2024 Media Technology Summit Wrap-Up

The 2024 Media Technology Summit has come to a close. Over the course of four days, members of the media tech industry flocked to Hollywood to learn, grow, and form long lasting relationships with like minded individuals. SMPTE has transformed a lot over this past year, but one thing that will never change is our commitment to the industry, and we showcase that commitment through the MTS.

This year, the MTS featured new experiences, as well as old favorites. So, what happened at in the Ray Dolby Ballroom Oct 21-24? What were the major events and the subtle moments that made this event unforgettable?

Welcome Address and Keynote

SMPTE President Renard T. Jenkins opened the Summit with a short, but lighthearted welcome address that painted an inspiring portrait of the organization's future. "Like a phoenix, we too will rise," said Jenkins. "We have the power and impact to give people the content they love and crave."

Jenkins then made several exciting introductions, including interim Executive Director, Sally-Ann D'Amato, and Summit Co-Chairs Marc Zorn and Zandra Clark. The latter two shared some short remarks before introducing the Keynote speaker for MTS 2024, Lawrence Sher, ASC.

Sher is an accomplished cinematographer, with movies like The Joker: Folie à Deux, Garden State, and the Hangover Trilogy decorating his resume. His session differed from the usual Keynote, as it was a moderated discussion led by Caroline Giardina of Variety.

Giardina began by asking Sher why he thought it was important to speak at the MTS. Sher responded that he loved the intersection between art and science, and, as a cinematographer, he's always ready to embrace new technology. An example he gave was the use of LED volumes in Joker 1 and 2, which, mixed with practical effects, allowed them to use innovative techniques to create a unique vibe. After showing a trailer for Joker 2, I can safely that vibe was achieved.

Sher is a problem solver at heart, and not just on set. Early in his career, he was constantly scouring photos of other films in search of inspiration. This process cost him precious time during production, and he knew there had to be a better way. That's what led him to create his company ShotDeck, a digital library with millions of images from over 7000 films. He discussed at length how his website helped the industry, and it's still growing.

The session ended with a Q&A, where curious minds had the opportunity to talk shop with Sher. He encouraged people to embrace new technologies, but also to film how they wanted. Tech vs. tech doesn't matter as long as the artistic vision is achieved. Sher ended the session with the apt words, "All that matters is that you move the audience."

Foundation Sessions

This year, SMPTE began Monday through Wednesday with Foundation Sessons, primers intended to give attendees the basic insights needed to understand the sessions of the day.

The first Foundation Session, Protecting the Future: Security Essentials for the Media & Entertainment Industry, focused on critical questions and strategies for content security. Host by Juan Reyes, the President of Tech Align Group, the session discussed the importance of compliance, logging, and being prepared should an incident arise.

The second Foundation Session, Introduction to Virtual Production (VP) Technologies and Challenges, took a look at the entire VP process, from pitchvis to postvis. The session featured demonstrations of the special effects and 3D animations that LED volumes can make in real time. The issues with LED walls particularly those involving color, were highlighted, issues that future sessions promised to address. The speaker, David Long, also emphasized the hardware of VP, letting attendees know that the backbone of many of these volumes was SMPTE ST 2110.

The third Foundation Session, Foundations of IP Architectures in Media, also delt with SMPTE ST 2110. Led by Leigh Whitcomb, who also ran the ST 2110 training on Thursday, this session highlighted what ST 2110 is, what its capable of, and other components of IP infrastructure.

The fourth Foundation Session, Essentials of Standards: SMPTE's Role in Shaping Global Standards: A Century of Interoperability, detailed the history and context SMPTE has played on the international stage. SMPTE Standards Director, Thomas Bause Mason, led the session, touching on major SMPTE milestones like the color bars, IMF, and ST 2110. He also touched on SMPTE's future and current endeavors.

The fifth Foundation Session, HDR Fundamentals: The Essentials in a Flash, led by Pierre Hugues Routhier, covered the basics of High Dynamic Range (HDR). The session covered all aspects of HDR, including color, hardware, transfer functions, and current Standards.

The final Foundation Session, Foundations of AI in Entertainment: A Two-Year Retrospective on Tech and Trends, covered the ever-hot topic of AI. Speaker Erik Weaver detailed the last two years of AI advancements, including the good, the bad, and the ugly. He also commented on the current state of AI regulation and Standards.

Technical Sessions

Monday

"Innovations in Video Coding" featured three technical sessions: "The new JPEG XS TDC Profile: Perfect Quality at Zero Latency," with speaker Jean-Baptiste Lorent, "New Advances in Workflow, Bitrate and Quality for SMPTE VC-3 Codecs," with speakers Shailendra Mathur and Narifumi Iwamoto, and "SEI Message for Coding Video Containing Multiple Constituent Rectangles," with speaker Jill Boyce. These sessions featured demonstrations of new technology meant to increase workflow efficiency.

At the same time, in Session Room 2 I attended "Cinema Techniques in Content Production" featuring three sessions: "Implementation of open specifications NMOS AMWA for discovery, registration and management connections of Digital Cinemas" with speaker Oleg Berezin, "Virtual Production Case Studies: Innovative Approaches to In-Camera VFX in Contemporary Cinema" with speaker Kathryn Brillhart, and "Bringing stage events with real actors to your home in VR - A low complexity solution for immersive media streaming" with speaker Siegfried Foessel.

These sessions showcased the power and possibilities of Virtual Production, digital cinema, and even VR. Each speaker presented examples, and even case-study's when it came to Kathryn Brillhart, on how these technologies can be flexible for both large and small budgets alike. They also showed how vivid, bright, and immersive these technologies could be. Digital Cinema, Virtual Production and VR will be the future of storytelling, and these experts will pave the way.

"Innovations in Live Video Processing" featured three technical sessions: "Advanced Timing for High-performance media: A call for Precision" with speaker Ievgen Kostiukevych, "Incremental Live Video Processing in IP-based GPU-leveraging Software" with speaker Dennis Sandler, and "Network Video Interface: A High-fidelity and Low-latency Transmission Solution for Professional Live Video Production" with Juan Wang. These sessions featured workflows and strategies for precise timing in high-performance media over IP production.

Meanwhile in Session Room 2, a special panel session on Color Rendition took attendees on a journey through modern day color science. Featuring some of the biggest names in media coloring, Justyn Davis, Brad Dickson, Renard Jenkins, Christian Epps, Matthew Tomlinson, and Catherine Meininger spent an hour and half talking shop, answering questions from the audience, and giving examples of their work. The enlightening conversation covered many technical topics, but one theme remained consistent: Color needs to be rendered correctly in order for the artistic intent of a film to be met. Color rendition can be affected by anything from the type of camera used to how the film was white balanced. Luckily, there are many techniques that solve some of the toughest color rendering challenges, and many were covered in this, and other sessions.

"How to Achieve Low Latency with New Architectures" was the final round of sessions in Session Room 1 on Monday. Sessions included: "DASH and Media-over-QUIC Transport Face-Off: Performance Showdown at Low Latency" with speaker Ali C. Begen and "The New Paradigm of Software Architected Broadcast Facilities: An Asynchronous Media Framework Running on IT infrastructure" with speaker Marwan Al Habbal. These sessions looked at the potential of Media-over-QUIC Transport (MOQT) to replace existing protocols like DASH, LL-DASH, and WebRTC for live streaming and real-time media delivery.

Across the Ray Dolby Ballroom in Session Room 2, "Tech Insights in Virtual Production and Workflow Integration" focused on techniques used in Virtual Production. This included two sessions: "Demystifying the use of Compression in Virtual Production" with speaker Anil Kokaram and "Slog3 and other Wide Color Volumes: Integration into Broadcast Workflows" with speaker Pierre Hugues Routhier. These sessions showcased that, as long as quality can be maintained, its worth investigating new technologies and strategies when it comes to making Virtual Production more efficient.

Tuesday

"Advances in Audio Perception and Exposure" featured two sessions: "Sound Exposure and Loudness-to-Dialog-Ratio" with speaker Thomas Lund and "On Auditory Envelopment: An Undervalued Percept" with speaker Thomas Lund. These sessions focused heavily on audio and included techniques specific to children's media. They also advocated for the importance of tracking how Auditory Envelopment affects children of different ages.

Meanwhile, in Session Room 2, SMPTE Standards began a full day worth of sessions focused on current projects, sustainability, and usage. The first two sessions that took place were: "SMPTE Standards' Sustainability Workgroup: Exploring Sustainability Standards in Media: A Collaborative Approach" with speakers Robin Hérin and Bill Redmann, and "Career Sustainability in Media" with speakers Cassidy Phillips, Philip Halprin, and Sandra Lord. Not only did this session showcase a collaborative approach to Standards, but it also proved that said collaborative approach was necessary for a healthy career in the industry.

"Delivering Creative Intent" followed in Session Room 1 and focused on techniques for both audio and visual accuracy when it came to artistic intent. These sessions were: "Investigation of Soundtrack Level and Audience Satisfaction" with speaker Charles Robinson and "Towards an Objective Metric for Preserving Creative Intent Across Displays" with speaker Zhuoran Li.

At the same time, Session Room 2 held two AI Conversations: "From CNNs to Cutting-Edge Multi-Modal LLMs: My Journey with Hugging Face and the Future of AI" with speaker Miquel Farré and "Trusted Partner Network- We Heard You" with Kari Grubin. These conversations tried to ease common fears of AI, while also showcasing how it can be a net benefit for the industry.

"Enhancing Media Infrastructures: Security, Flexibility, Efficiency" took place in Session Room 1, and featured three sessions: "A case study on Product Security and Vulnerability Management in the media industry" with speaker Ievgen Kostiukevych, "Adapting Control Rooms to Existing Infrastructure" with speaker Stephen Simo, and "A proposal for open interconnection of live production software tools" with speaker Andy Rainer. These sessions encouraged safe collaboration and interoperability.

"Advancing Media Technologies: Color, Streaming, and Standards" took place in Session Room 2, and featured three sessions: "From Emulsion to Pixels: A Color(Full) Conversation About Preserving the Art of Color, Fostering Continuity in Technological Transition, and Embracing Innovation" with speakers Laquie Campbell, Sheri Eisenberg, Rory Gordon, and Tahirah Foy, "Fixing the live stream distribution mess" with speaker Chris Lennon, and "Upcoming Changes in the SMPTE ST 2059 Family of Standards" with speaker Leigh Whitcomb.

"From Emulsion to Pixels" was a perfect example of how history can inform the future, even in technology. It was said numerous times that future workflows were built on the shoulders of past workflows, and mentorships were heavily encouraged so industries newbies could learn the ropes from seasoned professionals. These themes persisted throughout this session and, indeed, the Summit as a whole.

The final round of Tuesday sessions in Session Room 1 was "Case Studies on Transforming Broadcast Events with ST 2110" and featured two sessions: "How the Eurovision Song Contest Transitioned from Baseband to ST 2110" with speakers Scott Blair and Jeremy Hochman, and "How the Paris Olympics were Made More Immersive and More Accessible with ST 2110" with speakers Thomas Burnichon and Roman Rehausen. These fun sessions showcased how SMPTE Standards bring people together through some of the biggest live events in the world.

The final Tuesday session was a conversation on the Standardization of AI with Thomas Bause Mason, Andy Maltz, Hans Hoffmann and Fred Walls. They covered everything from SMPTE's current initiatives and Engineering Report, to C2PA. The main focus points were that AI was here, it isn't going away, and there are safe ways it can be embraced as long as there's a focus on preventing misinformation, deep fakes, and content theft.

Wednesday

"Enhancing Visual Fidelity in Media Production" featured two sessions: "AV1 Repetitive Film Grain Pattern Detection and Quality Assessment" with Hojat Yeganeh and "Practical deployment of film grain synthesis in existing Media workflows" with speaker Robin Hérin. These sessions on film grain showed that there is still a place for these aesthetic choices, and that preserving them is of the upmost importance.

Session Room 2 was all about AI on Wednesday, and the first sessions included: "Video Production with Generative AI" with speaker Brent Rabowsky, "Leveraging Large Language Models and Knowledge Graphs to Enhance Metadata Extraction for News Media Production" with speakers Roger Sacilotto and Caio Vinicius Dadauto, and "ChickaBOOM - A Study of AI in Animation" with Erik Weaver. These sessions showcased how AI can be used to supplement workflows in all areas of the industry.

"Digital Media Advances" in Session Room 1 featured two sessions: "Persistent Interactivity in Digital Media: Embedding Clickable Objects on TV Screen Using Digital Watermarking Technology" with speaker Toshiro Ozawa and "An Easy-to-Use Solution for C2PA Workloads" with speakers Patrick O'Connor and Jonathan Solomon. These sessions detailed new developments with C2PA digital water marks.

The following AI session in Session Room 2 was SMPTE's Partner Program. The session was titled "How Do We Embrace AI and Make It Work for Us in Audio (Hey AI, Get Yer Stinkin' Hands Offa My Job!)" with speakers Gary Gottlieb, David Bowles, Brian Vessa and Lenise Bent. This dynamic panel discussed the best ways AI could be incorporated into the industry without massive job loss.

"HDR Innovations in Media Production" took place in Session Room 1 and featured three sessions: "Elevating Content Creation for Social Media: Harnessing HDR Technology Beyond" with speaker Ronald Soethje, "Examining Sky Sports Live HDR End-to-End Implementation" with speakers David Adams and Carys Hughes, and "LG TV management for 'color-close' applications at Disney" with speaker Matt Lathrop. These sessions showed attendees how High Dynamic Range could be utilized in a variety of ways.

"Inclusive and Accessible" in Sessions Room 2 took a rather unique approach to the Ai conversation with three sessions on inclusion and accessibility: "AI Translation and Dubbing with Emotional Accuracy" with speaker Denys Krasnikov, "A Fully AI Approach to Descriptive Video Accessibility" with speaker Bill McLaughlin, and "Inclusivity, Sustainability, Creativity, and Savings: An Argument for the Widespread Adoption of Remote Integration Model Workflows" with speakers Brian Rio and Melissa Terry. These sessions highlighted how AI can make media accessible for both the distributor and consumer, opening up new possibilities for both groups.

"Innovations in Camera Technology for Live Production" was the last group of sessions on Wednesday in Session Room 1: "Integrating Single, Large Sensor Cameras into Traditional Broadcast Workflows" with speaker Pierre Hugues Routhier and "Film-Look in live production - What are the specific requirements and what does an optimal camera look like?" with speaker Klaus Weber. This extremely technical sessions discussed current camera techniques and everything coming down the pipeline.

The final Wednesday sessions in Session Room 2 took a break from AI to turn to discuss visual content: "Search Engine Optimization for Vector-based Image Search" with speaker Jean-Yves Couleaud, and "The Advance of Markerless Motion Capture Technology and the Impact on Animation" with speaker Jonathan Esquivel. These sessions focused on different aspects of visual content, but equally important ones, nonetheless.

Thursday

Thursday was a shorter day for sessions, all of which took place in Session Room 1. The day began with "Optimization techniques for Improved Perceptual Quality," which featured two sessions: "Efficient Content driven Encoding Towards a Target Video Quality" with speaker Trisha Mittal and "Transfer Function Measurements When the Reference Signal is Known but Not Accessible" with speaker Roger Schwenke. Though extremely technical, these sessions provided attendees with dynamic insights on content quality.

"Cloud-based Broadcasting and Modern Metadata Applications" featured two sessions: "ATSC 3.0 from the Cloud" with speakers Richard Lhermitte and Boris Kauffmann, and "Standing on Giants' Shoulders: Innovative Metadata Applications without Legacy Burdens" with speakers Thomas Psipsikas and Michael Liebman. These sessions featured innovations on two of the leading technologies used in the industry.

The final sessions of the 2024 Media Technology Summit dealt with everything SMPTE's RIS Initiative has been working on: "Color Management Principles for LED Panels in On-Set Virtual Production" with speakers David Long, Kathryn Brillhart, Jim Geduldick, and Catherine Meininger, and "OpenTrackIO - the open-source streaming protocol for camera tracking in Virtual Production and beyond" with speakers James Uren, Steve Rosenbluth, Marcus Bengtsson, and Ramiro Montes De Oca.

SMPTE RIS has bore fruit in many ways. RIS OSVP, especially, has been paving a path in the fields of color management and camera tracking. The color management panel showed attendees the power behind LED volumes, what challenges the industry is still facing, and how those challenges are being addressed. As for camera tracking, OpenTrackIO, which was released on the same day this session occurred, allows film makers to have free access to this streaming protocol, in-order to bring the industry together and create a more interoperable world.

Emerging Technology Showcase

The Emerging Technology Showcase (ETS) took place in the Solutions Hub Tuesday and Wednesday of the Summit. Eleven companies, including Avid, Neoti, Leica Geosystems, Riedel Communications, AJA Video Systems, Twelve Labs, NovaStar, Sony, Colorfront, AI Media, and Gloshine USA, graced the Emerging Tech Stage to deliver addresses on their new technological solutions and encourage attendees to visit their booths.

After hyping up the crowd, the MC introduced each speaker to showcase their solutions. Technology ranged from AI generated captions in multiple languages to API's. Technology showcased included:

• Avid's Media Composer Panel SDK, presented by Michael Krulik
• Neoti's Direct-View LED Displays, presented by Aaron Kipfer
• Lecia's 3D Laser Scanners, presented by Henry Mountain and Jamie Featherston
• Riedel's SAME VSP Platform, presented by Rick Seegull
• AJA's ColorBox, presented by Tim Walker
• Twelve Lab's MultiModal AI, presented by Simran Butalia
• NovaStar's 5G COEX System, presented by Zed Li
• Sony's HEVC-compliant video coding implementation, presented by Hugo Gaggioni
• Colorfront's Transkoder, presented by Brandon Heaslip
• AI Media's LEXI Voice, presented by Bill McLaughlin
• Gloshine's LED Walls, presented by Erik Kjonaas

These products and speakers captivated the audience, an amazing feat given how busy the Solutions Hub was. Each one drew a crowd of curious scientists and C-Suite Level executives, and added a fun, flashy element to the exhibit floor.

Tech Treks

Perhaps the most exciting addition to the 2024 MTS were the new Tech Treks, guided tours led by various presenters to Solution Hub booths that were relevant to each day's sessions. Tuesday and Wednesday, attendees experienced an immersive, hands-on learned experience that showcased technology in action.

Tech Treks focused on SMPTE ST 2110 visited booths from Meinburg, Mediaproxy, Megapixel, and intoPIX. Video Processing tours visited Sony and Riedel. AI/C2PA/Security Tours visited AI Media, CastLabs, and Neoti. There was a lot to see and experience, and attendees loved every minute of it.

SMPTE would like to extend a special thank you to all of our tour guides, including John Maizels, John Ellerton, Juan Reyes, and Chaitanya Chinchlikar. Given the great success, you can absolutely expect to see the Tech Treks again, so you can experience technology in action!

Networking and Early Career Events

The MTS is well known for its networking events, and this year's Summit was no exception. Every day had a special event, each one unique, fun, and full of opportunities to connect with other industry experts.

Monday began the festivities with an ice cream social by the pool. Attendees got to enjoy a sweet treat after a long day of sessions. Also on Monday was the Fellows Luncheon, a special lunch for past and present SMPTE Fellows, as a way to welcome in the new class. These two events showed attendees that SMPTE supports its membership, and the community at large.

On Tuesday, the Solutions Hub opened, bringing together organizations from all over the world. Each Organization showcased their organization, their technology, and their star players. So how does one celebrate this opening? With a reception of course! Tuesday ended with a lovely Solutions Hub reception, where attendees could unwind, have a drink, and share their favorite parts of the Summit so far with their colleagues.

Wednesday was Early Career Development Day, and it was a day full of exciting activities, including a tour of the Solutions Hub. The day culminated in a special session for early career professionals. Led by Derek Powell, Chief Growth Officer for Edisen. The session was a panel discussion on sustaining a career in the media tech industry. One of the main pieces of advice was to be constantly networking, which is likely why there was a fun mixer after the panel with some of the industry's biggest names.

SMPTE ST 2110 Training

Another new aspect of the MTS this year was the SMPTE ST 2110 Training Program. Partially inspired by the success of SMPTE's IP Networking Boot Camp Pilot Program, this abridged program took place on Thursday and featured three unique parts as well as a final exam.

Part 1, "ST 2110 made easy" with Karl Kuhn and Leigh Whitcomb, focused on the fundamentals of SMPTE ST 2110. Part 2, "PTP/ST 2059 made easy" focused on how SMPTE ST 2110 functions, and how it can be compatible with other tech and Standards. Part 3, "Navigating the SDI to IP Transition: Best Practices and Key Considerations" focused on the transition to an IP infrastructure.

SMPTE Gala

The final event of the 2024 Media Technology Summit was the Annual Gala. This event is meant to celebrate the brightest minds in the industry, and that's just what occurred. The evening began with the opening reception, a delightful cocktail hour with a turntable camera and several places where attendees could relax and reminisce about the past few days.

The Gala itself was a lavish event full of fun and glamour. The show was host by Astronaut Garrett Reisman, and featured special addresses from SMPTE President Renard T. Jenkins, who welcomed in New SMPTE President, Richard Welsh, and Interim Executive Director, Sally-Ann D'Amato. D'Amato, herself, gave some remarks, thanking everyone for attending the conference, thanking Past President Hans Hoffman, and bringing the Summit to a close.

The Gala ended with a huge afterparty, where attendees got the opportunity to let loose a bit. After four days of intense learning and networking, it's always nice to end the Summit with a chance to have fun with colleagues.

Conclusion

The 2024 Media Technology Summit took some big chances this year, especially with the Tech Treks and the SMPTE ST 2110 training. Attendees loved these new aspects of the Summit, as they provided more chances to participate and educate the masses. Attendees also loved the old favorites like the networking events and Emerging Technology Showcase. All in all, this year's Summit was bold, almost daring attendees to push themselves and their colleagues. As expected of the media tech industry, every single attendee rose to the occasion. Thank you to everyone who attended this year's MTS. We'll see you next year in Pasadena!

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