The new H2020 5G-PPP Phase 3 project 5GMediaHUB “5G experimentation environment for 3rd party media services” began its activities in January 2021 with a kick-off meeting held virtually, in which the 17 consortium partners from 11 European countries, comprising of large companies, SMEs, Universities and Research Centers, discussed the plans regarding implementation of the project over the next three years, acknowledging the significant role and potential of 5G. The project is coordinated by the Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC) from Barcelona, Spain, a leader in 5G research in Europe.

The 5GMediaHUB project’s objective is to develop a testing and validation environment over two existing 5G experimental platforms located in Barcelona and Oslo, in order to create the 5GMediaHUB Experimentation Facility which will constitute an elastic, secure, trusted, all-in-one and multitenant service execution and Network Applications (NetApps) development environment.

5GMediaHUB will offer 3rd party application developers, such as service providers, the opportunity to experiment, test and validate their media applications by using the 5GMediaHUB Experimentation Facility. This will reduce the time needed for an enterprise to make its services available to end-users. The outcomes of the project will benefit the European media industry considerably, particularly SMEs, enabling it to become a force to be reckoned with at a global level.

“In 5GMediaHUB we capitalize on the experience from previous 5G projects in network slicing and orchestration. Existing well-established 5G platforms will be extended during the project in order to test 3rd party media services to enable the EU to achieve its goal of becoming a world leader in 5G”, stated 5GMediaHub Project Coordinator Christos Verikoukis, Research Director at CTTC.

The use cases that will be tested are Immersive Augmented, Virtual and Extended Reality applications; smart media production; and smart media content distribution. The outcomes of the experiments will offer valuable information and insight regarding the 5GMediaHUB Experimentation Facility performance.

“The 5GMediaHub project will allow Brainstorm to use, test and validate 5G technology with its virtual reality and augmented reality graphic applications for the broadcast sector,” adds Francisco Ibáñez, R&D Project Director at Brainstorm Multimedia.

Learn more on this project visiting www.5gmediahub.eu/

With the integration of the Brainstorm engine, Dalet Cube^NG takes advantage of the most advanced features available in Aston, Brainstorm’s motion graphics creation, CG and playout solution, which significantly expands on-air and file-based graphics capabilities. These include support for 4K and user-defined output formats, advanced primitives and objects for creating 2D and 3D graphics, support for Unicode fonts and languages, and StormLogic, Brainstorm’s acclaimed transition logic between templates, along with extensive options for data-driven graphics, which can be automatically updated from external sources.

“Based on the Brainstorm real-time render engine, Aston is one of the most advanced graphics systems in the market because of its power, flexibility and reliability, which gives a glimpse of what the new Dalet Cube^NG can provide to Dalet customers for enhancing their graphics operation. The next generation Dalet Cube^NG will empower users to reach new heights in graphic design and the creation of content which is both visually engaging as well as informative,” says David Alexander, Brainstorm’s Commercial Director.

The complete product range of Brainstorm, from Aston through to the InfinitySet which is the company’s flagship virtual studio and AR application, is built on top of the company’s real-time graphics render engine, the eStudio. The Aston itself is highly regarded by its users because of its sheer graphics power, high-end quality and ease-of-use, combined with one of the most advanced feature sets for graphics creation, CG and playout available in the market. When this is coupled with MOS-compatibility and the ability to integrate within collaborative workflows in any broadcast environment, from news and sports to entertainment, Aston stands head and shoulders above the competition.

“Integrating the Brainstorm real-time graphics engine at the heart of Dalet CubeNG is a major step in the evolution of our graphics platform. We are now able to equip Dalet customers with the industry’s most advanced graphics capabilities to deliver better and visually richer news stories, faster than ever before,” comments Kevin Savina, director of product strategy, Dalet. “Brainstorm has decades of graphics experience with leading technology offerings. Partnering with them gives our customers all the performance and flexibility they need, with decades of graphics mastery at their fingertips.”

As well as a leading solutions provider, Brainstorm is also a recognized OEM supplier with a range of agreements with a number of leading manufacturers, starting with partner company FOR-A, and with other broadcast and audio-visual providers. Brainstorm is also an active company participating in European R&D projects and has collaborated with like-minded public and private organizations in projects like SmartSet, VisualMusic, VisualMedia, GamePlay, Kinoptic and many other.

InfinitySet, Brainstorm’s virtual set and augmented reality solution, will showcase its latest version 3.1, which includes new powerful features like real-time ray tracing, Unreal Engine 4.22 compatibility, HDR I/O, PBR, new effects and new 360-degree output, to mention just a few. InfinitySet will be the star of the show powering the main demo, which will display advanced, photorealistic augmented and mixed reality content in a highly visually engaging presentation. InfinitySet performs at its best within complex broadcast environments, being capable of working as a hub for a number of technologies and hardware required for virtual set and augmented reality operation, such as hardware chroma keyers, tracking devices, cameras, mixers and many other. This puts InfinitySet firmly at the center of the virtual operation as well as transcending the real-time broadcast boundaries by entering the series and film market by providing real-time post-production and high-end content pre-visualization. Last, but not least, InfinitySet will demonstrate a new module to enhance presentations by creating advanced AR content using material from any presentation tool, such as Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe PDF, and including keyed talents.

Aston, Brainstorm’s motion graphics creation, CG and playout solution, will also showcase version 3.1, which introduces Aston2D, a dedicated version that brings the power and heritage of Aston to dedicated 2D-only requirements. When the most sophisticated tools for 3D graphics are required, Aston provides them all, but for applications which do not require such advanced 3D features, or for designers used to 2D environments, Aston 2D is the right choice. Aston 2D does not reduce Aston’s versatility and functionality but provides all the power and capabilities of the Aston but in a two-dimensional world, and in a much more affordable format.

The graphics workflow at NAB will be completed with Neuron, Brainstorm’s broadcast graphics management solution ACA-demic, and AstonElections, the template-based elections and business graphics application. In addition, Brainstorm will also be unveiling new products and solutions for Weather, Sports analysis, presentations and interactive 360-degree content.

According to Ricardo Montesa, Brainstorm’s CEO and founder, “we are excited to be at NAB in our 25 anniversary year, which underlines how a company focused on innovation can continue to excel year after year in the dynamic and ever evolving broadcast market. So, continuing with our commitment to innovation, we will be showcasing amazing new solutions, products, features and workflows at NAB. We are especially proud to introduce real-time ray tracing, which will provide our customers with additional and ground-breaking tools to create even more engaging content for their audience.”