AWS at NAB 2023: Cloud workflows help M&E customers create, deliver, and monetize content

As the media and entertainment (M&E) industry gears up for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in Las Vegas April 16-19, Amazon Web Services (AWS) is putting the final touches on a robust slate of programming that highlights how the cloud helps customers create, deliver, and monetize content. Along with celebrating 100 years of NAB with friends, partners, and customers at the show, AWS will showcase a range of end-to-end workflows and customer achievements at its NAB 2023 booth W1701 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. To book a meeting with an AWS M&E specialist at NAB, visit our NAB 2023 Event Page.

Nearly 30 AWS partner solutions will be featured at the AWS booth, alongside AWS services and solutions, and in AWS Partner Village locations in the West and North Hall of the LVCC. Throughout the show, the company will also host and participate in forward-thinking panels, as well as events tied to key industry themes such as sustainability and improving diversity, equity, and inclusion.

The AWS NAB 2023 Booth Lineup

Visitors to the two-story AWS NAB 2023 booth can expect to see exciting new developments across five AWS for M&E solution areas, including:

Content Production

Demonstrating an end-to-end Studio in the Cloud workflow, the booth will feature a production-ready cloud-based filmmaking pipeline, leveraging AWS compute services, along with AWS Elemental MediaConnect and AWS Cloud Digital Interface (CDI) for uncompressed video transport. An interconnected production and post-production environment show how customers can create faster with cloud-based infrastructure. Featured workflows include a virtual art department, principal photography with virtual production, post-production, and finishing. Post-production demonstrations include animation and rendering, picture and sound editorial, color grading, and QC workflows, all running in the cloud.

Broadcast

The broadcast area of the booth showcases live remote production, playout, and next-generation distribution mechanisms. Incoming live feeds from the AWS Free Kick Challenge set in the West Hall lobby simulate camera sources for a virtual live remote production (vLRP) set up. Playout within the booth demonstrates how to handle different sports rights and feeds with operational efficiency and scale, from contribution to playout. Real-world sports and other third-party event content are used to simulate a broadcaster in production with multiple channels and affiliates. AWS Elemental MediaLive and Elemental MediaLive StatMux are used for video processing and distribution.

Direct-to-Consumer & Streaming

Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) and Streaming demonstrations highlight the wide range of available options for delivering personalized content and advertising experiences to consumers, from creation of free, subscription, and advertising-supported audio and video experiences to all-in-one complete OTT solutions. In this space, show attendees can check out fully customizable applications built on top of AWS Media Services, including AWS Elemental MediaLive, AWS Elemental MediaConvert, and AWS Elemental MediaTailor, along with hybrid solutions, that provide a unified view of the entire content delivery and consumption ecosystem.

Media Supply Chain & Archive

Demonstrations highlighting AWS-powered Media Supply Chain (MSC) workflows at NAB include archive migration, MAM modernization, media processing, workflow orchestration, metadata management, and localization. This section of the booth hosts a media supply chain for film and television VOD workloads, a radio and audio workload, and a fast-follow broadcast VOD workload with local assets ingested into a MAM.

Data Science & Analytics

Showcasing a breadth of AWS AI/ML services in action, demonstrations in the Data Science & Analytics area highlight metadata extraction, automated closed captioning, transcription, and celebrity detection; locating similar titles using knowledge graphs; automated content moderation, content recommendations, and highlight clipping; detecting video streaming quality of service and experience; building a centralized customer data platform (CDP) that provides a comprehensive, 360-customer view; and privacy-enhanced data collaboration with AWS Clean Rooms.

Beyond the booth

In addition to booth demos, AWS is hosting and participating in a range of panels, events, and activities that attendees won’t want to miss.

Panels and Speaking Sessions

Sunday, April 16

• 2:30pm-3:30pm | Building Better Media Businesses with Diversity and Inclusion– W208-W209, West Hall, featuring Samira Bakhtiar, Director of M&E Sales, AWS. More detail here.
• 3:30pm-4:30pm | Why Sustainability in Media Matters– NAB Main Stage, featuring Susan Sanchez, Senior Sustainability Program Manager, Amazon Studios. More detail here.

Monday, April 17

• 10:00am-11:00am | Monetizing Content through Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST)– W213-215, West Hall, moderated by Steph Lone, Director of M&E Solutions Architects, AWS. More detail here.
• 10:30am-11:10am | Production & Post in the Multi-Cloud Universe – #3421, West Hall, featuring Katrina King, Global Industry Leader, Content Production, AWS. More detail here.
• 2:30pm-2:50pm | NDI in the Cloud: Best Practices, Tools and Tips when using NDI on AWS, Intelligent Content Zone, West Hall, featuring Aaron Tunnell, Principal Industry Specialist, AWS. More details here.
• 3:00pm-3:20pm | You Are What You Watch – Personalized Content Discovery and Hyper-Targeted Advertising – #2015, West Hall, featuring Tracy Geist, Head of Industry Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Games, and Sports, AWS. More detail here.
• 3:30-3:50pm | How Lionsgate seamlessly enriched its catalog with IMDb and Fabric, Innovation Stage, West Hall, featuring Robert Raver, Sr. Solutions Architect, Media and Entertainment, AWS, Natasha Bishop, Head of Business Development, IMDb, and Rob Delf, CEO, Fabric. More detail here.
• 3:30-4:00pm | Making Global Pictures and Telling Stories with Untold Studios, Inspiration Theater, West Hall, featuring Michael Wolfson, COO Untold and Gretchen Libby, Director of Visual Computing GTM, AWS. More detail here.

Tuesday, April 18

• 10:15am-11:15am | Case Study: How Peacock Scaled Server-Side Ad Insertion on AWS – W223-W225, West Hall, featuring Samira Bakhtiar, Director, M&E Sales, AWS and Naman Diwaker, Senior Director, Video Software Engineering at Peacock, NBCUniversal. More detail here.
• 11:20am-11:50pm | Virtual Live Remote Production and Video Distribution, Inspiration Theater, West Hall, featuring Julie Souza, Head of Sports, Global Professional Services, AWS. More detail here.
• 11:20pm-11:50pm | Reimagining Storytelling with AI in the Cloud, Intelligent Content Zone, West Hall, featuring Gretchen Libby, Director of Visual Computing, GTM, AWS. More detail here.
• 2:00pm-2:20pm | Reimagining TV Advertising in the era of Cloud: How Audience, Data and Alternate Currencies are Driving Change– Innovation Stage, West Hall, featuring Dr. Nage Sethu, M&E Industry Specialist, AWS. More detail here.
• 3:00pm-3:50pm | NHK delivers more information with sign language with help of AWS, Intelligent Content Zone, West Hall, Nina Walsh, Principal Industry Specialist, AWS. More detail here.
• 3:40pm- 4:00pm | Media and Entertainment Sustainability on the Cloud– W216-218, West Hall, featuring Thomas Edwards, Principal Solutions Architect, Media and Entertainment, AWS. More detail here.

Events

• Excellence in Sustainability Awards: The AWS-Sponsored NAB Show Excellence in Sustainability Awards will be presented during a special ceremony on the Main Stage at NAB on Sunday, April 16, 2023 in Las Vegas, with AWS as the exclusive sponsor and partner for this new program.
• Women in M&E Breakfast: AWS will host the third Women in M&E breakfast event during NAB on Tuesday, April 18 from 8:00-9:00am PT in the West Hall Lobby. Register here.  

Activities

• AWS Free Kick Challenge: Underscoring how developments in live sport are also driving innovation across the M&E industry, AWS is hosting a Free Kick Challenge at NAB 2023. NAB attendees can take their best shots in the West Hall Lobby of the LVCC and kick a sensor-filled soccer ball into a real-world goal. This challenge features connected ball technology supported by machine learning for unprecedented insight into real-time ball movement. Multiple remote-operated cameras capture each kick and deliver the play as live broadcast using multiple ground to cloud technologies, including a private 5G network. Participants not only see a replay of their kicks but also receive highlight reels with individual stats. They can track their progress against others on the leaderboard throughout NAB. Join the conversation by following #AWSFreeKick on social media.
• AWS Learning Lounge: Located in the North Hall, the AWS Learning Lounge will provide learning and educational events. Morning events will be dedicated to AWS JAMs, immersive learning experiences where participants benefit from an engaging experience gamified through real-time scoring and leaderboards. The AWS JAM team curated 20+ challenges for NAB that address media scenarios such as streaming and machine learning for media, as well as core cloud infrastructure best practices. Afternoon workshops, which are hands-on keyboard sessions where AWS solution architects and AWS Partners educate attendees on best practices for media workflows in the cloud, will focus on topics such as FAST channels, remote live production, and editing in the cloud.

For more information about AWS at NAB 2023, visit our NAB 2023 Event Page. We hope to see you in Las Vegas!