By Linda Romanello, October 3, 2003
Ever since the industry started to buzz about transitioning to HD several years back, it seemed that every NAB thereafter was a bit on the stale side. By that, I mean, too many manufacturers, production companies, and broadcasters were holding back on spending the big bucks on new HD equipment, either waiting to see what the other guy was doing first or simply waiting to see what the industry on the whole was doing.
As a result, there wasn't much to get excited over as far as new product introductions or emerging technologies over subsequent shows. This year, however, NAB2003 caught me by surprise. While I wasn't expecting this show to vary considerably from show's past, I was truly amazed by both the innovative new products introduced and the enthusiasm I felt from attendees throughout the show floor.
NAB2003 seemed to produce a kind of electricity I haven't seen or felt in several years. Companies such as Sony introduced a completely optical disc-based acquisition system while Panasonic counter-attacked with a memory card-based camera system of its own
. Avid rolled out its entirely new DNA (Digital Nonlinear Accelerators) line including Nitris, Adrenaline, and Avid Mojo for media processing while Thomson released its Grass Valley M-Series iVDR tapeless VTR.
Other new products stirring NAB attendees included Apple's Final Cut Pro 4, Alias|Wavefront's Maya 5, Canon Digisuper 100xs lens, Fujinon Prime Lens Series, Pinnacle's Liquid Chrome, and JVC's handheld and lightweight HD camera. In addition, entire markets, such as DVD and asset management, seemed to finally come into their own. In fact, every which way I turned, there was something new to look at, listen to, or play with.
And that's exactly what a show like NAB is supposed to be about -- high energy, enthusiasm, and more than anything else, attendees should go home with lots to think about and talk about. You want a show like NAB to be something to be remembered. And that's exactly what NAB2003 was. Call me optimistic, but perhaps this year's show was a sign of good things to come.
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