NAB’ 08: It’s Showtime
The NAB Show is big. And as big trade shows are wont to do, NAB’s has spawned useful mini conferences, covering specific technology topics or vertical markets in broadcast and pro AV.
Manchester, N.H., lies about an hour north of Boston. Its airport serves 17 cities non-stop, including Phoenix, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando, Fla. (after all, the average low in January is 5 degrees). InfoComm member Multimedia Specialists (www.mmsavc.com) is based in Manchester, where the company recently handled AV installation for the expanded Currier Art Museum. And according to the U.S. Census Bureau, fewer people live in Manchester (109,497) than attended last year’s National Association of Broadcasters annual trade show in Las Vegas (111,028).
Show organizers expect a similar turnout when the NAB Show 2008 kicks off April 11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
More people attend the National Association of Broadcasters Show than live in many small cities.
The NAB Show is big. And as big trade shows are wont to do, NAB’s has spawned useful mini conferences, covering specific technology topics or vertical markets in broadcast and pro AV. Among this year’s new conference series are sessions focused on IPTV and surround-sound broadcasting.
“IPTV was the number one searched term and one of the most popular segments during last year’s NAB Show, and we’ve seen a huge demand for ongoing education and information,” explained Chris Brown, executive vice president of conventions and business operations at NAB.
And of course, there are the products. Last year more than 1,600 exhibitors descended on the convention center, and while many of them make products the average AV professional might not handle, many do. Moreover, as broadcast and pro AV technologies merge (think digital signage, IPTV), more traditional AV companies take their wares to NAB.
With the 2008 NAB focused on content creation and delivery, various new companies—more than 200 according to NAB officials—have joined in. They’ll be joining several big names not immediately associated with broadcast technology, such as Adobe, Autodesk, Hewlett-Packard, and Microsoft.
“The NAB Show is centered on content from creation to consumption for radio, film, TV, broadband, and mobile,” said Brown. “New exhibitors showcase our reach across industries and our commitment to bringing together all of these markets under the common denominator of enriching programming across the entire content spectrum.”
