Counting down to IBC with Planet PC

It's that time of year again when one of the biggest events in the broadcast industry is just around the corner and here at Planet PC we know we're not alone when we say we're more than a little bit excited about the prospect of heading over to IBC and seeing what's on offer this year. We know not everyone has the time or the money to make it over to Vegas for NAB so for anyone based in Europe it's fair to say that IBC is just as (if not more) important to many who have it pencilled in their diaries well in advance.

With just over five days to go until the main event along with the fact that there's so much to see in such a small amount of time it's fair to say that IBC has been a hot topic of discussion amongst us all of us here at Planet.

We asked Sales Manager Matthew Hastings what he's looking forward to at this year's event:
       

"My visit to last year’s IBC was a bit of a whirlwind visit with the arrival of a new baby so this year I look forward to actually being able to see some new products. No doubt we'll be inundated with 4K and RAW and we have already heard the exciting news about the new professional range of Tricaster’s from NewTek. Blackmagic Design will inevitably be adding to their already impressive portfolio of products but there's also a few other items I'm keen to see which may have gone under the radar. JVC have announced two new 47 and 42 inch professional monitors that are very attractively priced with list prices at £870.00 and £690.00 (ex. VAT) respectively. Editshare have quite a few announcements and I'm keen to see the new features in Flow 3, their production asset management solution. They've also announced AirFlow which is a new web browser-based application to allow users to access their Flow database and media on the go. Finally Datavideo have announced an update to the popular DVK-200 to a new HD version the DVK-300HD. IBC is a huge show and it is a guarantee that at some point I will get lost and without doubt there will be a few more items that will catch my eye."

For anyone who is going to be experiencing IBC for the first time Matt's advice is to plan your visit well in advance. "As one of the biggest exhibitions IBC is host to pretty much everything broadcast related and it's easy to get distracted".

Wise words indeed from an IBC veteran. We also caught up with Chris in Technical Sales who's going to be visiting IBC for the first time this year:

"As a first time visitor to IBC I'm looking forward to seeing what's on offer not only from manufacturers who we already know and love but also from those who we're not as familiar with. We launched our new website around this time last year and ever since we've been updating it and adding new products daily which we will continue to do. IBC is an excellent opportunity to discover new products and manufacturers and I'm looking forward to feeding back to our web team who I know are also excited about this year's event and everything it has to offer. As Matt mentioned previously we've already had recent updates from the likes of NewTek who never fail to impress and we are in no doubt that there are many more announcements still to come from all the big names. In terms of the big names I know Blackmagic have been very secretive in the past so it will be good to see what they have in the pipeline but I'm also looking forward to seeing what Adobe have on the cards. I anticipate that once we arrive one of the biggest challenges we'll face at IBC will be seeing as much as possible in the time we have which is why we've been attempting to plan in advance in order to make sure we get the most out of it. No doubt one of us will get distracted at some point!"

Speaking of distractions, we interrupted Planet PC's Broadcast Technician Pawel Bybel who had the following to say when we asked him to take a break from the workshop to give us his thoughts on this year's event:

"I'm also visiting for the first time this year and personally I’m really looking forward to seeing the new range of products from NewTek and Blackmagic Design. I have a lot of experience working in live production  and am always interested to see how new technology is advancing. I cannot wait to finally have a play with Blackmagic's 4K Cinema Camera and am also looking forward to catching up with my old friends from Vidigo. It's been a while since I've used Vidigo's Live system and I’m really interested in what improvements and new features are present in the latest version. What is more, it will be a great opportunity to meet our business partners and suppliers in person and introduce myself. Finally, I hope there will be some time to walk around the city and enjoy Amsterdam!" 

If like us you're lucky enough to be paying IBC a visit then maybe we'll see you there (if not there's always next year). In the meantime why not get in touch via Twitter or Facebook and tell us what you're looking forward to seeing over in Amsterdam (strictly IBC related of course!) Alternatively if there's a particular product or manufacturer you think we should look out for when we're over there let us know and we'll keep our eyes peeled.