The Buzz From IBC 2014 – Tachyon Wormhole showcases how to shorten or lengthen a video clip
Published: September 22nd 2014
AMSTERDAM ― Although the IBC and NAB are both considered technology shows, and both do have extensive displays of technology, the philosophies behind the shows are somewhat different. This behind-the-scenes focus leads to the shows having a somewhat different overall tone and flavor.
The NAB Show is organized by the National Association of Broadcasters, a lobbying organization that works to guide regulation and legislation favorable to its members. Thus, the NAB Show usually has keynote speakers and important session tracks presented by people knowledgeable of regulations and the workings of government.
The IBC show is organized by SMPTE, IEEE, IABM and other technical organizations that promote engineering and manufacturing. Sessions and speeches at the IBC are therefore less about regulation and government, and more about techniques, technology and processes. There is always plenty of new gear to peruse at the NAB Show, but the IBC somehow seems a little more “gear-friendly.”
With gear in mind, there were many interesting things to see at IBC 2014. However, a couple of items stuck out in the minds of our correspondents.
RETIMING IS EVERYTHING WHEN YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW TO SHORTEN OR LENGTHEN A VIDEO CLIP.
First was Cinnafilm’s Tachyon Wormhole, a retiming device that can lengthen or shorten any video clip. Products that can retime video clips have been around for years, but the Tachyon Wormhole is the first that can do it without dropping frames. The result is video that is as clean and smooth as the original, just shorter or longer.
The product was developed jointly by Wohler Technology and Cinnafilm. Introducing the Tachyon Wormhole in a press conference, Wohler CEO Carl Dempsey said that the device was the industry’s worst-named product. That said, he had plenty of good things to say about it.
“Until now, there has never been a file-based retimer,” Dempsey said. “And timing is important.”
Dempsey described a well-known German film director who created a 32-second-long TV commercial for Audi. With the director refusing to cut a single frame from the slightly too-long commercial, the ad agency used the Tachyon Wormhole to shrink the run time to 30 seconds―a version that was approved by the notoriously picky director.
As with previous video retimers, using them can shrink playing time enough to add a commercial at each break. What the Tachyon Wormhole gives the industry is improved quality for such re-timed video.