Five trends transforming the broadcast industry

From the changing habits and expectations of viewers to the rise of remote production solutions, the modern broadcast environment is dynamic and full of potential. With online viewing – be it social channels or digital on-demand services – continuing to be the lead growth area, higher quality images have become the norm, forcing the industry to move away from HD-only productions.

Thanks to the seismic changes wrought by the pandemic, broadcasters have also had to pivot towards remote deliveries. A slow-moving trend towards remote filming was rapidly accelerated as global circumstances forced broadcasters to get to grips with emergent workflows and future immersive technologies.

Here, Adrian Pennington, a media technology journalist, and Jack Adair, Canon Europe Product Marketing Specialist, discuss the top five broadcasting trends in today's industry, and how Canon's diverse imaging ecosystem meets the modern needs of broadcasters.

"The most significant current trend in broadcasting is towards remote productions," says Adrian. "Through the pandemic, remote production had a quantum leap forward. Every broadcaster had to continue going on air, and that meant introducing tech that already existed across the board, to enable their staff to continue working remotely, effectively controlling the cameras and workflow remotely over IP, using software tools."

Broadcasters are moving towards higher resolution capture, increasingly leaning on the optical excellence of 4K lenses. "While cinema has a lot of content being shot in 4K and 8K already, a lot of broadcast is still played out in HD," says Jack. "But 4K HD and 4K UHD are now becoming increasingly popular in live broadcasting, so people need the right lenses for this."

From class-leading ENG and EFP lenses through to Canon's xs technology seen in DIGISUPER studio and field lenses, by offering lenses which work for both HD and 4K outputs, Canon is facilitating a smooth transition to high-resolution workflows. Across the cinema range, there are also broadcast applications for full-frame cameras and lenses offering excellent image fidelity.

"Another recent trend is the introduction of cine-style lenses and capture into live broadcast," says Adrian. "This has seen broadcasters using camera and lens packages with greater control over depth of field for a blurred background, to give a more immersive and richer piece of storytelling to certain aspects of the live broadcast. Previously, the use of cine lenses was only found in the highlights reel, but now it is going live and broadcasters are having this kit in their armoury."

Streaming TV giants from Netflix through to Amazon Prime have changed the game when it comes to broadcast standards, thanks to high-resolution streams. Where TV has traditionally accepted 1080p deliveries, online platforms like YouTube offer up 4K and even 8K pictures and high dynamic range, providing richer and crisper images than ever before.

Gone are the days of delivering a single file to be broadcast on a channel in an hour-long time slot. Today's broadcasting environment demands more from every piece of programming: each must work across TV, online streaming services and a range of diverse social platforms.

As technology develops, it has become possible to do more with less. Cameras such as the Canon EOS R5 now pack a full-frame 45MP CMOS sensor into a compact form factor, while Canon's smallest Cinema EOS camera, the EOS C70, has the same revolutionary 4K Super 35mm DGO sensor as its much larger stablemate, the EOS C300 Mark III , which offers 16+ stops of dynamic range.

"Canon's RF mirrorless cameras are a great way to capture image detail, because RF lenses are full-frame," says Jack. "The amount of information you can capture with a full-frame sensor is huge, which allows you to capture a lot more dynamic range with less noise. We wanted to bring RF technology to a video camera. The Canon EOS C70 gives people the freedom to work with the new RF glass, while the Mount Adapter EF-EOS R 0.71x means you can continue to use EF glass with the camera. It also works as a speed booster, so you get an extra stop of light when using EF lenses."

Immersive technologies have been an emerging trend for a number of years, with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) yet to fully realise their promise. With a growing emphasis on virtual solutions during the pandemic, and with people turning to headsets to experience the world while staying at home, broadcasters are beginning to embrace the potential of future technologies.

With the RF 5.2mm F2.8L Dual Fisheye lens, Canon is bringing immersive technology to the heraldry of its L-series range. This compact, stereoscopic RF lens allows for 180° VR capture when using compatible high-resolution, full-frame, RF-mount cameras such as the Canon EOS R5. "Because it's being used with a full-frame, 8K sensor, it gives you a lot more information in the image," says Jack. "When you're trying to capture a space for VR, quality is obviously a highly important factor. That higher resolution only adds to the realism and detail."

Immersive tech goes beyond straight VR and includes the use of virtual production – filming on stages surrounded by LED screens showing changeable locations, as well as other technologies. "One portion of immersion is UHD, surround-sound quality, HDR, higher frame rates," continues Jack. "The metaverse requires 3D content and assets that can be easily transported between web domains. To grow, immersion has to be a good experience, to look and sound fantastic with no glitches or buffering. There will be a drive to create content more easily and democratically in 3D."