Two years after introducing the visual cloud concept, Intel is gearing up to show exactly what this emerging set of next-gen media processing, development and delivery capabilities can do for video-related content and services.

In tandem with about a dozen media partners, Intel is staging a special half-day conference about the visual cloud in Amsterdam on Friday, Sept. 13. The five-hour conference, taking place on the first full day of the much larger IBC show, will focus on the latest media trends, the development of the visual cloud, its potential to transform video services from passive media consumption to intelligent visual experiences and Intel's efforts to collaborate with other media players on the visual cloud.

As Intel envisions it, the visual cloud leverages cloud compute resources to create, store and deliver rich, immersive and interactive video experiences and graphics-based workloads. Seeking to go well beyond just media streaming, the visual cloud is also designed to support such newer video-related services as media analytics, immersive media, cloud graphics and cloud gaming. The new media ecosystem requires agile cloud, advanced networks and smart edge with scalable platforms and upgraded software.

The inaugural visual cloud conference, which is free and open to all IBC attendees, will feature senior tech executives from Akamai Technologies, ATEME, Celestica, Chaos Group, Comcast, Facebook, Gamestream, Google, Harmonic, Netflix, Qwilt, Sony Innovation Studios, Tencent Cloud, Tiledmedia and other major traditional and new media players and their tech suppliers, along with hoist Intel. IBC CEO Michael Crimp will kick off the series of keynotes, panels and case studies in the early afternoon.

Speakers will delve into a range of closely related topics revolving around the visual cloud. Topics that will be covered include: the role of open-source projects; how service providers can deliver visual cloud services; how to leverage the next-gen AV1 video codec; and the challenges and requirements of delivering intelligent visual experiences, among other things.

The conference will also serve up a few case studies of real-world implementations of the visual cloud. In several keynote and panel sessions, speakers will do deep dives into their early experiences with the next-gen media ecosystem.

The speaker roster features such prominent technologists as: Ioannis Katsavounidis, Research Scientist for Video Infrastructure at Facebook; Anne Aaron, Director of Encoding Technologies at Netflix; Will Law, Chief Architect of Media Cloud Engineering at Akamai; Matt Frost, founding board member of AOMedia and Director of Product Management at Google; Alex Giladi, Distinguished Architect at Comcast; Thierry Fautier, VP of Video Strategy at Harmonic Inc.; Yu Yang, Technical Director of Live Broadcasting at Tencent Cloud; Remi Beaudouin, Chief Strategy Officer of ATEME; Rob Koenen, Co-founder & Chief Business Officer of Tiledmedia; Jeff Gilbert, VP of Strategy at Qwilt; Todd Beaudoin, General Manager of Celestica Hardware Platform at Celestica; Lionel Adam, VP of Sales and Business Development at Gamestream; Glenn Gainor, Head of Physical Production at Sony Pictures Screen Gems and President of Sony Innovation Studios; and Philip Miller, VP of Product Management at Chaos Group. Representing Intel will be: Lynn Comp, VP of Data Center Group (DCG) and General Manager of the Visual Cloud Division (VCD); and Jill Boyce, Intel Fellow and Chief Media Architect.

Notably, Intel and its various partners will stream the conference live over the Internet for anyone to view. The streams will be delivered in 8K, 360-degree, virtual reality video, showing off the power of the visual cloud.

Intel is inviting all interested parties to attend or view the visual cloud conference next week. Please click here to register.

This blog is sponsored by Intel.

— Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading