HITS

LAS VEGAS — MESA members were out in force to kick off the 2024 NAB Show. Here’s what several announced to start things off.

Adobe

Adobe previewed breakthrough generative AI innovations within Adobe Premiere Pro that will reimagine video creation and production workflows, delivering new creative possibilities that every pro editor needs to keep up with the high-speed pace of video production.

New generative AI tools coming to Premiere Pro this year enable users to streamline editing all videos, including adding or removing objects in a scene or extending an existing clip. These new editing workflows will be powered by a new video model that will join the family of Firefly models including Image, Vector, Design and Text Effects.

Adobe is continuing to develop Firefly AI models in the categories where it has deep domain expertise, such as imaging, video, audio, and 3D and will deeply integrate these models across Creative Cloud and Adobe Express.

Adobe also previewed its vision for bringing third-party generative AI models directly into Adobe applications like Premiere Pro. Creative Cloud has always had a rich partner and plugin ecosystem, and this evolution expands Premiere Pro as the most flexible, extensible professional video tool that fits any workflow. Adobe customers want choice and endless possibilities as they create and edit the next generation of entertainment and media.

Early explorations show how professional video editors could, in the future, leverage video generation models from OpenAI and Runway, integrated in Premiere Pro, to generate B-roll to edit into their project. It also shows how Pika Labs could be used with the Generative Extend tool to add a few seconds to the end of a shot.

By delivering new generative AI capabilities powered by Adobe Firefly and a variety of third-party models, Adobe is giving customers access to a range of new capabilities without having to leave the workflows they use every day in Premiere Pro.

“Adobe is reimagining every step of video creation and production workflow to give creators new power and flexibility to realize their vision,” said Ashley Still, SVP of Adobe’s Creative Product Group. “By bringing generative AI innovations deep into core Premiere Pro workflows, we are solving real pain points that video editors experience every day, while giving them more space to focus on their craft.”

Adobe also announced upcoming general availability of AI-powered audio workflows in Premiere Pro, including new fade handles, clip badges, dynamic waveforms, AI-based category tagging and more.

Adobe showcased a technology preview of generative AI workflows coming to Premiere Pro later this year, powered by a new video model for Firefly. In addition, an early “sneak” shows how professional editors might leverage video generation models from Open AI and Runway in the future to generate B-roll, or how they might use Pika Labs with the Generative Extend tool to add a few seconds to the end of a shot.

Generative Extend: Seamlessly add frames to make clips longer, so it’s easier to perfectly time edits and add smooth transitions. This breakthrough technology solves a common problem professional editors run into every day, allowing them to create extra media for fine-tuning edits, to hold on a shot for an extra beat or to better cover a transition.

Object Addition & Removal: Simply select and track objects, then replace them. Remove unwanted items, change an actor’s wardrobe or quickly add set dressings such as a painting or photorealistic flowers on a desk.

Text to Video: Generate entirely new footage directly within Premiere Pro. Simply type text into a prompt or upload reference images. These clips can be used to ideate and create storyboards, or to create B-roll for augmenting live action footage.

While much of the early conversation about generative AI has focused on a competition among companies to produce the “best” AI model, Adobe sees a future in which thousands of specialized models emerge, each strong in their own niche. Adobe’s decades of experience with AI shows that AI-generated content is most useful when it’s a natural part of what you do every day. For most Adobe customers, generative AI is just a starting point and source of inspiration to explore creative directions.

Adobe aims to provide industry-standard tools and seamless workflows that let users use any materials from any sources across any platform to create at the speed of their imaginations. Whether that means Adobe Firefly or other specialized AI models, Adobe is working to make the integration process as seamless as possible from within Adobe applications.

Adobe has developed its own AI models with a commitment to responsible innovation and plans to apply what it’s learned to ensure that the integration of third-party models within its applications is consistent with the company’s safety standards. As one of the founders of the Content Authenticity Initiative, Adobe pledges to attach Content Credentials – free, open-source technology that serves as a nutrition label for online content – to assets produced within its applications so users can see how content was made and what AI models were used to generate the content created on Adobe platforms.

In addition to Adobe’s new generative AI video tools, new audio workflows in Premiere Pro will be generally available to customers in May, giving editors everything they need to precisely control and improve the quality of their sound.

The latest features include:

–Interactive fade handles: Editors can create custom audio transitions faster than ever by simply dragging clip handles to create audio fades.

–New Essential Sound badge with audio category tagging: AI automatically tags audio clips as dialogue, music, sound effects or ambience, and adds a new icon so editors get one-click, instant access to the right controls for the job.

–Effect badges: New visual indicators make it easy to see which clips have effects, quickly add new ones, and automatically open effect parameters right from the sequence.

–Redesigned waveforms in the timeline: Waveforms intelligently resize as the track height changes on clips, while gorgeous new colors make sequences easier to read.

In addition, the AI-powered Enhance Speech tool – which instantly removes unwanted noise and improves poorly recorded dialogue – has been generally available since February.

Technicolor

Advanced HDR by Technicolor — a suite of high dynamic range (HDR) production, distribution and display solutions that leverage machine learning to maximize the image quality of any HDR format — offers sustainability features that contribute to energy consumption savings and more efficient use of infrastructure, according to Valérie Allie, InterDigital’s Video Solutions Group Director. Advanced HDR by Technicolor is a collaboration between Philips, InterDigital and Technicolor.

“The team has focused on integrating innovations that enhance viewing experiences while employing cost-effective technologies to diminish the carbon footprint of both HDR and SDR,” Allie said.

Display adaptation

Reducing energy consumption, according to Allie, at the device level is critical to achieving energy savings. “This is because the vast majority of video ecosystem energy consumption occurs when consumers view content on their devices,” she explains.

To address this fact, Advanced HDR by Technicolor offers display adaptation technology that ensures the delivery of premium HDR content tailored to the capabilities of receiving devices, regardless of whether they are TVs, mobile devices, or tablets.

“Advanced HDR by Technicolor’s dynamic metadata feature allows for the adaptation of peak luminance levels, reducing power and energy consumption without sacrificing the viewing experience,” Allie said.

Single stream distribution of SDR and HDR

Innovations in dynamic metadata explain another significant contribution to the industry’s sustainability objectives. The adoption of Single Layer HDR (SL-HDR) — a dynamic and tunable real-time tool that generates and delivers a single, consistent, high-quality stream — transforms HDR input streams into SDR-with-metadata streams to compatible receivers, providing consumers with high-quality HDR images.

“Delivering SDR and HDR content typically requires increased bandwidth and storage to support separate streams and infrastructure. Advanced HDR by Technicolor addresses this challenge by delivering a single SDR stream with metadata that automatically converts video when it recognizes that the receiving device supports HDR,” Allie said. This optimizes resource utilization while ensuring accurate rendering across compatible devices.

“In addition, the integration of versatile video coding (VVC) with metadata further enhances compression efficiency, reducing storage requirements and other resource requirements,” Allie said.

NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal opened the show by launching personalized broadcast experiences through its NextGen TV (ATSC 3.0) over-the-air channels on NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations in four markets. The new product represents a significant milestone in realizing NextGen TV’s full potential by introducing personalization, hyper-localization, and enhanced content capabilities to broadcast television to improve the viewer experience and enable advanced engagement, advertising, and measurement opportunities.

The new experience – which automatically launches when viewers tune into a NextGen TV over-the-air channel – is now available on NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations in the New York (NBC 4 / WNBC and Telemundo 47 / WNJU), Los Angeles (NBC4 / KNBC), Philadelphia (NBC 5 / WCAU) and Miami (NBC6 / WTVJ and Telemundo 51 / WSCV) markets.

Additional NBC- and Telemundo-owned stations, which are part of NBCUniversal Local, will soon deploy the new application in major media markets across the nation.

NBCUniversal and its partners are demonstrating the new product at this week’s 2024 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas through April 17 at the ATSC exhibit in the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall 3056.

“The launch of this innovative experience is a considerable milestone for broadcast television and demonstrates the immense potential and possibilities NextGen TV has for viewers, programmers, stations and advertisers,” said Shawn Makhijani, SVP of business development and strategy and NBC Spot On, NBCUniversal Advertising and Partnerships. “We are proud to further our leadership position in ATSC 3.0 by developing this innovative product with our partners and look forward to the continued evolution of its capabilities and benefits. We are truly excited to present these enhancements to our NBC and Telemundo viewers in several top markets, with more to come.”

Created in partnership with Fincons, Ease Live (an Evertz company) and Pearl TV, features of NBCUniversal’s new product are highlighted by the ability to restart programs when joined in progress; hyper-localized elements integrated into the TODAY show; and access to personalized weather information – including radar, forecasts and meteorologist reports – and severe weather alerts. The experience also provides expanded and enhanced access to content, including clips, full episodes and alternate programming from NBC and Telemundo’s local and national news, sports and entertainment shows and events.

NBCUniversal’s new experience also expands safety controls and access to public service notifications, while enabling near-real time viewer and program metrics. The data integration delivers rich public safety alerts from both the FEMA Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) and The Weather Channel (TWC) customized to viewers’ locations and specific households.

In addition, data tracking enables rich, near real-time audience metrics that can be leveraged to inform personalized editorial, programming, and advertising in a privacy-minded way. In the future, advertisers will be able to target strategic audiences on broadcast through new enhancements such as dynamic ad insertion, creating a more relevant experience for viewers and effective strategy for marketers.

NextGen TV is a free, over-the-air digital broadcast technology that utilizes the internet and digital applications powered by the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard to present viewers with enhanced video, audio, and interactive capabilities. NextGen TV is the first major overhaul to the Advanced Television Systems Committee’s standard for receiving over-the-air signals in nearly 30 years. Now broadcasting in more than 70 markets, NextGen TV is currently available to 75 percent of U.S. television households.

VITAC

VITAC, a Verbit Company, the largest captioning company in the United States, and ENCO, a global leader in innovative broadcasting solutions, announced a strategic partnership aimed at providing broadcasters with expanded choice for hardware encoders and cloud captioning.

Through this alliance, broadcasters will gain access to a comprehensive suite of captioning tools and services, tailored to meet their specific needs and requirements.

The combination of VITAC’s decades-long experience in serving media clients with captioning solutions at the highest standards, ENCO’s cutting-edge encoder technology, and Verbit’s expertise in AI-driven speech recognition solutions will enable broadcasters to achieve unparalleled levels of accuracy, reliability, efficiency, and innovative solutions in caption encoding and delivery.

This unique collaboration represents a significant advancement in addressing the evolving needs of broadcasters seeking versatile and efficient captioning solutions and reaffirms the companies’ shared dedication to driving innovation and excellence in captioning technology.

Together, VITAC and ENCO are providing broadcasters with the tools and resources needed to enhance the accessibility of their content and reach a broader audience while also offering additional choice of service and connectivity based on caption quality and reliability.

“We are excited to join forces with VITAC in this strategic partnership,” said Ken Frommert, ENCO president. “By leveraging our respective strengths, we aim to offer broadcasters a broader range of options for caption encoding and delivery, ultimately enhancing their ability to deliver accessible content to viewers.”

Doug Karlovits, VITAC GM, added: “This partnership underscores our commitment to delivering innovative, cost-effective captioning solutions that meet the diverse needs of our clients. With the integration of Captivate into ENCO’s suite of encoder solutions, broadcasters will benefit from robust choice in their captioning workflows.”

Sinclair

3 News Interactive Las Vegas showed off a demo of what the future of local TV News will look like, with what’s being dubbed America’s first ever Interactive TV News Channel.

Powered by ROXi’s innovative new FastStream technology in partnership with Sinclair Inc, 3 News Interactive Las Vegas has all the interactive features of a downloadable TV app without the need to download or launch an App on the TV, all delivered over Broadcast TV thanks to FastStream and NEXTGEN TV.

Unlike traditional TV news broadcasts, the new Interactive Local TV News Channel always starts at the beginning of the program with the latest headlines, no matter when a viewer tunes in.

Viewers can skip any segment of the news that have no interest in, or jump directly to Headlines, National News, Local News, Investigate and Local Weather segments.

Content includes Sinclair Inc.’s local TV news station Las Vegas 3 CW and news syndicated from The National Desk combining news from local Sinclair news stations across the US into one news national feed.

Unlike traditional linear Broadcast TV News Channels, viewers can Pause, Play and Skip through the news items, Tik Tok-style.

Rob Lewis, ROXi CEO said, “This is the world’s first Interactive Local TV News Channel delivered in partnership with Sinclair Inc on NextGen TV and it represents the future of local TV news. With our FastStream technology, we’ve created the first Local TV News Channel that’s made for the TikTok generation.”

Skip Flenniken, Sinclair’s VP and GM of technology business development, who partners closely with ROXi on the new FastStream-powered Interactive TV Channel experiences commented, “This new FastStream powered local TV News experience showcases the full interactive capabilities of NextGen TV and shows how broadcasters can deliver exciting new services into homes across the U.S.”

ROXi’s Rob Lewis added, “Local TV news has been a core part of American life for more than 75 years with over 800 local News Channels now broadcast daily to TV viewers. Despite this, linear delivery of news content by TV Broadcasters has remained largely the same for three quarters of a century, even though the way viewers consume news media has evolved with technological advances.

The generation of consumers have been brought up with YouTube and TikTok in their pocket want to control their broadcast TV viewing experience interactively and FastStream powered local TV News Channels on NEXTGEN TV gives broadcasters the capability to deliver on this expectation, as well as accelerate demand for NEXTGEN TV televisions.”