Barcelona is just as exciting a place to be in the winter as it is every other time of the year. This particular time we visited the Catalonian capital for the annual Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) 2023 trade show and conference, which took place between 31 January and 3 February, returning to its regular, pre-pandemic timing.
Not only is ISE the world’s leading audiovisual and systems integration exhibition, it is also host to the industry’s most prominent manufacturers, innovators, and solution providers. This year’s ISE show attracted over 58,000 visitors from 155 countries, and based on the data reported by its exhibitors, there was also a record-setting influx of visits at the booths on what was the largest show floor in the history of ISE. Not surprisingly, the city of Barcelona also saw record occupancy at its hotels, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues.
For us at the AV Alliance trade shows are the perfect opportunity to make new connections and most importantly meet in person with not just our visiting members, but also our sponsoring partners, almost all of whom were exhibitors at ISE 2023. In this post we attempt to give you a glimpse into our time in Barcelona, as well as some of the highlights of what our partners and members were up to during this trade show.
ISE is one of the most frequented industry trade shows by the AV Alliance, with members coming from Europe, the Middle East, as well as Asia, from as far as India and Malaysia. With so many of us present, the “unofficial” AV Alliance dinners (which by now have become a tradition at trade shows) that we hosted on the first two nights of ISE were larger in size than ever before. Such gatherings allow our members and sponsors to form even closer relationships, and also meet senior colleagues and project managers from different member companies who do not typically frequent our official AV Alliance events (the AGM and the Get Together).
Here are just a few examples of the many amazing booths and brand new products that our technology partners showcased at the ISE 2023:
ARHT Media, who is a pioneer and global leader in hologram technology and 3D interactive content and joined the AV Alliance as Platinum Sponsors in 2022, kindly arranged a private booth tour for our members at ISE, where we could get more closely acquainted with the ARHT CAPSULE 4K hologram display. The ARHT CAPSULE is the latest hologram display launched by the company, and after debuting it at the CES in Las Vegas and NRF in New York City earlier in January, its interactive capabilities were showcased at ISE by beaming in various talents from London to Barcelona in real-time. We had the chance to try out the Capsule ourselves, creating a live holographic version of us on the show floor.
At ISE 2023 our AV Alliance Platinum Sponsor Barco has debuted its brand new Pulse Mobile App, a tool that enables easier projector control. The app serves as a remote controller and allows for quick tweaking of basic projection parameters, such as lens adjustments, projector orientation, shutter power, test patterns and black level settings*. Among other new products and updates, Barco also launched their UDM-4K30 projector, which offers 4K resolution at 30,000 Lumens for large venues and rental/staging.
Our Platinum Sponsor disguise does not need much introduction when it comes to everything about extended reality, broadcast, virtual production, and the future of entertainment: at this ISE 2023 they brought out the big guns, giving showgoers a glimpse of all of the above by showcasing their most powerful and versatile hardware, the gx 3 server; their Designer production software enabling a wide range of clients across broadcast, film, TV, experiences and shows to deliver pixel-perfect results, and their newly-launched disguise APIs, which allow users to build their own tools on the platform – opening the door to more tailor-made solutions in a connected ecosystem.
What is more, the disguise team also had the privilege to meet King Felipe VI of Spain, who, accompanied by the Royal Party, took a tour of the show floor stopping by a few booths to take in a small sample of the technology on display.
AV Alliance Platinum Sponsor d&b audiotechnik pulled out all the stops at this year’s ISE when it came to showcasing a full range of installation-specific technology and design solutions at their booth in Hall 7, including their XSL (the newest addition to the SL-Series family), the ultra-compact 5D amplifier, and the AV industry’s leading immersive toolkit: d&b Soundscape. In the d&b demo room in Hall 8, visitors were invited to experience d&b Soundscape for themselves, learn what object-based audio reproduction is and how it benefits a wide range of applications. This video below takes a behind-the-scenes look at the demo room, a collaboration between d&b solutions and d&b audiotechnik, which took the audience on an immersive journey, combining the power of d&b Soundscape’s object-based audio with video content, lighting, and a range of interactive technologies.
Our Platinum Sponsor Panasonic has once again created a fantastic atmosphere at its massive Panasonic Connect booth at ISE 2023, showcasing a host of new products, including two new cameras: the PTZ AW-UE160 and the AK-PLV100. The AK-PLV100 S35 studio camera with PL mount, which made its debut in Europe at ISE, was designed to help production teams make their content more exciting and engaging, and is perfect for live cinematic videos with shallow depth of field. Its S35 sensor allows PL lenses to be mounted to it and create images just like movie cameras do, making it easily adaptable to different shooting conditions, picture style, etc. It is also the very first Panasonic camera that outputs SMPTE ST2110 video directly from its camera head and only requires an optical-fiber connection for return input, intercom input/output, etc.
AV Alliance Gold Sponsor ROE Visual debuted a wide range of its products for the vertical sectors served by the pro AV solutions market at ISE 2023, such as the brand new Ruby 1.9BV2 LED, which panel took center stage at the booth, demonstrating outstanding visual performance in fine pixel pitch. ROE Visual also introduced its new Black Quartz BQ6. which is ideal for outdoor touring, the Black Marble BM2 LED floor that was showcased for the first time at the ISE, and the Opal LED platform for its fixed install range. In addition, the ROE team also offered an immersive demonstration of GhostFrame, showcasing the product’s advantages for virtual production.
Inspired by four intense days filled with networking and awe-inspiring technology and innovation, we cannot wait to return to Barcelona for the ISE 2024! As always, our members and technology partners will be looking forward to meeting you at different trade shows throughout 2023.