WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Oct. 16, 2013 -- The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the worldwide leader in motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, media, entertainment, and technology industries, today announced that the SMPTE 2013 Symposium, "Next-Generation Imaging Formats: More, Faster, and Better Pixels," will feature the largest collection of 4K/UHD equipment yet presented in a single room. Offered in conjunction with the SMPTE 2013 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition, the one-day symposium will take place on Oct. 21 in Hollywood, Calif., with the complementary 4K/UHD demo area remaining open through Oct. 23.
Organized by Insight Media in collaboration with SMPTE, the unprecedented 4K/UHD demo area will showcase various image processing and scaling engines and their ability to produce 4K/UHD content from lower-resolution sources, as well as High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) codec demos to showcase the quality possible at various bit rates for delivery of 4K content. Participants will include industry leaders such as Altera(R), Canon, Cisco(R), Colorfront, Elemental Technologies, Quantel, Rovi, Samsung, Sony, and Video Clarity.
"The SMPTE Symposium's 4K/UHD demo area offers visitors a unique opportunity to see just how well the latest scaling and encoding technologies deliver 4K content, and to assess the quality of native 4K and processed content side by side on a variety of the latest 4K displays," said Barbara Lange, executive director at SMPTE.
"With this valuable perspective on the maturity of 4K-focused technology, content providers will be much better positioned to make strategic decisions about their own approach to 4K implementation and service offerings," said Chris Chinnock, president of Insight Media.
By illustrating how effective the latest upscaling and conversion engines are in making 1080p content look impressive on a UHD TV, the demo will help to address the concern that the current dearth of 4K native content might prevent the rollout of 4K products and services. A demonstration of the HEVC codec -- and its ability to offer high quality at low bit rates -- will offer a possible solution for the delivery of 4K content not only within production facilities, but also to the home. In addition, a team from Canon, Colorfront, and Quantel will showcase live and file-based 4K production workflows.
The SMPTE 2013 Symposium is a one-day seminar with a deep topical focus. The SMPTE 2013 Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition runs from Oct. 22-24. Both events take place at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. Further details about the event, including registration, are available at www.smpte2013.org.
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About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
The Oscar(R) and Emmy(R) Award-winning Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), a professional membership association, is the worldwide leader in developing and providing motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, technology, media, and entertainment industries. An internationally recognized and accredited organization, SMPTE advances moving-imagery education and engineering across the broadband, broadcast, cinema, and IT disciplines. Since its founding in 1916, SMPTE has published the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal and developed more than 650 standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines. More than 6,000 members motion-imaging executives, engineers, creative and technology professionals, researchers, scientists, educators, and students who meet in Sections throughout the world, sustain the Society. Information on joining SMPTE is available at www.smpte.org/join.
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