BBC Blue Room at IFA 2017
For BBC Blue Room
The BBC Blue Room returned to the annual IFA trade show. IFA is Europe’s largest Consumer Electronics event, and provides a unique opportunity to gather information and insight into what major electronics manufacturers and technology start-ups foresee as being important to consumers. The BBC Blue Room sent James Hand and I with the task of investigating this year’s trends, and deducing what the potential impact the latest innovations will have on both broadcasters and audiences.
This report is by Colin Warhurst & James Hand. The views expressed in this report are the personal views of the authors and should not be taken as the views or policies of the BBC.
Hello Again!
The ‘Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin’ is Europe’s largest tradeshow for Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances. The trade show itself takes place in Berlin, at the huge Messe Berlin site. Though we tried our best, we didn’t quite get to speak to all of the 1800 exhibitors who were present at IFA 2017 — we also had to compete for attention amongst another 250,000 visitors over the week!
Alongside another 5998 journalists in attendance, we managed to uncover a lot at this year’s IFA, and as ever, too much to contain here in just one report. Where we differ from other journalists is instead of providing product reviews and tech-specs, we instead analyse the over-arching technology trends, particularly any that could impact Audiences, Content Creators and Broadcasters, including the BBC.
If you are interested in the evolution of the trends we have uncovered, then for reference you can find the previous Blue Room IFA reports from 2015 & 2016 at the links below. To discuss the findings from this report, you can drop us an email, and BBC staff also have the option of booking a session to talk with us in person.
www.blrm.io/ifa2015report
www.blrm.io/ifa2016report
bbcblueroom@bbc.co.uk
Our Trend Analysis
We have picked out the major trends and items of interest, and have also provided selected photos and videos that convey what we’ve seen. Here, we thought it would be worth a quick glance back at our last two trips to IFA, and to provide a quick “heat-map of hype” based on a combination of prominence, potential impact, and our own ‘gut’ feeling!
Headlines
In terms of Video and Audio, IFA 2017 has landed in-between technology seismic shifts. There was no new over-arching technology being promoted to move either industry along. We are waiting for the next ‘big thing.’
UHD with High Dynamic Range (HDR) was everywhere. Not in a way that was hyped, but rather because HDR is the new normal. VOD providers have firmly established their lead in this field.
Outside of Audio & Visual, there was an industry-changing ‘merge’ between Smart Home and Voice-Assistant technology. In particular, this is the year Amazon’s Alexa left behind the Echo, and infiltrated every other device it could.
Trend Heatmap
All of the 2015 and 2016 technologies listed above were still present at IFA 2017. However, looking across three years worth of information, you can see what we think the movements are. The headlines above, and the positive movements in the heat map, will give you a preview as to what this year’s report will be about;
1. Multi-Room Audio
2. UHD-HDR
3. High Fashion TV’s
4. Smart Homes & Voice Control (Machine Learning)
5. Image Recognition
6. Headsets: VR & AR
7. Robots!
Audio Highlights
The BBC D&E Podcast, 2LO Rebooted, caught up with Colin and interviewed him about just two of the insights above: Ultra High Definition, and Amazon’s influence in Voice. To have a listen of the podcast to compliment this full report, click the link below:
https://soundcloud.com/2lorebooted/2lo-rebooted-conference-report-ifa-2017-with-colin-warhurst
We will also summarise our findings and how we arrived at these conclusions at the end of the report. OK! On with the show!
1: Audio Everywhere
Last year, we saw numerous vendors pushing High Resolution Audio (HRA) as a higher quality alternative to MP3 players. This year, HRA took a back seat, with only a few vendors making any obvious noise (boom boom) about it.
This year, the common thread amongst the various manufacturers was in Multi-Room Audio (MRA). The major players, such as Sony and Panasonic, featured ways to connect various systems together. Other audio companies such as Marshal (famous for Guitar amps) also presented their own ranges of Bluetooth and Wireless connected speakers, and we saw many startups offering flavours of inter-connected audio pods and the like.
We didn’t see Sonos mentioned very often, which is odd as they were the company you would previously associate with multi-room audio. Now, everyone is in on the game. However, it was unclear whether or not kit from one vendor could be linked with kit from another. This is perhaps an obvious and major flaw with the idea of Multi-Room Audio. Without a shared set of standards to link audio devices together from various manufacturers, consumers are once again being coerced into a closed ecosystem, being forced to buy equipment from just one single vendor.
If vendors could commit to a more open method of connecting devices with each other, then Multi-Room Audio could quickly become the new expected norm amongst consumers. As it is, consumers may still find this too awkward or restrictive to implement.
We did meet one startup, Tempow, who had developed way to aggregate any Bluetooth speaker within range, and to then add them to a users MRA collection. This ability to work across vendors was impressive. However the system worked via a smartphone at the Operating System level, and not through a downloadable app. Therefore we will only see this feature implemented in specific Android phones to begin with, and it will be used as a unique selling point for those phones.
2: HDR is now the norm
Ultra High Definition with High Dynamic Range is the new normal.
HDR was featured on every new screen we saw at IFA. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, which increases the contrast (brightness) range for images. When combined with the extra pixel resolution brought about by UHD, the extra contrast in combination with the extra detail makes for stunning pictures.
There are four major HDR standards in the market that content makers and manufacturers can adopt, and each has unique properties that better suit internet or broadcast delivery. Though all the standards were well represented, we found the most prominent to be Dolby Vision, which was constantly being represented by showreels from both Amazon and Netflix.
You can tell when a technical feature is the new-normal when companies begin to desperately distinguish themselves from each other by describing essentially the same shared feature, in the most dramatic and unique sounding ways possible.
Samsung and Panasonic took the approach of promoting HDR10+. This is a standard that adds Dynamic Tone Mapping, adjusting the image on a scene-by-scene basis, whereas standard HDR10 has static metadata that applies itself to a whole programme. Panasonic chose to pursue a complete “Premium” eco-system approved by the Ultra HD Alliance. Other vendors added their usual bizarre prefixes such as “Super”, “Active”, “Q” or “W” UHD but essentially, four major formats of HDR were supported across IFA.
- Dolby Vision
- Hybrid Log Gamma
- HDR10
- HDR 10+
As such, the BBC’s preferred HDR standard, Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) was fairly well represented, though not necessarily trumpeted about. Where HLG screens were on display, the demos were restricted due to the lack of available content, with screens showing a combination of the SES UHD-HDR-HLG test channel, or the BBC Planet Earth II showreel, which was a collaboration by the Natural History Unit & BBC R&D.
Indeed, the BBC’s Planet Earth II was the superior HDR go-to footage when displaying HLG, and so it left us, and many others, asking a question. “Where is the rest of the HDR content, that should be coming from other traditional Broadcasters?”
Now that the standards are in place, and HLG will be supported in practically every new TV, Broadcasters need to pay attention. If not, Amazon, Netflix (and even Pro-Sumers with content on YouTube) will cement their places in leading the next picture revolution.
Broadcasters much step-up, and soon, to compete for technical quality, for reputation and perception of value, and because SD / SDR content will become increasingly unacceptable to audiences in a UHD-HDR world.
Outside of Broadcast, it is worth noting that all major TV vendors such as Sony, LG, Panasonic and Samsung, made a point of saying that HDR had a place in gaming. Each vendor had dedicated stands highlighting special monitors or screens that featured faster screen refresh rates, as well as HDR.
Both LG and Sony were also promoting higher quality smartphone screens that included HDR. LG’s LGV30 with an OLED screen, and Sony’s Xperia XZ1 both officially supporting Netflix HDR content.
If our earlier point about YouTube enabling Prosumers, Hobbyists or Amateurs to produce and deliver HDR to our audiences hasn’t hit home, then pay attention to this. Panasonic were highlighting their latest Lumix camera, a model that remains very popular amongst VOD and Prosumer film-makers, which supports Hybrid-Log-Gamma recording directly on- board the camera.
If it is possible to shoot and deliver entire VOD programmes in UHD-HDR-HLG on equipment that costs less than £1500, then what excuse do Broadcasters have for not attempting the same? Especially those who also have internet delivery platforms… BBC Three in UHD-HDR anyone?
3: TV’s get Artistic
When is a TV not a TV? When it’s a painting of course! It is our theory that in-between major screen technology evolutions, then more material and physical features of TVs are promoted to fill the gap; build quality, flat screens, curves… all start to become prominent amongst manufacturers in an attempt to lure buyers in, a few years before the next big- thing is ready. This will only become more pronounced in the next few years as UHD and HDR have made our images… well, pretty close to the best that the human eye can perceive — in the living room at least!
We saw many manufacturers making a bigger deal about the physical qualities of the television set itself. Emphasis was placed on flatness, discreteness, “beauty” and the ability to work as a picture frame or wallpaper. Even the humble television stand itself became a focal point. A normal TV stand simply won’t do anymore!
Samsung have partnered with world renowned artists to create ‘The Frame’ turning your screen into a UHD-HDR piece of art when you are no longer watching normal programming. We were impressed by the high quality of the images, as their origins lie in incredibly high- resolution scans from the masters. Combined with the thinness of the screens, the effect was incredibly immersive, and at times felt three-dimensional. The ability to add your own photographs is a welcome feature, though perhaps a little intimidating if going up against the world’s finest photographers!
Philips were once again showcasing their Ambilight technology, LED lights on the back of the TV that project matching colours onto the wall behind, creating an ‘aura’ of colour. This extra dimension of ambience helps extend the real-time action past the screen. The feature is unique to Philips, and remains their key USP, though they too were still showcasing all things UHD and HDR.
The humble TV stand itself was receiving major make-overs from some vendors. Everything from small and discrete, to sexy and bling, built-in speakers and sound-bars, designer sculptures or even transforming stands that change to suit the space.
There was a real focus on turning the screens into art or photo displays when the TV is not in use for normal viewing. The requirement for stunning good looks no longer just applies to the content!
4: We need to “talk” about Smart Homes
The Smart Home was by far the biggest thing we felt we needed to talk about this year — but it covers much more than just clever internet connected devices, and so we’ve broken this section down into three smaller sections;
- Ecosystems
- Partnerships
- Automation
Last year, we highlighted the overwhelming amounts of smart home companies who were out to sell us all manner of smart doorbells, cameras, locks, alarms and sensors — but without necessarily telling us if all the above would be compatible with one another.
Last year, in our IFA 2016 report, we predicted that ‘someone’ would need to come along and sort out this mess, and we were right. Though not everyone has got the message.
What has changed everything this year, is the impact of Voice Assistants; Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Now/Ok-Google, and to a smaller extent, Apple’s Siri.
What powers all of these Voice Assistants behind the scenes is very powerful Machine- Learning algorithms. Whilst we could write this report from the perspective of M.L. impact, on-stage this year Voice itself took centre stage, completely transforming and aggregating the previous “connected confusion” that surrounded Smart Homes. We do predict that Machine-Learning will be talked about more openly next year. But for now, it was Voice technology that stole the show.
Smart Home — Ecosystems
Open Ecosystems vs Total Solutions
Smart Home Companies broadly fell into two camps this year. Those that had made efforts to ensure they would work with the ‘Big Three’ (Google Home, Apple Homekit, Amazon Alexa) and those that were clinging their own self contained ‘we can sell you everything, just make sure you buy it all from us’ mentalities.
Some of the groups in this latter category, were actually ‘Alliances’ of many other tech companies, both big and small, but still all clinging together as fish in increasingly small and isolated ponds.
If a user has just one Apple, Google or Amazon control device, be that a phone or voice assistant, then they want to be confident that their next smart-home appliance will also work alongside the last. Making compatibility clear to the consumer, is the key to winning them over.
Smart Home — Partnerships
IFA 2017 saw an entire hall dedicated to smaller companies, startups and innovation incubators. It was in this hall where Amazon chose to set up their pitch, just to make it absolutely crystal clear that they wanted to work with your company.
Previous to IFA, if you wanted access to Alexa (the voice assistant) you would assume that you would have to buy an Amazon Echo (their own device) but that is no longer the case. Amazon turned up in person to make it loud and clear that they don’t care so much about the Echo as a device, but rather about getting Alexa into as many devices, and homes, as possible.
It is worth noting that Apple and Google themselves were not in attendance, whereas Amazon were there to make a big deal about Alexa, and how they are working with so many companies.
Indeed, when we spoke to Amazon, even their rep did not know the exact number of Alexa devices that were in attendance at IFA — “It was 34 that we knew about, at the last count.” Many of the Alexa devices were Echo-type looking speakers, with chunkier bodies and better bass speakers, no doubt responding to one of the limitations of the original Echo form factor.
As well as a plethora of Alexa-enabled speakers, we also saw her activated inside of;
- Set-top boxes
- Android boxes
- Tablets
- Smartphones
- A Lamp
- A DAB Radio
- A Shower!
- And at least two robots… But more on them later!
Our biggest takeaway from IFA 2017 is that it is now possible to have all the advantages of Amazon’s Alexa, without ever having to buy an Amazon Echo.
If Amazon’s approach was to open themselves up to everyone, Apple seem to be at the more secretive and cautious end of that spectrum. We spoke to one developer who said Amazon had been proactive in helping him with marketing and integrating his product into Alexa. In similar conversations with Apple though, it was described as “much more complex” and with stricter marketing controls. As such, the number of Siri-enabled devices was significantly smaller, though Apple ‘Homekit’ devices were fairly common.
Google then, appear to be somewhere in the middle, having aligned themselves with some of the bigger technology brands, and just a handful of startups. As such, we saw Google Assistant integrated into TVs and/or Smart Speakers from Onkyo, Panasonic, Sony and TCL. It also has to be said that Google’s assistant was the only one we found at IFA that was built into TVs, presumably those that were Android based. However, we are aware of Amazon Alexa becoming integrated into TVs as well, and the Blue Room hopes to have some available to demonstrate very soon.
As further evidence of how important the rise of Google & Amazon voice assistants are, it is worth noting that last year Sony were pushing their own prototype assistant ‘Xperia’ in various phones, earplugs and even in a robot. This year, Xperia-Assistant was M.I.A. and replaced completely by Google Assistant.
Alternatively, Bixby (Samsung’s A.I. assistant built into their smartphones) was an example of a tech company still persevering with their own product. Bixby launched later than planned, but into over 200 countries, and so Samsung were not the first to enter the competition, and have a lot of ground to cover to make up for that. Will we see Bixby survive, fold, or collaborate with other AI assistants in the future?
There is a school of thought emerging that as humans we may actually want a variety of Voice Assistants, each suited to certain tasks, as opposed to one ‘master’ assistant. Samsung may not want or need to compete directly against the others if they can serve a niche that the other assistants currently miss, and can join a larger chorus of assistants.
The biggest example of this is the official announcement that Amazon and Microsoft are making Alexa & Cortana compatible with one another — this is a potentially huge and game- changing Voice Partnership between two tech giants, both of whom were early into the Voice market.
Microsoft & Alexa partnership, link: The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/30/16224876/microsoft-amazon-cortana-alexa- partnership
This year finds the bigger tech companies finally putting their hands up, and acknowledging where they are not the strongest in certain areas of Voice Technology, then agreeing to work in partnership with someone else who is.
Smart Home — Automation
Even though there has been a huge response to bringing voice control to the smart-home market, we noticed a trend in the rise of automated devices, which do not require any control or input at all. In short, machine-to-machine communication which then results in an automated action.
The phrase “Smart Home” is used as an umbrella term, and it is often too vague. What we saw this year was a more nuanced drive from “Smart” to “Automated.”
Sensors can now do more than just send a warning or notification, and can instead be set to trigger an action directly by themselves. We saw more use of geo-fencing, automated window, shutter and humidity controls, and intelligent lighting and security systems that respond to the users location and time of day.
We also saw in increase in ‘duration’ with automated pet feeding systems that could look after your cat for a week or more, and gardening systems that could maintain your patch for months at a time — all without human intervention.
The connected confusion felt by early smart home adopters, who may have had a separate app for every device, every service, every sensor and so on, will no doubt benefit from devices that do not require any input or response from a user at all.
5: A.I. is about Image Recognition
We expected A.I. and Machine Learning to have a large public presence this year. Machine Learning is undoubtedly about to cause huge industry changes in multiple areas of Business, Commerce and even Broadcast. We know this is already happening as evidenced by the impact of Voice. Yet the underlying technology behind Voice, Machine Learning, spent this year patiently behind the scenes.
The Blue Room has focused on the theme of ‘Intelligence’ this year, distilling the impact A.I., Machine Learning and Deep Learning will have on Broadcasters and the Tech Industry. We know that the foundational technology behind voice is Machine Learning, but the term used at the show and in the public eye is A.I. — it is more marketable!
As such, we’ve used A.I. in this report as an umbrella term for various Intelligence related technology. So apart from the usual nonsense marketing speak in a few places, genuine A.I. only manifested itself at IFA in two ways. Either behind-the-scenes of the Voice technologies, or where we saw instances of Image Recognition.
Samsung’s assistant, Bixby, promised impressive image recognition capabilities, if the demo was to be believed. Whilst the presentation was slick, we never actually got to test the functionality ourselves. The re-launched Galaxy Note 8 phone uses its cameras to recognise objects, and then Bixby will perform Image-Recognition web searches.
For example, you could photograph a hat that someone is wearing, and Bixby could direct you to the sellers website, show you where on a map you can buy one, or even suggest similar looking hats that you might like as an alternative.
Bixby also claims to recognise buildings and places of interest from an image, and then to offer directions to cafes, restaurants and hotels nearby that might be of interest. It was all very slick to watch the demo reel in action, and assuming it works the same way in reality, shows some practical ways that tech companies are embracing AI for images.
A similar feature was found on the new Huawei Mate 8 smartphone in the form of a business card scanner. Simply hold the camera over a business card, the text is scanned and then all of the details (name, company, email, address and phone number) are saved to your contacts, in all of the correct fields, without the user needing to type anything. It was a simple function that still worked impressively, and one that is sorely needed at events like IFA where everybody swaps business cards all day long!
Moleskine were also back with their version of ‘auto scanning’ paper & pen technology. Though restricted to working with their specific pens and notepads, they had integrated a calendar function, whereby notes scribbled in a Moleskine diary would automatically populate and sync with your smartphones diary too. Still doesn’t work the other way around of course!
Although not quite image recognition, it is worth mentioning Sony’s impressive face- scanning demo here. If A.I. can recognise objects such as hats and food, then what about the day when a phone can scan the face of the person who is holding it, then search for that matching face online? That vision of the future was easy to imagine when we were shown Sony’s Xperia scanning technology — we digitised James’ face in a matter of moments!
6: All set for Headsets
In recent years, technology companies have become obsessed with putting things on our heads. IFA 2017 is no different, and just furthered this trend.
We saw a general increase in controllers to augment phone-based VR systems, Google Daydream compatible smartphones, the usual fair share of technically impressive VR demos, and a smaller amount of other head-gear that was just plain silly.
The biggest headset company present this year was Microsoft, who have further muddied the confusing world of head-tech by announcing numerous headsets in partnership with PC manufacturers, but all under the term ‘Mixed Reality.’
For most people, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed-Reality were three very distinct things. Respectively; totally immersive virtual environments, graphical overlays on top of the real world, and filming of players in VR on a green screen.
But now Microsoft has grabbed the term Mixed Reality in an attempt to have an umbrella term for both their VR headsets and AR headsets. Great…
Confusingly, we’ve tried to navigate through the info, press releases and images we took at the event but we are still unclear which headsets do just AR, just VR, or both. So ‘Mixed Reality’ may help Microsoft cover all the bases, but it really doesn’t help consumers!
VR
Most of the new Windows VR headsets did not require the use of sensors in the room. Instead, light was emitted rapidly from the hand-controllers, which would communicate with the headset and relay up to date 3D positioning information.
With the light-based system, we found sometimes the hand positions felt a bit inaccurate, and certainly nowhere near as slick and natural as when using a sensor-based system such as the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. However, the performance of the graphics and refresh rate in the headset itself were quite impressive, and we found ourselves enjoying the VR game more than we thought we would.
In short, more VR systems entering the market can only be a good thing in terms of competition and in bringing costs down. There will still be a place for top-end sensor- based systems, but the range of new PC-powered headsets on the market will hopefully promote lower costs and further advances in content.
AR
Regarding Augmented Reality then, we found it had a rather understated presence. Even on Microsoft’s own stand, we could only find two headsets on display, references to a handful of presentations, and that was it.
Lenovo picked up some of the AR slack with a very exciting Star Wars AR demo for their AR headset. A Lightsaber battle against a holographic and intimidating Kylo Ren, which was accurate, intense and enjoyable!
Asus were also expected to announce an AR headset, but they had met with delays. Again though, more headsets entering the market can only be a good thing for these technologies. Competition should promote better prices, and help drive content innovation.
We did spot one Broadcaster with a great use case for AR. WDR were showing a proof of concept where a programme was being broadcast full-screen as ‘normal’ but when wearing an AR Headset, a full sized Sign-Language Interpreter would appear ‘floating’ next to the television. This way, the programme remains full-screen on the TV, and the additional information provided by the interpreter is not reliant on occupying the same real-estate.
Novelty Noggin’ Wear
Other devices that companies were keen to stick to our heads included;
• A sleep sensor
• An eye massager
• Drone pilot’s HUD
• 360 + Slow TV (TomTom’s really long road trips!)
• A depression treatment headband
• Virtual Cinemas
The virtual cinemas were not VR-Headsets, but rather fixed 3D screens with stereo headphones, that isolate you from the outside world and make the film content appear as if it is on a giant screen.
Though awkward looking, we were both actually taken in by how well 3D video content worked in them, spending a fair bit of time watching 3D trailers for longer than we should have! Maybe 3D Films do have a place after all, and if so, that place is in a black box, one inch away from your forehead!
7: Rise of the Robots (Honest)
Robots were everywhere, from practical home helpers, industry focused assistants, to the downright ridiculous. A.I. (via voice control) was the new feature that made robots this year different. We are now seeing the beginnings of how robots will interact with humans more flawlessly than ever before.
SanBot, who were also present last year, featured one of the most interesting Assistant- style robots. Aimed at commercial and consumer markets, SanBot can be used for teaching, security, home help and more. It has a 3D camera, infra-red sensors, an HD projector and can answer pre-programmed questions in 28 languages, all of which made it incredibly lifelike and interactive.
As well as listing AI, cloud-based and open-platform development as part of their pitch, the killer feature, which was also shared by a robot from UbTech, was Amazon Alexa integration. This opens up the connected home through yet another device, but one that walks (well, rolls) and talks!
SanBot is already in use by customs and airports including Gongbei Port of Entry and Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport for passenger service and security purposes.
Devices like SanBot are predicted to become more prevalent in hospitality, information or hosting roles. A clear indication that robots are being designed to do certain jobs more efficiently and more cheaply than humans. Alexa integration is a sign that we will vocally interact with robots much sooner than anticipated.
Sphero and Disney have continued their partnership to bring more Star Wars and other Disney branded robots, including Marvel’s Spider-Man, to the masses. Star Wars’ R2-D2 and BB-9E join the existing BB-8 toy, which can communicate to the user via the smartphone app, voice commands, motion controls and even to each other! The potential for a Droid Army?
The most bizarre and rather hilarious addition to the robot family that we had the pleasure of seeing was Sharp’s mini RoboHon robot phone. Yes, a robot phone! Who doesn’t need a phone that can walk and talk and dance to keep you company?
He also featured a mini-projector, for playing back the day’s adventures once you are snuggled up together on the couch… This admittedly cute Robot caused much laughter during the demo. We’re still not sure if this was deliberate or not! We found it hard to imagine people in the UK carrying one around in a pouch, at least not with the same degree of excitement as the guy in the promo video.
Seriously, take a moment to watch this.
The Best of the Rest
Of course, there were loads of other interesting items or companies in attendance, whose wares sat outside of our main over-arching trends. Here in brief are some of the other things that James and I found of interest!
AR Trackers
Tracker’s for lost items (usually keys) are not new, but this one with Augmented Reality was, and will work once Apple’s iOS 11 goes live thanks to their AR-Kit.
Good Vibrations
IFA featured their first ‘pleasure’ company this year, with the Mystery Vibe, the first bendable, five motor, smart vibrator. It features the ability to download ‘vibration tracks’ that users can share, rate or even gamify depending on how good the vibrations are…
Digital Art
Digital Sketching was on show again with iSkin, whose system does not restrict you to using particular pens or paper. So long as their tablet and ‘pencil ring’ is in use, your sketches come to life in the digital world, as you sketch them out in real life. Amazing!
Stereoscopic 360
360 video was a predictably diminished presence this year. People seemed to have realised that cameras without the resolution, or stereoscopic 3D recording that make it as compelling as VR, are simply not here… Until now! Insta360 had an 8K camera that was also stereoscopic in all directions. It was, finally, 360 video that provided a really compelling image quality — and we can’t wait to see more!
Fly me to the Moon
Vodafone had a small feature, with big ambitions! They plan to send two solar powered rovers to the moon within the next two years. With a booked launch window provided by Space-X, they hope to operate an 11 day mission which will make use of an LTE network that the lander will set up. WiFi on the moon!
ALL THE PIXELS
Aaaaaannnnnddd…. 8K! How could we forget 8K! We saw lots of screens, more than we thought we would, but still showing (mostly) the same old cliched time-lapse sequences. They did look great, but only when you were very, very, very close, or when the displays were very, very, very big!
They’ll keep pushing it, and we’re bound to hear a lot more in the run up to the 2020 Olympics in Japan, where the Games will be recorded and transmitted (locally) in 8K HDR… Wowsers!
Summary
All in all, it felt like we were in a ‘gap year’ between the next technology shifts — though new trends did emerge, none felt like the seismic shifts that come along every 2–3 years to move the whole industry along.
The one exception to that, would be in the cementing of Smart Homes with Voice- Assistants. In particular, this is the year Amazon infiltrated everything and everyone.
- Multi-Room Audio is being pushed as a must have feature But it won’t catch on unless vendors work with one another
- HDR is the new normal. It was in every TV. Very soon, Broadcasters will be at the bottom of the pile; Movies, Gaming and VOD Providers (including YouTube) are already there, churning out content that audiences will come to expect from everyone.
- Some think potential image quality is as good as it is going to get with UHD-HDR, and so attention is briefly pirouetting to the physical TVs and their Stands themselves, to make them desirable objects or artwork.
- The confusing Smart Home industry is becoming much more accessible now that Voice Assistants have begun partnerships. Amazon in particular getting Alexa into as many varied devices as possible.
- AI and Image Recognition will play a bigger part in our daily internet searches
- Headsets are becoming more common, and so more content and competitive prices should begin to help consumers — although the jargon is still as confusing as ever, and many head-mounted technologies remain daft.
- Robots are promised every year (it’s a Technology Show!) but this year featured far more than normal and (you guessed it) Voice Integration. If you don’t believe that the robots are coming, well, you can just ask them for yourself.
Our final thought on the conference can be summed up with the image below.
THANKS FOR READING
This report was brought to you by the number 22, and the letter H. We hope you this comprehensive look at the major tech trends at this year’s IFA. We had a great time making it, and are privileged to have you read it. As ever, for further questions, comment or follow- ups, please do get in touch.
Col & James
bbcblueroom@bbc.co.uk
