With about a month and a half to go before the 1999 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention commences in Las Vegas, preparations are well underway.
Here is some of the early talk coming out of the post community: AICE is arranging its annual meeting and party, which will be held at the Monte Carlo this year. (The prior site at the Hard Rock Hotel is under renovation.). Avid Technology chairman/CEO Bill Miller is scheduled to attend the annual meeting for some Q&A.
ITS has scheduled a board meeting and several judging sessions for the 1999 International Monitor Awards.
NAB housing is filling up fast. Anyone who has not yet sent in his or her housing request should do so ASAP. Bellagio is completed and open, and may be one of this year’s hot spots.
The expansion at the Las Vegas Convention Center, which was under construction during last year’s show, is completed and attendees can expect more-yes, more-exhibit space. The Sands Convention Center, of course, will also be in use. Exhibits open April 19. The opening ceremony is also April 19, during which Howard Stringer, chairman and CEO of Sony Corp. of America, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address, followed by NAB president/ CEO Edward O. Fritts with a "State of the Industry" address.
The exhibitors are in full swing with NAB plans. For trade journalists, one sure indicator is the annual pilgrimage to Panasonic’s Secaucus, N.J. offices for the company’s pre-NAB press briefing.
As this year’s briefing began, newly named VP of marketing Stuart English unveiled the company’s NAB ’99 show theme, "Your Vision." He explained that the theme was selected because "DTV means different things to different people. "The critical thing is that the industry adopts digital," English emphasized. "A significant and growing portion will invest in HDTV." Panasonic’s arsenal of technologies for NAB "99 is largely aimed at broadcasters. Emphasis was placed on Panasonic’s DVCPRO lines, including its latest DVCPRO HD.
Among the most notable announcements for the post community is Panasonic’s development plans for a switchable 1080I/P, 720P VTR, which the company expects to ship by NAB 2000 for not more than $100,000. Director of product marketing Rick Albert said the VTR was actually in response to a request from the Hollywood community, primarily for use during the high-end telecine process.
English addressed the talk of 1080P/24 as a postproduction format, saying the company is "supportive of the process."
But English said Panasonic views the 1080P/24 debate as a year 2000 issue, not a 1999 issue. At present, Panasonic sees the format primarily for post, as evidenced by the VTR announcement. English said 1080P has "potential" as an acquisition format in the future, but "we are not hearing demand for it at this point in time." Aside from the VTR, Albert said there were presently no other 1080P products in development.
Among Panasonic’s postproduction offerings this year is Postbox 2000, its latest nonlinear editing system ($39,900). With this version, the company appears to be testing new markets. During the press conference, Panasonic showed a Postbox 2000 video, comparing it to Avid Technology’s flagship Media Composer nonlinear editing system. The short video included a splitscreen comparison of Avid’s AVR77 resolution and Postbox’s image resolution.
At its press conference, Panasonic announced that its first AV-HS3100 MilleniuM high definition switcher with integrated DVEs was delivered to The Tape House, New York. The switcher is installed at Tape House’s linear online HD suite, which is also equipped with three D-5 HD VTRs for machine to machine editing with Accom’s Axial 3000 edit controller; a Panasonic AT-H3015W 30-inch, 16:9 HD monitor; three Panasonic DT-M3050W 30-inch multiformat monitors; and two Sierra digital disk recorders. The room had previously been equipped with a prototype of the Panasonic switcher.
Panasonic reported additional switcher orders from Complete Post and Post Logic, both in Hollywood.
Alias Wavefront
Maya will again be the focal point of SGI subsidiary Alias Wavefront, Toronto, at NAB, explained Mark Sylvester, ambassador at Alias Wavefront. Central in this year’s message is Maya Complete 2-D/3-D software, which is based on the basic Maya package and integrates many of the effects and tools available in the advanced modules.
Maya Complete also includes a new feature, interactive photorealistic rendering (IPR), which allows users to process color and lighting effects in real time. "You are rendering your images on the screen as you are making the changes. … This is a huge change in the way we have done things in the past."
Maya Complete lists for $7,500 and is available for SGI’s UNIX-based workstations. An NT version is scheduled for a June release. Alias Wavefront is no longer selling the base Maya with add-on modules. "We felt a better strategy is to get away from the module concept and think about complete solutions," Sylvester commented.
At NAB the company is also launching Maya Infinity; this includes Maya Complete and modules Maya Live, Fur and Cloth (These advanced modules are not included in Maya Complete.) It is scheduled to ship for UNIX and NT platforms before SIGGRAPH and lists for $16,000.
For "Road to NAB" editorial consideration, submit all information to Carolyn Giardina, senior editor, postproduction, SHOOT, 1515 Broadway, New York, NY 10036. Phone (212) 536-1427, fax (212) 536-5321 or e-mail to cgiardina shootonline.com.
