Some of you may have travelled to Vegas this year, and I know those of us who went like to tell those left behind how tedious the whole journey was just in case they think we may have had a good time there. Jokes apart, going to Vegas for NAB can be hugely tedious, […]
Some of you may have travelled to Vegas this year, and I know those of us who went like to tell those left behind how tedious the whole journey was just in case they think we may have had a good time there.
Jokes apart, going to Vegas for NAB can be hugely tedious, even more so due to the lack of sufficient entertainment on Emirates ICE if you’re a frequent traveller. But NAB offers a clear indication of the direction in which the manufacturers and solution providers are steering the market.
Most exhibitors seemed ready with solutions for 4K/UHD broadcasts. Blackmagic, for instance, announced 38 new products at the show this year. A number of them were components capable of 12G-SDI because they believe that UHD is the next big thing. I cant resist adding here that DaVinci Resolve, which in a previous incarnation, was the toy of the super elite, now has 100-odd engineers working on it, and is scheduled for its largest release ever this summer with 80 new updates. And its all absolutely free.
Coming back to UHD, almost all of the major players on the production and delivery side were pushing their UHD-ready products and services so that’s something to keep on the radar.
Another term that came up repeatedly at the NAB conference was about how TV executives were looking to court the millennials a buzzword at Cannes as well this year. Millennials, for the uninitiated, refers to Generation Y viewers those born in the 80s and beyond for whom watching content on mobile devices is more the rule than the exception. TV execs at both NAB and Cannes were debating how to cater to the evolving TV viewer.
While we debate such ultra modern topics, we find that broadcasters are still confounded by what to do with the assets they have on tape in their warehouses, dealing a slow and fatal blow to the region’s rich cultural heritage. For those who haven’t responded to the call for action, the statistics from Memnon’s CEO in this month’s issue will hopefully serve as a wake-up call.
On a different note, it’s been five years since Raz and I launched BroadcastPro Middle East. Since then, the brand has grown and we are truly humbled by the support we have received from the industry. We hope you will join us to celebrate this journey at Habtoor Grand this month. Dont forget to register! See you on May 20.
