By David E. Williams and Douglas Bankston, April 15, 2008
If you’re one of the 100,000 or so attendees of the 2008 National Association of Broadcasters show — the annual technology safari held in Las Vegas this month (April 11-17) — you should arm yourself with knowledge. And the goal of the DV NAB Show special (above, which you'll find in the usual places at the convention center) is to help you do just that. NAB, after all, is an aural and visual assault, and you wouldn’t want to overlook a new piece of gear or technology that might revolutionize your production.
For the special, we’ve compiled a select index of more than 50 NAB exhibitors you should visit. To spice it up, we’ve included what they showed last year, describe new goodies they’ll be demonstrating this year, and offer a few hints of any surprise debuts or announcements about which they are otherwise quite tight-lipped. (We love this tease offered by Lowel-Light: “Someone famous will visit our booth; don’t know when.”) You’ll also find info about events that companies will be hosting or participating in, as well as their all-important booth numbers. (And with that a word of warning: NAB is known to have questionable leaps in logic regarding booth numbering and layout, so be patient in your hunt.)
But this special isn’t all "index." Inside, DV contributor (and longtime TV Tech writer) Carl Mrozek offers pieces on what to expect on the show floor in the camera and optics departments, Editor-in-Chief David E. Williams shines a spotlight on new lighting tools and contributor Oliver Peters tackles editing applications and storage solutions
. (Storage, especially, will be a hot commodity at NAB ’08.)
In the process of gathering information for this special, it became obvious that this NAB show doesn’t have quite the buzz leading up to it has in past years. Improvements on previously released tools lack the pizzazz of, say, a brand-new acquisition technology. The big news may be that there isn’t any “big news.” But this may not be such a bad thing. Cameras, formats and compression technologies have been developed at a furious pace in past years and post tools need time to catch up. Some of the ebb in pre-show buzz is probably due to Avid and Apple going MIA — a topic which has already been blogged to death so we won’t waste any more verbiage on it. But to Avid and Apple we do say thanks — without their massive booths and the crushing throng of their followers blockading the entrance, we can now get into the South Hall.
Of course, the hottest thing at NAB will likely be something that a tech guru like Mark Schubin stumbles upon in some relatively obscure company’s tiny booth — as was the case last year regarding a unique wiring connector.
Need guidance in your NAB strategizing? We’ve got that covered, too. Professionals weigh in with their NAB goals, tips and strategies, such as “try not to get arrested.” (That one from the PixelMonger himself, Scott Billups.) It’s apropos advice considering you’ll be in Vegas — you’re friends will be too busy to post bail or just tapped out from the tables and slots.
So arm yourselves with the DV NAB special, enjoy the show and “try not to get arrested.”
 Editor David Williams
 Managing Editor Douglas Bankston
|