ISE 2024 Info: More AVoIP, Digital Signage, and More Can't-Miss Booths in Barcelona

ISE 2024 is creeping closer. Before you head to Fira Barcelona, Gran Via, find out what you don't want to miss with our weekly ISE 2024 Info updates.

Today, we highlight Matrox Video, Magewell, Barix, Humly, and nsign.tv.

AVoIP Expertise on Display: Meet Matrox Video in Barcelona

In Booth 5D500, Matrox Video will display a selection from its complete portfolio of products designed for networked, IP-based control rooms and live production environments.

In the Control Room Collaboration pod, attendees will see how Matrox Video's encoders and decoders, IP KVM extension and switching solutions, and video wall controllers enable smooth and seamless collaboration over IP and increase operator efficiency and decision-making. To demonstrate, the pod will feature a video wall and an operator workspace driven by the following Matrox Video products:

• Matrox Extio 3 IP KVM extenders and KMLync USB keyboard/mouse switches enhance operator efficiency by enabling remote monitoring and control of systems across a multimonitor workspace with up to four 4K or 16 full-HD displays. In this way, operators can visualize more data and seamlessly control—with one keyboard and mouse—multiple systems that have 4K/quad-FHD video ports, fast switching, and built-in multiview capability. A secure and scalable IP KVM matrix system, Extio 3 operates at very low bit rate over Gigabit Ethernet LAN, WAN, and the internet.
• Matrox Maevex encoders/decoders for H.264/H.265 streaming and recording – Maevex 6100 Series and Maevex 7100 Series offer high-quality, high-density, ultra-low latency live streaming and recording to capture and share all AV sources and data points for all kinds of collaborative applications. Users can pair Maevex 6100 Series encoders and decoders to achieve full-frame synchronization from multiple sources. The Maevex-captured streams can be displayed on a Matrox LUMA Pro-powered video wall.
• Matrox LUMA Pro graphics cards leverage Intel Arc GPUs to create versatile baseband and IP-based video wall systems with robust H.264/H.265 decoding. LUMA Pro supports up to two 8Kp60, two 5Kp120, or four 5Kp60 DisplayPort 2.1 monitors, and users can combine cards for a high-density-output video wall of up to 16 synchronized 5Kp60 displays. Frame-locking up to four LUMA Pro cards facilitates easy addition and synchronization of displays. Featuring advanced GPU-based media codec engines and supported by Matrox Mura software libraries, these cards enable the decoding and display of over 40 full-HD streams per card. Also on display will be a new quad HDMI® capture PCI Express® card engineered for video wall use cases that require high-density HDMI streams up to 4Kp60.

Additionally, a video production, routing, and distribution pod will focus on live production in pro AV and the use of SMPTE ST 2110 in live event venues, such as theaters or corporate and government environments where the organization is working with live events, producing and mixing live content for distribution locally and beyond. The pod will demonstrate how easy and cost effective it is to distribute Panasonic Kairos live production content locally within the organization's LAN with Matrox ConvertIP converters and ultra-low latency encoders/decoders. These compact appliances support both SMPTE ST 2110 and IPMX and preserve the quality and real-time nature of the live event content they are distributing, while also simplifying network requirements and working within the organization's standard network infrastructure. The ConvertIP demo will also show the new daisy-chain feature that reduces installation costs and increases network efficiency and resiliency.

[SCN Hall of Fame 2024: Matrox Founder Lorne Trottier]

Pro AV users interested in streaming and recording H.264/H.265 content with ultra-low latency will see Matrox Maevex encoders and decoders in action. Matrox Maevex 6100 Series encoders/decoders and the new Maevex 7100 Series encoders enable multichannel, ultra-low latency, low bitrate, high-quality, simultaneous streaming and recording and zero-latency pass-through for real-time output of AV content in collaboration-focused environments. With these capabilities, operators can distribute critical content to any location to facilitate informed, accurate, real-time decision making.

Magewell to Highlight Streaming, Production, and AV-over-IP Innovations

Attendees to Magewell's booth will see its newest unveilings: Two new models in its growing Ultra Encode family of advanced live media encoders. Ideal for applications ranging from live streaming to IP-based production and distribution, the compact Ultra Encode HDMI Plus and Ultra Encode SDI Plus blend exceptional encoding and delivery flexibility with simultaneous multi-protocol streaming, file-based recording, NDI HX3 support, 4K encoding at 30 frames per second, PoE support, and tally lights for live production.

The Director Mini all-in-one production and streaming system combines switching, graphics, streaming, recording and monitoring in one portable device. Its exceptionally flexible input capabilities include live HDMI, USB, SRT, RTMP, NDI HX2, NDI HX3 and mobile sources plus file-based media assets. Recent updates since Director Mini's launch at IBC in September add powerful new capabilities including H.265 (HEVC) encoding; UVC/UAC output for bringing the produced output into software such as video conferencing applications; ISO recording and much more.

Magewell's USB Fusion multi-input video capture, mixing and presentation solution lets users combine cameras, wired and wireless screenshares, and media file sources into attractive live presentations for use cases including online lectures, webinars, live streaming and video conferencing. Advanced presentation features include real-time on-screen drawing, exportable handwritten annotations, playlisting, and USB clicker control for PowerPoint presentations on a connected computer.

The above solutions and other Magewell streaming and IP video conversion products can be centrally configured and controlled via Control Hub, the company's second-generation device and stream management software. A new version of Control Hub will be previewed at the show. Magewell will also showcase its robust portfolio of NDI, SRT and streaming encoders and decoders, along with its extensive range of capture devices. The company's popular USB Capture HDMI and USB Capture HDMI Plus external video capture devices recently earned Zoom certification for wired content capture with Zoom Rooms.

Barix to Showcase AoIP with New Multicoder Device

Barix (booth 7C400) is adding a new flavor to its encoding family with MultiCoder M400 new low-latency, multi-format solution that can send audio streams to receive points in four different formats. The new hardware device also adopts Barix’s next-generation FLEXA platform to enhance buffering performance, application development, and device prototyping among other benefits.

For the MultiCoder M400, the enhanced buffering performance of the FLEXA platform eliminates all stream buffering within the device—an important benefit given the presence of multiple encoding engines under the hood. This means that customers can encode audio into four formats, including OPUS, AAC+, PCM and 320KB mp3, and send multiple audio RTP/BRTP streams to receiving devices without delay while retaining exceptional quality. 

These capabilities make the MultiCoder M400 a unique sibling to Barix’s existing Instreamer IP audio encoders, which accommodate different use cases. For example, the Instreamer Classic supports more streaming protocols, ideal for Live IP Audio Encoding for Streaming Applications while the Instreamer ICE is perfect for organizations streaming solely to an Icecast server without latency concerns for online audio services. The MultiCoder M400’s greater CPU capacity also ensures plenty of space for new features and applications, providing a stronger foundation for ongoing customization and development.

The MultiCoder M400 is also the first Barix encoder to support high-efficiency AAC+ and OPUS codecs, allowing customers across a broad range of verticals in the Pro AV and entertainment industries to send a greater number of streams within the same bandwidth, and at lower bitrates than lower-efficiency codecs. 

nsign.tv to Showcase the Power of Digital Signage

At its booth 6H680, nsign.tv will showcase the new IoT module of its platform that enables engagement with audiences using facial recognition cameras, NFC, RFID, QR codes, touchless sensors and voice recognition systems that unveil enormous possibilities to generate and capture interactive and dynamic information in real time. On display will be the benefits of nsign.tv solutions, such as improved customer engagement, the delivery of more personalized experiences based on the audience, and the ability to generate measurable conversations in the right place, with the right person, in the right format.

In this sense, the nsign.tv booth will show how a screen connected to a facial recognition camera can be used to obtain data such as gender and age range to adjust the content to the parameters of the person watching it. In other words, nsign.tv will show how facial recognition helps companies to personalize the content of their screens according to their audience.

The company will also showcase the BI (business intelligence) module of its platform that converts data into dashboards from various sources to view audience analytics, content broadcast data or connectivity with POS systems, capturing more information of interest to a business, whether in a checkout area in a supermarket, in a store, in an aisle of a shopping mall or in an airport terminal, among others.

Also, attendees will see how nsign.tv software maximizes the visual effect on LED screens and simplifies content management in an intuitive and efficient way. Thus, with nsign.tv there is no need to invest in a video scaler as the same platform makes its own processing, which greatly saves installations in LED projects.

Humly to Introduce Two Accessories for Humly Booking Device

At booth 2W500, Humly will unveil its latest booking device innovations, including a new network-enabled accessory that improves powering and control functionalities for desk integrations. 

New for ISE this year, Humly’s PoE and Desk Control features for the Booking Device are enabled through a separate, ultra-compact accessory. The accessory includes an ethernet port for PoE powering and a separate cabling connection to control desk positions, and these features can be turned on separately or together. The accessory is small enough to fit inside walls or mount underneath desks for cleaner installations that conceal accessories from direct sightlines.

Humly will also introduce a second external accessory to detect human presence inside a phone booth style personal meeting space. The External Sensor immediately notifies the local Booking Device when someone has entered the booth, which switches to “booked” mode and changes the touchscreen’s bezel lighting to red.

Introduced at InfoComm in June and new to ISE audiences, users can now book, extend or conclude meetings directly on the Booking Device, providing staff with greater flexibility to create new bookings and make adjustments on the spot. Additionally, integrators and tech managers with access to Humly Control Panel can now collect data and statistics tied to room and desk usage. The latter is made even more powerful when combined with the built-in presence detection of the Booking Device or the new External Sensor.