IBC 2023 In Review: New Products Steal the Show Floor in Amsterdam

By Mark Foley, Technology Editor, ProductionHUB

IBC Produces A Big Show and New Products

People often ask us questions about the many shows we cover every year, such as do you think it will be a busy show? Or a lot more commonly, do you think there will be many new product announcements? The answers to these questions definitely had quite the empathic response; exhibit halls were extremely busy, stands were crowded, and a ton of new product introductions and updates were made. Let’s dive in!

Answering the Bell

The IBC2023 show attracted more than 43,065 attendees from 170 countries to the RAI Amsterdam on 15th-18th September and included more than 1,250 exhibitors - overall a 16% increase in total attendees.

Of course, there is always a lot more than just product announcements that went on at IBC 2023. Attendees got to hear from a wide variety of subject matter experts and industry professionals speak on a wide range of topics such as Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Production, which are in the midst of an unprecedented and explosive growth period.

These developments are exciting and will play a big part in the future of making beautiful images, but before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s talk about some hardware.

Tools of the Trade

SONY

First, let’s take a look at what Sony had to unveil - the showstopper BURANO, a Full Frame Cinematic Camera in a smaller form feature packed camera that can shoot up to 8K and positioned right below the VENICE 2.

The new BURANO features a sensor that matches the color science of the VENICE 2 and is specially designed for single-camera operators and small crews. According to Sony, BURANO combines “exceptional” image quality with high mobility and is the “world’s first” digital cinema camera with a PL-Mount to feature in-body image stabilization. In addition, the BURANO includes an electronically variable ND filter structure alongside the optical image stabilization mechanism, a technological feat never achieved previously, according to Sony.

When removing the PL lens mount, the camera can be used with E-mount lenses and supports fast hybrid AF and subject recognition AF, for fast-moving photography. Based on initial reactions, the SONY BURANO is sure to be a camera that will be in demand by independents and small crews that want a filmic look to their productions.

ARRI

ARRI never ceases to amaze me with great products that live up to their stellar reputation. ARRI has done it again with the SkyPanel X. Having used the original SkyPanel myself, I’ve always loved its versatility, but this version is just something else.

The new modular SkyPanel X is a soft, hard, and open-face LED system that can be set up for many different applications. It’s also configurable into different formats (landscape, square, vertical), and capable of generating wide-aperture soft light, powerful hard light, or intense open-face light. Eight pixel zones per LED panel meet the requirements of advanced console programming, visual effects, and virtual production environments.

It features 100-0% dimming with flicker-free operation, and a dynamic CCT range from 1,500 to 20,000K. SkyPanel X can cope with high-pressure jet cleaning, with an IP66 rating for all weather conditions. It offers wireless control, advanced networking possibilities, and an integrated power supply.

AJA

AJA also had a very busy and successful IBC 2023 with the introduction of several new products and updates including the Ultra-low latency KONA X I/O card, HDR Image Analyzer v3.0 update, and new 12G-SDI OpenGear audio and HDMI conversion solutions.

These new products and upgrades are designed to help professionals keep up with evolving formats, protocols, codecs, and other workflows demands. According to AJA, the new solutions boast advantages like ultra-low latency, improved color management and quality control (QC) capabilities, NDI, and 12G-SDI connectivity, and more.

The AJA HDR Image Analyzer 12G v3.0 software has new features for the HDR monitoring and analysis solutions, while several new openGear cards improve overall performance in 12G-SDI audio and HDMI conversion functionality while maintaining an openGear rack frame-compatible form factor.

Marshall Electronics

Industry standard Marshall Electronics presented four new NDI|HX3 models as well as recent updates to their line up to feature the latest in sensor technology and high-end processors.

The new Marshall POV cameras, the CV570/CV574 Miniature Cameras and CV370/CV374 Compact Cameras, all feature low latency NDI|HX3 streaming as well as standard IP (HEVC) encoding with SRT. The cameras feature H.264/265 and other common streaming codecs along with a simultaneous HDMI output for traditional workflows.

Built around the highly optimized Sony sensor technology, the CV570/CV574 and CV370/CV375 models achieve next level results with improved video performance with cleaner, crisper images, greater sensitivity, and better color reproduction. Complementing the new sensors with high end processors further refines signal structure and enhances adjust and match capabilities.

Canon

Canon U.S.A, which is always an attendee favorite, has introduced the company’s first RF-Mount Cinema Prime Lenses for the Cinema EOS System. The new lenses combine high optical performance for 4K and 8K shooting, cinema-style operability, and RF mount communications. The first set of seven RF-Mount Cinema Prime Lenses is only the beginning. Canon plans to swiftly expand the lineup of RF-mount-compatible video production equipment to meet the needs of professional video production of such content as movies, TV, and commercials.

The seven new Canon CN-R lenses, with focal lengths and T stops of 14mm T3.1, 20mm T1.5, 24mm T1.5, 35mm T1.5, 50mm T1.3, 85mm T1.3, and 135mm T2.2, are compatible with the two existing RF-Mount Canon Cinema Cameras, the EOS C70 and EOS R5 C. These lenses will allow for RF mount protocol transmission, and just like Canon's EF-Mount Cinema Prime Lenses, operators can control magnification, chromatic aberration correction, peripheral light correction, and a dual-pixel focus guide via camera body operations. In addition, the new lenses also feature lens distortion correction.

Their compatibility with the full-frame large-format sensor, bright T stop values1, and 11-blade iris helps produce a shallow depth of field for subjects, natural round blurring, and soft image expressions.

FUJIFILM

With a stellar reputation across the cinematic production industry, FUJIFILM brought out a new lens to complement their line up. FUJIFILM announced the introduction of FUJINON Duvo™ HZK24-300mm Portable PL Mount Zoom Lens (“Duvo 24-300mm”), a dual format lens supporting two types of large-image sensors, specializing in shallow depth of field and beautiful bokeh.

Complementing Fujifilm’s Duvo™ HZK25-1000mm F2.8-F5.0 PL Mount Cinema Box Lens, the Duvo 24-300mm delivers 12.5x zoom, covering 24-300mm, a focal range that is frequently used on set. The use of the built-in expander shifts the focal length by 1.5 times to 36mm-450mm, allowing users to capture far-away subjects in desirable fields of view.

Adobe

Next up on the list is Adobe, which unveiled powerful new AI and 3D features in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects, with enhanced storage capabilities in Frame.io.

With new beta releases across Premiere Pro, After Effects and Frame.io New AI-powered features automate time-intensive tasks so video editors and motion designers can bring their vision to life.

Premiere Pro adds cutting-edge AI-powered features including Enhance Speech for quicker dialog cleanup, filler word detection and removal in Text-Based Editing, and improved Auto Tone Mapping for more consistent color output.

Enhance Speech uses AI to remove background noise and improve the quality of poorly recorded dialogue, making it sound as if it was recorded in a studio. Text-Based Editing now includes filler word detection to automatically identify "ums" and "uhs" in dialogue.

The latest version of Premiere Pro includes 5x timeline performance improvements for faster editing, and new tools such as the Effects Manager to help you find incompatible plug-ins to optimize system performance.

The Frame.io vision has always been to empower creatives so you can work more efficiently and stay in the creative flow. For this IBC, Adobe released new features and announced new partnerships. Frame.io Storage Connect accelerates collaboration and cuts costs for Enterprise customers needing solutions to scale profitably allowing them to use the storage they already own, while maintaining full control of their assets. Storage Connect enables direct connection to AWS S3 storage with lightweight proxies available in Frame.io. Storage Connect will be available later this year for Frame.io Enterprise customers.

Camera to Cloud continued to expand this year at IBC. Adobe announced five new Camera to Cloud connections for Frame.io and Creative Cloud customers. Atomos has two new Camera to Cloud compatible devices, the new Ninja and Ninja Ultra. Fujifilm’s new large-format mirrorless GFX-100ii (pronounced GFX-100 the second), allows photography and video teams to capture and upload 102MP RAW photos and up to 10bit 8K video clips remotely to Frame.io. Also new to the Camera to Cloud family is Accsoon, who unveiled the SeeMo and SeeMo Pro devices.

Blackmagic Design

It wouldn’t be IBC or any other show for that matter if we didn’t have some great new additions from Blackmagic Design. The innovative and groundbreaking Blackmagic Camera App adds digital film camera controls to the Apple iPhone.

Based on the same operating system as Blackmagic Design's digital film cameras, these professional features give iPhone content creators the same tools used in feature films, television, and documentaries. Support for Blackmagic Cloud allows creators to collaborate and share media with multiple editors and colorists around the world instantly.

The Cinema Camera 6K is a new high end digital film camera with a full frame 6K sensor, 13 stops of dynamic range, L-Mount lens mount and dual native ISO up to 25,600 for incredibly low light performance and recording to CFexpress cards. This new model features a 24 x 36mm 6K sensor, allowing for large format cinema camera image quality in a portable, lightweight body. Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K also uses an L-Mount for lenses which works with a wide range of new and vintage lenses for a wider range of creative choices.

Closing Thoughts

There are always so many products and technologies to see and talk about at shows like IBC 2023. Let’s wrap it up with some thoughts from industry leaders Samira Bakhtiar, Director, Global Media & Entertainment, Amazon Web Services and Ian Wagdin, Senior Technology Transfer Manager, BBC R&D.

Reflecting on IBC2023, Samira Bakhtiar, Director, Global Media & Entertainment, Amazon Web Services, said: “IBC is so important because it provides a venue for the community to come together. When you’re able to come together with customers and partners, you can ideate and provide diverse perspectives that would normally not be able to come out. That’s good for business, and it’s good for the people that we serve.”

Ian Wagdin, Senior Technology Transfer Manager, BBC R&D, commented: “IBC is a place where you can really get together and share ideas, both with manufacturers but also with other broadcasters. That keeps us relevant and ensures we are all discussing the right problems.”

For the most up-to-date announcements and product news, be sure to check out IBCHUB and (of course) ProductionHUB.com.