)
PILOT
PILOT, NAB’s innovation engine, showcases various demonstrations of several current projects. Those projects include ATSC 3.0 content swapping, next-gen TV interfaces, connected radio applications, and all-digital AM environments. PILOT is also featuring the six winners from the latest Innovation Challenge. (USA)
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
RIT showcases its Motion Picture Science program and presents research conducted by students and faculty in support of film and media technology. RIT continues to contribute fundamental knowledge on imaging science, color science, image processing, and emerging hardware and software solutions for content creation and distribution. Several RIT MPS students and faculty have been recognized for research contributions by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, and much of this work will also be shown here. (USA)
Sharif University of Technology
Sharif University of Technology, founded in 1966, is one of the largest engineering schools in Iran. Considered as the country’s most prestigious higher education institution in technical disciplines, the university has established great links with industry. Focusing on cutting-edge research, the signal processing group at Sharif has developed state-of-the-art techniques for video quality assessment (VQA). In particular, with the deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, the group has developed a multi-purpose software for evaluating the quality of video content. (Iran)
Ultra HD Forum
The Forum presents a new version of its acclaimed industry guidelines for the first time, with demonstration platforms that represent Broadcast, IPTV and OTT built using UHD “foundation” layers (previously UHDF’s “Phase A”) of 2160p and 1080p resolution, HDR10 (PQ10) and HLG10, channel-based NGA, and standard frame rates, coupled with “enhancement” layer technologies (previously “Phase B”) such as Dynamic Metadata, Object-based NGA, and High Frame Rate, delivering singular services with graceful enhancement and backwards compatibility. (USA)