If you are looking for a technical review of what took place two weeks ago in Las Vegas at the 2003 NAB Convention and Show, go find another article in this fine newspaper. No bits, bites, dBs, 2Ks or 4Ks, flat screens, night vision cameras, satellite shoe phones, or vaporware will be talked about here.
Just the facts. Hard facts. The truth, so to speak.
Where in the world did Howie find the truth? I made phone calls and lots of them. "Did you go to NAB?" was my question and the answers were myriad and diverse. Here are just a few…
I cancelled because of the war.
I should have gone, but it slipped my mind.
I don’t need any new stuff this year.
I went to Vegas, but never got to the Show.
I was waiting at Spago and you didn’t show.
I was still snowed in.
He won’t be back in his office until Tuesday.
Yes!
Business was so bad that…
It was Spring Break, and I was in Cancun (a. with my kids; b. at my girlfriend’s sister’s time share).
What’s NAB?
Actually, this year’s turnout at the show was very interesting. Attendance was down by a lot—they won’t tell you that—about 60,000 attendees. Very few people from overseas (international), and very few tire kickers. The people who showed were hard core, died in the wool, true blue "techies" that needed to know and buy.
There were TV station people who had to comply, but not so fast anymore (thanks, Michael Powell). There were lots of post people from everywhere, but mostly L.A. (but their numbers were lower). The big increase was ad agency attendance. Yes, you read right. Every agency I talked to had a couple people there looking for stuff that they can use in-house—mostly delivery systems and conferencing stuff. Some editing and compositing, but still.
JET BLUE. The best thing at the NAB was that you could get there on Jet Blue.
The big change this year was that there was no Sands Convention Center. That meant that all of the newer tech stuff, the outrageous stuff and the homogenized stuff were all under one roof. You can never have enough stuff. That was easily accomplished because there were so fewer exhibitors. Having no Sands and stupid buses did not save any walking or time. It actually took 30 minutes to walk from the North Hall (my stuff) to the South Hall (everybody else’s stuff). The people that suffered the most were the restaurants in the Fashion Mall that no one could walk to.
As a side bar, I must add that all the construction wasn’t for any great number of new hotels; it was for the Monorail—a fine addition to the skyline, already of questionable taste, due 2005.
The trades and the dailies were flooded with press releases, almost dueling, from Avid and Apple. You know the details. Sony’s booth was the same size last year, as was Avid’s and Quantel’s. Lots of major guys missing. [They were] sorely missed. Some not so sorely.
The same old hotels were the biggies—Bellagio and the Venetian. The Palms has been added. Same great restaurants. The who’s who at Spago. The Palm was all the standbys.
The parties were well attended. AICE was at the Venetian on the same night as Fuji. Quantel was at Alexis Park. And [there was] a real bash at Tommy Rockers. The great hangs were once again the Voodoo Lounge at the Rio—cigars on the roof—and the "new" Ghost Bar at the Palms. My friends from Detroit and San Francisco were seen there each night! Late! Ah, to be that young still (not again).
The best of all was Celine Dion. She just opened, and it is quite a show. Thanks, Sony. Her show was amazing, so I have been told. I am partial to Siegfried and Roy, and Olympic Gardens. Love them white Bengals.
I forgot to mention golf. Golf!
The consensus was that the show was well worth it. A lot of transactions were made. I missed you all. Be there next year.
