NVIDIA is powering incredible breakthroughs in broadcast — and audiences got a taste of the innovation at the National Association of Broadcasters show in Las Vegas.
NAB 2022, which ran last month, is the premier annual gathering of leading companies, studios and professionals in live production. NVIDIA showcased how its solutions for AI, remote collaboration and next-generation infrastructure deliver new capabilities to the industry.
In addition, dozens of NVIDIA partners announced new products and applications that help creatives enhance workflows.
Here are some highlights from the show.
AI Expands Broadcast Capabilities
As content creation pipelines get more complex, so grows the need for automation.
At NAB, NVIDIA presented how AI advances workflows in film, television and broadcast. This includes creating auto-highlight reels to dramatically increase productivity, and reinventing content management and distribution.
Many AI capabilities were highlighted on the show floor by NVIDIA partners:
- EVS demonstrated Xtramotion, a cloud-based, AI-generated, super-slow-motion service.
- Quantum presented a demo for the CatDV asset management platform, which uses AI to log and tag content.
- OPNS showcased how SoundID offers the most accurate automatic audio content recognition technology.
- DeepBrain AI showed its conversational and non-conversational “AI Humans” enabled by NVIDIA RTX GPUs.
- Blackmagic demonstrated new AI GPU-accelerated features in DaVinci Resolve 18.
IP-Based Technologies Make Up Future of Broadcast Infrastructure
Using internet protocol (IP)-based video workflows, broadcasters can harness new AI capabilities like those mentioned above to stay competitive in the changing broadcast landscape.
SMPTE ST 2110 is a suite of standards for sending digital content over IP networks. NVIDIA helps simplify the adoption of IP and SMPTE ST 2110 through:
- Rivermax SDK: a software development kit to build SMPTE ST 2110 software using NVIDIA Networking cards.
- DOCA Firefly Time Service: an accurate timing solution for Windows and virtualized environments using the NVIDIA BlueField-2 DPU.
- RivermaxDisplay: a virtual monitor on any Windows machine, bare-metal or virtualized, sending content over SMPTE ST 2110, using NVIDIA DPU-powered accurate timing, Rivermax and NVIDIA graphics drivers. RivermaxDisplay turns any Windows workstation or server with an NVIDIA nNetworking card and GPU into a SMPTE ST 2110-compliant source.
Many NVIDIA partners at NAB, including Panasonic, Evertz and Grass Valley, use Rivermax. And RivermaxDisplay was showcased at the Phabrix booth, as well as the AIMS IP Showcase using a Plura 9-inch portable 2110 display.
NVIDIA’s session, Next-Generation Video Production with GPU and DPU, touched on how NVIDIA Networking and GPUs can accelerate the migration from traditional SDI infrastructure to SMPTE ST 2110.
And NVIDIA Networking technologies, shown at partner booths like Panasonic KAIROS and Grass Valley, demonstrated how NVIDIA hardware makes live production more flexible and powerful. Other partner demos included:
- intoPIX presented 8K JPEG XS over IP, accelerated by the NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPU.
- Cinnafilm showed how NVIDIA GPUs drive content delivery with its Tachyon retiming solution.
- Main Concept demonstrated efficient transcoding solutions running on NVIDIA GPUs.
Virtual Production Takes NAB by Storm
Visualizing stories and iterating on ideas in real time has a profound impact on content creation, evident through the many virtual production stages and presentations at NAB.
From real-time compositing using camera tracking and green screens for weather reports, to full LED volumes for in-camera visual effects, virtual production was on full display.
Attendees learned about virtual production’s trends and best practices at the Devoncroft Executive Summit’s panel, which featured speakers including Rob Bredow of ILM, Barbara Ford Grant of Prysm Stages, Steve Read of Versatile Media and Dylan Boucherle of Warner Bros. Discovery.
That momentum continued with a presentation by Versatile Media, ABSEN and NVIDIA on the Versatile Stage. The event featured the debut of a sci-fi short film created within the Versatile Stage, followed by a demonstration of how it was shot in an immersive LED volume, powered by Unreal Engine and NVIDIA RTX.
Partners also showcased their newest virtual studio capabilities:
- Zero Density demonstrated RealityEngine AMPERE, a workstation solution for virtual studios.
- Brainstorm showcased advanced XR tools and workflows.
- Vū Studio unveiled its new 40,000-square-foot virtual production facility in Las Vegas, powered by NVIDIA RTX A6000 GPUs, NVIDIA Quadro Sync II and Unreal Engine.
Digital Humans Make Their Mark in Broadcast
Whether AI-powered customer service agents, autonomous AIs for simulating crowds in virtual stadiums, or for multilingual on-air talent, digital humans are set to profoundly transform every industry.
NAB attendees got an exclusive look at the current landscape of digital humans through NVIDIA’s Dell Talks, which covered insights on the types of digital humans — autonomous, teleoperated, realistic and stylized — and how these technologies, powered by NVIDIA, will influence everything from entertainment and advertising to AI development.
Transforming 3D Content Creation and Collaboration
As companies adjust to hybrid work environments, interactive collaboration is a bigger challenge than ever for creatives. With NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise, running on NVIDIA RTX systems, design teams have a game-changing platform to overcome this challenge.
NAB attendees experienced Omniverse demos at the Supermicro and Dell booths, and learned how multiple users can connect their existing 3D workflows and collaborate on shared scenes in real time.
Maxon presented a first step toward an Omniverse Connector for Cinema4D with more USD support and a Hydra Delegate for Redshift, enabling Omniverse users to tap into Maxon’s suite of 3D tools and collaborate seamlessly with other apps.
Powering Award-Winning Technologies
NAB show organizers also announced winners of the Product of the Year Awards, recognizing the most significant and promising new broadcast technologies. NVIDIA technologies power many of the award-winning products, including:
- Chyron: Chyron LIVE
- Cinegy: Channel-in-the-Cloud
- Comcast Technology Solutions: VideoAI
- DeepBrain AI: AI Studios
- Emergent Vision Technologies: Zenith HZ-10000G 100GigE 10MP 1000fps Camera
- Eon Extract Corp.: Eon Extract
- ftrack: ftrack Review
- iSIZE: BitClear
- LiveU: Air Control
- OpenDrives: OpenDrives Atlas Core
- Supermicro: Supermicro server certified with NVIDIA Omniverse Enterprise software
- Veritone: Veritone Avatar
- Vizrt Group NDI: NDI5
- Zero Density: TRAXIS talentS
Learn more about NVIDIA at NAB and discover how NVIDIA is powering broadcast workflows.