Explore the Evolution of Video at NAB Show

Lori H. Schwartz, technology catalyst and NAB Amplify content partner, recently interviewed Tim Hanlon about the future of the video ecosystem, as well as one way to experience its ongoing transformation at the 2023 NAB Show: the Evolution of Video tour, which he will lead.

Hanlon is founder and CEO of strategic consulting and advisory firm Vertere Group. He offers “strategic and operational expertise” with an emphasis on the intersection where “TV-meets-digital-video.” He also hosts and produces the sports history/pop culture podcast “Good Seats Still Available.”

Watch the video, above, or read on for a summary of their conversation.

The State of Video in 2023

First of all, there’s legacy, linear video, which is “exponentially expanding and compressing and becoming of higher quality,” Hanlon says. These trends are enabled by collaborative technologies that enable in the cloud creating and editing on-the-fly. In some cases, live remote work can even happen without a truck.

“Linear is itself evolving and changing and getting more sophisticated,” Hanlon says.

On the other hand, consider “the explosion of streaming,” which has on-demand content and user-generated content as two of its hallmarks that have traditionally differentiated this model from linear video offerings. That’s where FAST channels have come into the mix, disrupting our conception of “television channels.”

Hanlon predicts this year will be one in which more traditional TV producers, distributors, and channel owners grapple with how to take advantage of free ad-supported streaming video content.

The inverse will also likely be true. How can streamers benefit from the FAST way of doing things, or the linear television model?

“How does a streamer that’s never been in the ‘television’ realm challenge, disrupt itself, compete? How did the two harmonize or not? All of those things are really literally up in the air.

“Individually, television and streaming video, they’re exponentially changing and evolving very, very quickly. But then they’re also colliding towards each other,” Hanlon says, noting that these shifts are making “a lot of people uncomfortable” as we are in an interim place, waiting to see who the winners and losers will be.

At NAB Show, Hanlon suggests, we’ll get a preview of how more of this may work in practice. As he puts it, “Why has the potential to become real — and what the heck do I need to do about it?”

Short-form and Social Video

The significance of snackable content is one trend that’s withstood the test of a few shows. From Hanlon’s perspective, the main takeaway is not that this content is briefer, but the “democratization of creation and distribution” that goes hand-in-hand with TikToks and Reels.

In 2023, video professionals may debate the best format to shoot and/or share their subject matter, considering options that were almost unthinkable 15 years ago.

Varying wildly in quality and form, “the army of everybody” and their smartphones and handheld cameras have joined an ecosystem that in 2018 was “the exclusive domain of professionals and trucks and cables and satellite feeds.” Today, smartphones and apps can enable individuals to “literally create, produce, edit, disseminate, react to and live and breathe further into the ecosystem.”

And some of the smartphone video can be reconstituted for linear TV, borrowing from Vin Di Bona’s “America’s Funniest Home Videos” format, substituting downloaded files for mailed VHS tapes. But it’s also available to watch in real time, perhaps without editing, before a pro can consider repackaging it.

These developments are further complicating the video and TV ecosystem.

“It’s hugely fascinating, but it clearly upsets a lot of traditional business models along the way and creates new ones along the way,” Hanlon says.

He cautions that none of this is “zero sum. It’s kind of mutually evolutionary, right? In that short form, long form, premium, user-generated, on-demand, linear streaming, everything in between… Put that all in one big gigantic brown bag, shake it up vigorously and discuss and evolve and create and take advantage of” it all.

Finding — and Applying — the Right Tech

At this year’s NAB Show, Hanlon expects to simplify some of these trends, or break the individual technologies into their elemental parts in discussions.

“It’s creating content at Point A and distributing it, ultimately, to somebody in some economically advantageous way in various Points B,” he says.

Breaking it down further, you can look at data and measurement, signal monitoring and much more.

“Why has the potential to become real — and what the heck do I need to do about it?”

Tim Hanlon, Evolution of Video tour guide

What else will be top of mind? Hanlon thinks manner of transmission will be a big topic, with 5G and ATSC 3.0 staying relevant and buzzy in 2023. He’s a big NextGen TV believer, and this year’s show floor features a whole section dedicated to showcasing the technology in the new Broadcast District, located in the West Hall of the LVCC.

“One of the reasons tours are so important is to really help everybody use their time in the smartest way,” Schwartz explained. Her company, Storytech, has produced three different tour experiences for this year’s show.

If you want an efficient way to learn about the latest video-centric trends, purchase a pass and reserve your preferred slot for the Evolution of Video tour when you register for NAB Show. Hanlon’s two-hour tours are scheduled Sunday through Tuesday of NAB Show, starting at 1 p.m. (PT).