Archive of the Press Conferences Category

Harris had its press conference on Sunday. This news is coming a bit late, of course, but that’s probably because the conference was aimed more at broadcasters than content producers, so it’s a bit outside our usual area of coverage. Still, you’ll want to pay attention to this news, as it has implications for the new ways the public will be accessing and viewing video in the next few years.

Among the news about its various broadcast systems (servers, routers, DTV transmitters), Harris also discussed its MPH initiative that it’s undertaking with display manufacturers Zenith and LG. MPH, which stands for “mobile/pedestrian/handheld,” aims to send video to mobile devices via “in-band” transmission — over the air, within the existing digital spectrum available to broadcasters. more

In yesterday’s blog I didn’t get a chance to describe Sony’s press conference, so let’s catch up.

Sony is the largest exhibitor at NAB and their Sunday press conferences are large, slick affairs. I’ve genuinely enjoyed them through the years, though Sony as well as Panasonic could learn a thing or two from Apple, whose stage personalities memorize their presentations. Robotic readings, unnatural eyelines from footlight teleprompters, jokes fed from prepared text—it’s not pretty. Neither are taped testimonials from smiley-faced Christian evangelicals representing megachurches delighted with their Sony HD systems.

I’ve nothing personally against this market segment, but I squirmed at the mention of Jesus Christ to a mixed, international audience. What this sort of thing is doing at a Sony press conference full of trade journalists—for the second year in a row–is anyone’s guess. A Jewish journalist friend of mine from Moscow sitting in the next row looked uncomfortable, if not quietly flabbergasted. more

Autodesk laid out its NAB plans today. One might expect a relatively quiet NAB from the 3D/visual effects company that’s responsible for Maya, 3ds Max, and the Smoke/Flame/Flint/Inferno/Toxik series of high-end visual effects and finishing tools.

After all, IBC in September was the venue for the release of the company’s 2008 versions of the aforementioned VFX/finishing software. But as Mark Petit, SVC of Media & Entertainment for Autodesk said, “It’s not about thinking different but acting faster.” This six-month release cycle might be difficult to maintain, but Petit noted that at NAB 2008, the company will begin to shape next year’s versions in “behind-the-scenes meetings” at the show.

So what’s new for the 2009 line, which will be available at the end of the month? A few highlights: Smoke 2009 gets a new tree-based compositing workflow called Batch FX, designed to pump up the finishing platform’s visual effects chops and to open up the workflow between the editing timeline and effects. Smoke also gets a new, lower price tag that’s aimed at mid-tier post and broadcast facilities: systems now start at $64,000 (including storage). more

Following up on Cynthia’s note about the JVC booth: I just left the JVC Press Luncheon, where the HD250 Libre package mentioned by Cynthia was prominently promoted. As Cynthia stated, JVC has added a BMS wireless microwave transmitter to the camera to offer what the company says is wireless HD transmission capabilities well suited for live remote broadcast ENG work.

I was struck by the irony of the fact that, just over a year ago I wrote stories for Millimeter on the limited use of Wireless RF technology at the Winter Olympics and other events, and noted how the transmission of wireless HD signals was a big deal back then. JVC, and others, now say that wireless ENG work with true HD cameras is eminently feasible these days. That’s a 12-month turnaround from difficult to feasible. Typical of how our industry is evolving, as those of us at NAB right now are seeing first-hand.

–MG

I still have Sunday on my mind. So much innovation to absorb. From Samsung, Apple, Panasonic, Sony… for instance Sony‘s sensational F23 digital cinema camera, or XDCAM EX flash memory Handycam (at right, promised this fall), or the replacement to their outstanding BVM-A series of HD CRT monitors, the sure-to-be-award-winning 22.5-inch, 1920 x 1080, LED-backlit LCD BVM-L230 — 1080/60p and digital cinema 2K (plus every lesser format) with waveform and audio level displays!

(When it comes to flash memory recording and professional LCD monitors with waveforms, it‘s only fair to credit Panasonic with starting these balls rolling at previous NABs.)

It was only yesterday that HD itself was precious and exotic. But Sony‘s NAB mantra this year is “HD for All.” Apple, in turn, boasts of its ongoing effort to “democratize” professional video and HD. (Popularization and professionalization are wildly clashing ideals Apple seems to enjoy juggling like a watermelon and an egg.) Both echo JVC‘s proletarian 2003 NAB motto, “HD for the Masses.” This got me to thinking about the roles of language and marketing at NAB. more

At its news conference, Quantel showed that it would fight for a place in future newsrooms by announcing that Newsbox HD, its nonlinear HD news system ‘in a box‘, will now feature HD for “free”, meaning that Newsbox HD systems will be available for the same price as the SD version of Newsbox.

In a further move pointing up its reinvigorated “match any price” attitude, Quantel will also now move from the previous fixed Newsbox configurations, allowing customers to choose the number of seats, ports, and various other options.

As Ikegami’s 60th anniversary approached in 2007, things didn’t look all that good for the one-time leading light of video camera technology. Once the maker of coveted high-end cameras that featured electronic circuitry delivering what many felt were the best video images going, by the late 1990s the company lost the lead, as Panasonic and Sony prevailed. Unlike Ikegami, those two industrial giants could also deliver the integrated tape mechanisms necessary to get a rig out of the studio.

Ikegami fought back with its innovative Editcam, launched in 1995. Designed in part with input from Avid, Editcam was the first mainstream camcorder to use ruggedized hard drives to replace tape in the field. more

Sunday morning started with a magic bus ride. Rolling down city streets, through underpasses, along Interstate 15 at 70 mph, and finally pulling into an underground casino parking lot, a handful of journalists including yours truly got a preview from Samsung of a proposed enhancement to ATSC that enables perfect mobile reception of digital TV, particularly to handheld devices.

What‘s the big deal? In a word, YouTube. Even the most benighted of computer illiterati grew acquainted with the pleasures of Flash files over the past year. (Thanks in large part to Paris Hilton, but that‘s another story.) The idea that it‘s fun to watch videos in a small window a few inches from your nose instead of from across the living room floor has now entered the public‘s consciousness. Apple‘s video iPod is another manifestation of this shift in TV viewing habits, as will be the larger, sharper iPhone when it debuts in June. more

Nearly five years ago at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival’s technology gathering, Vince Pace brought a 3D rig that was two Sony F900s–maybe they were F950s–literally taped together…with tape. Since then, Pace and James Cameron have been chasing the 3D dream with a conviction that only deep pockets can enable.

The Sony press conference opened with a far more polished version of Pace/Cameron 3D. It’s called Fusion and it’s had a successful workout by the NBA. So successful that the NBA is considering extending the reach of the All Star games with international 3D broadcasts. The idea that movie theaters could also be used for these types of special presentations has been around since the beginning of digital cinema. Is this progress? Stay tuned, so to speak. more

At its press conference this afternoon, Panasonic unveiled nothing too surprising. Of course, that can be seen as a testament to the prudence of its current direction — namely, nonlinear acquisition via solid-state media in the form of P2 cards. (Not to mention the fact that Panasonic previewed its most prominent NAB product announcements in February.) (Read the press release at The Briefing Room: 2007 NAB Newslink) Indeed, Panasonic’s most oft-repeated announcement during its NAB press conference was the new five-year warranty that will be standard for all full-size P2 camcorders and related field equipment.

So what were the specifics? Well, our editors covered two of the big announcements before the show: the HPX500, a full-size 2/3in. 3CCD P2 HD camcorder with interchangeable lenses (for an agressive $14K) and the tiny HSC1U, a 1.1lb. camcorder that shoots long-GOP AVCHD to SD Store memory (not P2; $2,099). more