Archive by Dan Ochiva

Back from the show. I like taking a day or so after my last postings to look through everything I’ve collected, selecting some last items to include in a final wrapup. While that’s not a lot of time for deep reflection, I am at least far enough away from the hype of the moment to enable a bit of perspective.

At the NAB press office earlier this week I overheard an NAB official talk to the editor of one of the leading trade mags. He was asked about what he thought would be among the most exciting developments of the show. Instead, he begged off answering, stating that as far as he was concerned it was all just a rehash. He could find nothing new or interesting worth commenting on. more

When a company with a product line as big and deep as Autodesk makes its NAB presentation, you’ll forgive them for thinking like an auto company and describing the updated apps as their 2009 product lineup.

Trevor Boyer has already posted notes about Autodesk’s Sunday press conference. While each of the major products announced have plenty of notable and usable improvements, I’ll vote for lower price points and ability to work with compressed media as the most significant moves that herald future trends. Smoke 2009’s $64,000 tab for a turnkey hardware/software finishing machine–storage included–is a great breakthrough. For the first time, (fiscal) hope is offered to those many mid-level shops which blanch when faced with six-figure offerings from Autodesk, Quantel, et.al. (At present, this was described as an introductory price available through July 21, 2008. It’s a little unclear what happens after that; maybe if enough new buyers are attracted, the price will hold.) more

With the increasing use of capable high-end digital cameras, the ability to manipulate data as soon as possible looks to yield great benefits in speeding production as well as ensuring delivery of the directors vision. UK-based FilmLight made a move in this increasingly competitive space–Arri, da Vinci, and LaserPacific are just a few of the companies working on products and proposed solutions–with the introduction of Truelight On-Set at the show.

The company has made a name for itself as one as the leaders in color management technology in post. On-Set takes that capability to the earlier stages of a production, enabling the director and DP to set a look during the shoot that will serve as the foundation for color correction in post. more

While portable HDDs are turning up on HDV camcorders around the show floor, the promise of portable 4K field production came a bit closer with the pending release of Codex Portable from Codex Digital. Now on display in the Band Pro booth, the Portable (scheduled to deliver this June) is shown capturing 1080p, 4:4:4 data from a Sony F23 camera. The lightweight disk recorder– a pricier solid-state version will also be available at some point this year– is about the size of the toaster and records HD, 2K, and 4K from Sony, ARRI, Panavision, Panasonic, Thomson, and Dalsa cameras. more

In a place of honor at the Vinten booth, a slowly turning display holds one of Sachtler’s original tripods. Tripods are workaday devices that rarely get much attention. Here, it might be worthwhile to pause for a moment, just to consider what we’ve gained.

After all it was only in 1958 in Munich, Germany that cameraman Wendelin Sachtler–who also had turns as an inventor and actor–devised a dampened gyro system that helped add a professional gloss to location production. Up to this date there were few alternatives for camera head stabilization in the field. The heavy film cameras of the day employed massive geared heads requiring complex geared assemblies that need to mesh just so in order to work correctly. (Careful! Don’t strip the gears!) Meanwhile, lighter 16mm and 35mm cameras used freely moving heads or ones employing friction elements that offered a regular amount of resistance. That bit of resistance or drag made it easier to pull off a smooth pan or tilt, as it gave motion in any particular direction a countering force to move against. more

One of the coolest products I saw at the show came to me by chance as I was hurrying across the North Hall, that almost always deserted-as-a-ghost-town hall. Maybe it’s not something a journalist would, or should, admit to, but when walking across such halls I sometimes feel sorry for the companies that have booths there. The booth employees make longing glances at your press badge as you hurry by. I usually find myself mumbling something like “Oh boy, really late again…” as I shuffle past looking for the exit.

(Hey, it just struck me–it might be helpful to someone who has never been to the show that one way to get a sense of it is to begin by thinking of a really huge amount of enclosed space. Okay? Divide that up into three big spaces/buildings, but not evenly: have each one gaining on the next. Good. Now think of these as having personalities. Maybe something from Goldilocks and the three bears could work. For example, North Hall seems a little too quiet at times, but it really is the smallest of the three in floor space, so that fits. Next, move on to Central Hall–yes, it’s laid out right in the middle of the three halls. Central Hall usually seems just about right; whether it’s crowd size, said crowds attendant caffeine levels, or amount of shouting needed to make yourself heard in the hallways, everything comes out about average. But now walk into the last of the three, the very oversubscribed South Hall. Here, just think of those over-crowded, sweaty fairgrounds you’ve encountered, or maybe a dangerously over-packed subway platform, something you might not want to navigate on a regular basis, but with everyone running. Yes, even in Las Vegas too much, it turns out, is really sometimes too much.) more

There was something of a Yogi Berra moment at the Hard Rock Cafe on Sunday when Avid’s new executive VP and then the new CEO took the stage to pledge that this time we’re going to get it right.

Oh no, I thought, not another set of promises about working well with others and thinking outside the box. Well, we got those promises again. And yes there were some snickers around the floor of Hard Rock’s music venue (Avid’s traditional space over their years at NAB) at inappropriate times from the hundreds in the audience of users along with a smattering of press.

After all, neither CEO Gary Greenfield nor Kirk Arnold, executive vp and gm of Avid Video, have any video industry experience. (Give Avid’s board credit though–both of these very recent hires have solid reps for turning around high tech companies.) more

You may not be familiar with the term, the product, or maybe even the concept, but iVDR (Information Versatile Disk for Removable Storage) is big…in Japan. There, the compact, ruggedized storage is turning up in devices such as Hitachi’s plasma TV, which features a slot to hold these hot swappable HDDs. The consumer version of the drive contains—don’t be surprised—content protection firmware, in this case from the SAFIA group that can be triggered by content owners (TV stations, studios) to control who can record a TV show or movie.

The iVDR Consortium itself began in 2002 by companies including Canon, Fujitsu, Hitachi, SANYO, and Victor Company of Japan, joined later by the likes of Seagate and Maxell. However, the concept of creating a removable hard disk drive industry standard, one compatible with a broad range of devices from AV to PC’s, never really caught on with U.S. consumers. more

Most know EDIROL, Roland’s line of audio production gear, for its portable handheld (and larger) audio recorders and mixers. At the Roland booth, we got a look at the company’s latest in an expanding line-up: the EDIROL F-1 Video Field Recorder, which combines video capture with multi-channel audio.

This small black box with LCD screen fits onto a camcorder via a standard brick battery attachment; the battery then attaches to the F-1. While it adds a bit of weight and length, it seemed to balance well with longer beaked camcorders from Canon and JVC.

In addition to capturing HDV or DV video (there’s no 2GB or 4GB file size limitation as with some other products) the F-1 offers two additional balanced audio inputs for capture of uncompressed linear broadcast WAV (these channels are in addition to the two channels that are already part of the video stream). The two add-on channels offer improved 16-bit/48Hz audio quality over that of compressed HDV audio. more

Visited with Joe Rorke of Rorke Data Monday afternoon. The Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company, a long-time supplier of capacious, cost-effective SANs to the post industry, has devised a deceptively modest product with partner Primera Technology that may change the way many of us look at distribution opportunities.

That product? Products actually–the Rorke RDXRN50 and RDXRPN100, automated CD, DVD, and Blu-ray disc publishers—you know the type, a bigger than a breadbox robotic case that handles from 50 or 100 discs (in these versions), copying your data and printing out a cover without much fooling about after the initial setup. more