I give you 25,000 words from the show floor at NAB!
Apple Predictions for NAB 2011
We all give Apple credit for keeping the lid on information regarding new products or even new announcements. So since I don’t have any direct knowledge to NOT pass along I thought I would do what everyone likes to do – guess! I suspect that Apple may offer a new paradigm for media collection, assembly, and dispersion. I don’t know if all of us will like it but I suspect that Apple is about to make media social. I also wonder if Thunderbolt will electrocute the need for larger workhorse desktop computers or if Apple does still enjoy being in the traditional “heavy iron” computer business. My hope is that a Mac Pro ergonomic redesign is in the works that will become the next must have Media Manipulator. Native camera formats will trivially exist outside the sphere of QuickTime and I suspect that H.264, AVCHD and many others will just play and edit with the right computer and graphics cards. We will continue to discuss the emotion and feel of anything new that Apple brings us. Bits and bytes are part of the equation but if Apple continues to value and respect the creation community (which I suspect they do) I hope to see some real tactile interfaces that leverage the other consumer technologies such as the iPad and iPhone. Finally, I predict that many of these predictions will be predictably preposterous unless they are perfectly punctilious. Tom Talbot
Anticipating another big year at NAB 2011
It is always nice to have an annual event that allows manufacturers to step up and focus their energy on bringing new and innovative products to light. It is also great that so many of us – the users and evangelists of these products – get to participate in this process. NAB is an opportunity for all of us to offer opinions and insights relative to our own spheres of expertise and influence. I have seen over the years that we do impact in a positive way how this collective system adapts and changes. The devastation in Japan has such sad human consequences that I hope that we don’t get too selfish and just talk about how hard tape is to get or how to capitalize on “market fluctuations”. At the same time I must be on the lookout for ways to overcome the impending media drought which we have not yet seen truly strike us. I am enthused about new releases from Adobe and Avid and I expect Apple rumors and facts to preoccupy much of our time. Storage continues to be an important part of what we do and I hope to meet up with many innovators that have figured out how to make the digital asset laundrymat a cool place to hang out. It is becoming more important for all of us to not put off safekeeping of our growing file-based camera originals along with all of the iterations for the edit process and for delivery. I sometimes feel like Chicken Little warning of impending doom if you don’t invest in smart and safe storage. If we undervalue how to access and restore valuable content along with intelligent searching and tagging we will someday learn the hard way that the current way was often too risky and shortsighted. I would like to say that I am interested in seeing the latest in 3D (including recent announcements by GoPro 3D and Cineform) but I can’t say that I will be preoccupied with it. Not all production markets are demanding 3D and I think New England has been hesitant to jump in – although we at Rule are well prepared to assist and deliver 3D solutions for anyone interested! As always, much of NAB is meeting with people and I hope to meet many new faces along with good friends that reemerge year after year. By the way, here’s a hint – Be on the lookout for some exciting new announcements from Rule that may take some by surprise! Hope to see you on the show floor! Tom Talbot