Future Zone & New Technology Campus

Attendees to IBC2011 let their imagination run wild at the Future Zone, incorporating the New Technology Campus, which was home to the most mind-bending concepts you can witness from the world’s leading research labs. It included the latest in Super Hi-Vision from NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) and encompassed the New Technology Campus (NTC) filled with ideas, concepts and prototypes which made visitors think the impossible, possible.

Designed to showcase non-commercially available projects in their R&D stage, the Future Zone exhibits were selected by members of the IBC Technical Papers Committee for their relevance to the subjects of IBC2011’s conference programme. The selection process also ensured that their quality remained consistently high and the technology on show was truly ground breaking.

Since its European premier at IBC in 2006 Super Hi-Vision has advanced from scientific fantasy to near practical reality. At IBC2011 NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) highlighted components of a SHV production chain including an eight-channel video switcher and slow motion equipment. Attendees were able to watch a live SHV transmission from London and were wowed by film of the Space Shuttle launch, captured in ultra-HD.

In the adjacent New Technology Campus (next to Hall 8) visitors found the OmniCam, an array of 6 HD cameras which could film 180-degree panoramic images, part of the EU’s FascinatE project.

High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging has the capacity to record the highest dynamic range similar to the human eye with potential applications in sports, feature film and documentaries. The world’s first HDR acquisition to display pipeline was demonstrated in the NTC by the University of Warwick.

Other R&D highlights included a social TV app from KDDI which analysed the online opinions about broadcast programmes for display on mobile devices; a means of controlling a TV by tracking the user’s own gaze developed by ETRI; and DOTS, a new approach to storage media claimed to have a 100 year life span.

There was even a Multi-Sensory Interaction System which combined audio visual with tactile and olfactory sensations devised by Japan’s NICT.

Attendees got a first glimpse of tomorrow’s world and met new ideas head on at the Future Zone.