How long have you been going to ISE?
I think my first year was 2006 or 2007 when I was heavily involved in the digital signage business as a new venture within Harris Broadcast. The show was pretty new, in its third year, and there was a lot of excitement around the growing pro AV sector as it began to bring together technologies form professional and corporate applications Europe wide. Pro AV was itself a fairly new term and many of us were excited at the idea of a layer of technology that sat between professional and consumer that was being brought together as a collective. Prior to pro AV I remember the awful word “prosumer”!
What’s your typical ISE routine: what are you there to see/learn, who are you there to meet?
As chair of the AV Broadcast Summit, which focuses on the technologies that enable brands and corporates to become their own broadcasters, I am usually single-minded for the first day or two until the conference sessions are successfully completed.
My job is to deliver an exciting range of speakers who will inspire the audience about the latest technologies and most exciting case studies in the field of AV broadcast.
On the show floor I’m keen to see the latest developments in AV broadcast especially from the now very large number of traditional television broadcast vendors who are eager to present new and tailored products and services to this market. AV broadcast is very different from television broadcast. In some ways it’s catching up with its older traditional media partner and in other ways it’s leapfrogging ahead. It’s those differences that interest me.
Streaming is one such example. The last few years have seen a huge upswing in the ability for any organisation to create and move their video content around the globe within the cloud. faster, better and easier access to cloud production and delivery is the leading edge of why brands and corporates are seeing a direct ROI in their investment in content creation. In my new role as CEO of M2A Media, which specialises in orchestrating and automating live media delivery via the cloud for hundreds of pop-up channels I’m looking forward meeting new customers at ISE.
Why is ISE important to you in a professional capacity, and how does the show compare to others on the calendar?
ISE has such a wide variety of technologies that span many market verticals. An important element of the show is seeing how a technology you need for one segment is being used in another. For example, I met an industry colleague from the television broadcast side a couple of years ago who, when visiting ISE for the first time, said “…and I thought we knew how to do control rooms”! They went away inspired by a completely different use of display technology, surface layouts, interfaces and user ergonomics.
ISE is also about networking, as is every in-person event, and I love meeting new people and connecting with their business needs. Barcelona in February provides a great backdrop with its warmth for the time of year and the city itself being a great place to continue meeting and networking into the evening.
How do you view the ongoing convergence between AV and broadcast, and what will you be looking out for at the show?
I distinguish this by not shortening either phrase. There’s AV broadcast and there’s television broadcast. The convergence is continuing across technologies, production facilities and customers. The more agile and innovative television broadcasters are coming to ISE for both inspiration from other markets as well as meeting vendors they wouldn’t usually see.
While the more adaptive television broadcast vendors are exhibiting at ISE to find new customers who want to use the best products and services to create exciting content for their brands.
In the reverse there is a fast growing number of pro AV vendors who are eager to also serve this growing appetite to create and deliver video content directly to their end consumers.
The ongoing convergence is providing a healthy tug-of-war between the cost efficiencies desired versus quality needed. With many of the major television broadcast manufacturers now exhibiting the ISE visitors who want to create and deliver their own content to the highest quality will now be spoilt for choice.
What’s your top tip for anyone attending ISE for the first time?
Prepare well and prepare well in advance. It’s easy to say and hard to do. If you’re spending money and taking the time to travel to Barcelona to walk the show floors then make it count.
Do your homework with the show floor guides. The ISE organisers have put a lot of thought into how each hall is laid out and there is good logic to it. In every hall you will find showcases that bring the technologies together for specific applications.
These are great places to visit and learn. Plan who you’re going to visit, schedule it in advance for best efficiency – most manufacturers will be delighted to welcome you with an allocated time slot – make sure your journey times are sensible between meetings, use the high speed escalator on the upper level to transport yourself very fast between distant halls and wear comfy shoes.
Oh one last thing – food & drink; enjoy the tapas and visit the city’s Irish bars, they’re great!
