Earlier this month, we packed our bags and traveled to Amsterdam for IBC 2016, an annual conference for the electronic media and entertainment industry. This year, we had a team of four attend and work the Ikan booth. After about a 9 hour flight from Houston to Amsterdam, we arrived jetlagged, but ready to set up the booth and check out the city.
Ikan Booth at IBC
We had a booth in Hall 12 at IBC where we showed off some of our latest products including our line of gimbal stabilizers, our Lyra and Rayden LED lights, teleprompters, NiSi cinema filters, our new Blitz wireless video transmission system, our full line of 4K monitors, and more. See video for a quick recap:
The attendees at this year’s conference got to be the first ones to see our latest gimbal stabilizer, the EC1, which stabilizes footage captured on DSLR or mirrorless cameras up to 4.5 lbs. The EC1 camera stabilizer was the biggest draw at our booth and people were really impressed with it. People also were very interested in the new Stryder SB200, a single source LED light that is 200 watts. It really grabbed a lot of attention and people really liked its unique look and impressive light output. The Stryder SB200 is great for portable use, studios, or electronic news gathering (ENG). In addition, attendees were interested in our line of 4K monitors specifically the DH5e, DH7, and VL35 on-camera field monitors.
Besides showing off our products, we also gave away some Ikan goodies such as the FLY-X3-PLUS and other Ikan swag. See below for some pictures of our winners:
During our time in Amsterdam, we got to meet a bunch of people and attend some after-parties such as one held by RedShark News. The company is a multiplatform online publication for anyone with an interest in moving image technology and craft. It was great to meet all these talented people from a variety of nationalities all in one place – IBC.
Amsterdam
During IBC, we stayed at the beautiful Hotel V, which had a direct bus that took us to the RAI Amsterdam Convention Centre in about 15 minutes. We thought that the city of Amsterdam as well as the IBC conference had a more laid back attitude and vibe overall when compared to the U.S. We found that most people in Amsterdam were friendly. Although, you still have to watch out for cyclists because the city is filled with people riding bikes.
We also enjoyed seeing the canals as well as visiting some historical sites such as the Anne Frank House. It was pretty easy to get around the city since we had the Citymapper app and a free GVB public transport pass provided by IBC. An interesting thing that we noticed was that the city of Amsterdam is very multicultural. We found food from all over Europe and it seemed like standards for food were higher than the U.S. because we didn’t eat any bad food while there. Although, the portions are smaller…or maybe it’s just a normal portion when compared to meals served in Texas.
Another thing we noticed in Amsterdam was the timeliness of buses and transportation. All transit was always there on time. We also walked a lot….averaging about 8 miles per day from the moment we woke up until we went to sleep. If you ever visit Amsterdam or attend IBC, bring a good pair of walking shoes.
Overall, we had a good trip to IBC and Amsterdam. We were able to meet dealers from all over including countries such as Spain, Italy, and of course the Netherlands. If you’re thinking of attending IBC next year, we highly recommend going. Also, we suggest that you plan out what you’re going to do and who you want to see in advance so that you can make the most of your time at IBC. You don’t want to travel all the way to the show and miss something that you really want to see.
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