TV Tech: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trends at the 2025 NAB Show?
David Edwards: We are seeing broadcasters and streaming platform operators wanting to enhance their live events programming as a big driver to increase viewers and revenues. The record viewing figures for the Super Bowl of 127.7 million U.S. viewers across the board are a prime example of that.
Broadcasters, sports leagues and streaming platforms are looking to provide an enhanced experience to their customers—with more engaging, visceral and immersive viewing experiences on premium events and a broader range of content coming from televising previously untapped lower-tier events. These additional events and services are being made possible by increased use of technology that leverages the power of the unmanaged internet to carry more feeds and content at an affordable cost.
The near-ubiquitous availability and attractively low costs of internet connectivity makes solutions that enable and manage use of this connectivity a growing need and a must-have tool for the broadcast community. Net Insight is experiencing an increasing demand for our end-to-end solutions that enable broadcasters and production organizations to build and manage dynamic networks built around internet connectivity, leveraging ARQ techniques such as SRT and RIST—and allow live video to ingress and egress these networks.
We are seeing increasing demand from the broadcast industry wanting to achieve more with these dynamic networks, to have greater flexibility in providing tailored services through the ability to provide video processing and format conversion provision.
TVT: What will be your most important product news?
DE: The big news from us will be the culmination of a number of product developments that work together seamlessly. Net Insight now has a complete video network solution that leverages internet connectivity – From physical edge devices that ingress or egress raw video through to a network management solution that can configure, route and monitor content across internet connectivity.
The Net Insight Nimbra Edge solution now has the ability to transform the format of any video content—to transcode it, transrate it, add overlays and trigger ad insertion so that video content can be landed at any Taker’s facility in a format that is right for them. Operators will have the ability to deploy a complete end-to-end networking solution by closely coupling the video networking with video-centric nodes to ingress and egress video feeds and making big technical leaps forward with these devices.
Net Insight’s Nimbra 400 has been enhanced to provide channel-dense, highest quality HEVC 4:2:2 10-bit compression allowing operators to build out bandwidth efficient bi-directional video networks. When addressing smaller installations, or where affordability is critical, Net Insight is launching the smaller Nimbra 204 edge device. Still with the same high quality, low latency compression capability. These Broadcasters and network operators now have the ability to deploy the right solutions whatever the required scale.
TVT: How is your new product different from what’s available on the market?
DE: The Net Insight Nimbra Edge solution brings together top-flight networking, video processing and video-centric edge devices together in one closely coupled solution. Through all components being integrated together, a network can be built, monitored and dynamically controlled from ingress to egress with ease and confidence.
Our solution is unique by allowing hybrid deployments across Cloud and COTS processing - allowing operators to scale efficiently while optimizing costs and flex without complexity as needs evolve. By deploying processing capabilities at the network edge, Nimbra Edge enhances service reliability, even for users with marginal connections.
But perhaps the greatest strength of the solution is the choice and flexibility of the video nodes that can be deployed at the network edge. With the use of low-cost internet connectivity enabling the drive to provide richer and greater breadth of content, the demands for higher quality video are increasing. Net Insight’s Nimbra 204 and Nimbra 400 are designed to deliver highest quality video from any location.
TVT: What is it about the NAB Show that brings you back every year?
DE: NAB Show is an event that is unmatched in scale. The global media industry converges on Las Vegas to showcase and experience the advances in the industry.
It is a place to meet, to discuss ideas, to learn, and be surprised.
But what NAB Show consistently demonstrates is a pace of change—and willingness in the industry to respond to the challenges of a media world in constant flux.
Over the years that I have experienced NAB, moments of revolution have been rare but every year you find something new, something exciting, perhaps tucked away on a single booth. The next year the impact of that excitement has created a new evolution and rippled out across multiple booths. Change has taken root; a problem has been solved for the better and the world is different again. That is something you will find nowhere else.
