NAB 2000
8-10 April, 2000, Las Vegas
Ok, folks, what's new in the world of digital communication?
- It seems that everybody thinks we don't watch TV enough and
the best way how to let us watch more commercials is to use broadcasting
over internet. Web casters are no longer the two kids in the
basement, but seriously looking investors with hundred of thousands
dollars worth of equipment. Next time you watch some broadcasting
on the web, just think about it.
- Microsoft seriously pushes WebTV
idea which is a "future of television" or the other
way how to have Microsoft in your TV. They use any methods to
convince you: If you attend to 3 short exhibition with Microsoft
partners you will get a very nice WebTV hand bag.
- It seems that everybody is creating some DVD authoring software.
It is usually big and expensive. However there is just one really
working DVD-R from Pioneer DVR-S201
and the medium still cost quite bit.
- The big ones in 3D movie animation are Maya
(Alias/Wavefront) and Softimage,
nobody else, the 3D Max seems to be just for kids.
- The really big one in Video editing is AVID,
they are buying companies like Softimage, Digidesign and other
just for breakfast. New strategy in movie and game development:
Softimage-XSI,
next generation 3D animation package long known under the name
Sumatra and it is just $8000.
Another company doing the same thing is Discreet.
- 3D animations still look like 3D animation, no matter how you
render the hair!
- The most exciting for video is DV (digital video) Don't you
have MiniDV videocamera yet? You should. You need a FireWire port,
a very fast Pentium III and a stable software and you can produce
movies by yourself.
Pinnacle have more hardware
than people to support it.
- You could see hundreds of expensive cameras but somehow all
the reporters there were using Canon superb MiniDV cameras.
- Matrox have real time video editing board just for $1200
RT2000. Looks very impressive, if I do video editing , I would
go with Matrox
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NAB2000
is the world's leading conference and exhibition for the converging
electronic media communications industries. Produced annually in
April by the National Association of Broadcasters, The NAB Show
delivers the most comprehensive showcase of digital communications
technologies including every element of television and radio broadcasting,
film/video production and post production, audio production, multimedia,
the Internet, satellite and telecommunications.
Does future brings us something revolutionary? No at least for
a next year.
MAC is less and less popular platform for film and multimedia editing.
Now everybody develops mostly for Windows (NT) platform. And Linux?
No, not in this domain yet.
As you walk around the booths you always see some crashed application,
and as always they will tel you that it is in "beta".
The big ones like Sony and Panasonic are trying to be incompatible
as much as they can by developing their own memory media storage
and spending all he energy to convince the customers. Well, we will
pay for that anyway.
Toshiba was playing some 3D movies. Old concept: You need some
polarized glasses to watch it. They were giving out a paper glasses
with very puzzling text printed on them:
"This glasses is not able to use it except for the 3D theater"
How to make a great blue screen for chroma keying? Use HoloSet
from Play. You attach a HoloRing
(which is a ring with some kind of blue LED light) to your camera
and then use a "special" reflective Holo fabric to cover
unwanted parts of the scene. Actually Nike used something similar
for reflection parts of my running shoes so when you light the HoloRing
at the scene the camera sees the fabric and parts of my running
shoes blue. Very clever.
Monte Carlo hotel has a very good buffet. Five kinds of chicken.
The beer is awfull no matter where you are.
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