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Notes From the Show Floor

Well, the first day of NAB has passed, and first impressions are that there are almost two shows going on. In the Lower South Hall (pictured), the crowds flocked in to see relative newbies Avid, Microsoft and Apple, while upstairs there were NAB stalwarts Sony and Dolby packing 'em in. Meanwhile, over in the Central and North Halls, where you could find the trucks, the satellite uplinks and music libraries, as well as Panasonic and our more traditional audio manufacturers, the crowds weren't quite as dense but the action still was above and beyond last year's show.

Some of that might have to do with the fact that in the U.S., 1500 radio stations are now broadcasting digital in 211 markets, and TV had 2,500 hours of HD broadcast last year. "Television has really reached the tipping point in digital, and broadcasters are certainly leading the way," said NAB senior VP of communications Dennis Wharton. And that's good news for everyone in audio.

In the South Hall, Digidesign was showing its new D-Command, and Apple had Soundtrack Pro up and running (and we'll have more on each later this week), but the words of the day seemed to be storage and asset management, though "assets" now include audio, video, data and data about the data. We got a look at NetMix Pro 3.3 from Creative Design Network, which has ReWire support, XP integration so that you can now spot to timeline, and drag and drop to Avid bins. Virtual Katy, right next door, didn't really show anything new from last year's hit at AES, but did promise a new version by October.

On the storage front, we talked with Studio Network Solutions, and you can find out more in our daily blog (blog.mixonline.com). Suffice to say here that they now have iSCSI and Fibre Channel support in the same box.

But, the audio industry we've all grown to know and love is still alive and well as evidenced by the North Hall. While the crowds were not as packed in as the "other" show, at least the air conditioning worked.

One showstopper was a new hardware box from Waves called the MAXXBCL. This slick looking, brushed black aluminum unit houses three legacy processors; the Maxx Bass, L2 and Renaissance compressor. Another interesting product from Neumann is the BCM 705 dynamic microphone, a first for the company. Denon was turning heads with the high-resolution PMD671 field recorder. The unit records up to 36 hours on a 1 GB Compact Flash card, has no moving parts, and offers multiple recording modes.

Scroll down for some product introductions and guest bloggers. We'll be back tomorrow with some more news direct from the floor...

Today's Guest Bloggers:
FOR THE COMPLETE BLOGS, CLICK HERE
Markus Schmidt, Creative Design Network: "We have big customers, like Technicolor, Skywalker and EA, so our goal is to go multi-location. At NAB, we've provided XP integration to spot to the timeline so we are now truly cross-platform."

Mike Godfrey, Holophone: "People are ramping up globally for the Hi-Def revolution-it's a good thing. We're finally able to capture three-dimensional space and send it anywhere."

Gary Holladay (pictured), Studio Network Solutions: "I think we have seen a trend away from production storage and near-line storage being separate things. Instead of direct-attached storage and push-pull networks, we will see one SAN that does both."

Ken Barnsley, Merging Technologies: "Everyone needs to get their head around High-Definition and surround sound for broadcast."

Peter Chaikin (pictured), JBL: "What I'm hearing is that 5.1 audio broadcast in a car would be very significant for a manufacturer because we'll be selling for 5.1 audio and not just stereo. There are some developments for this show that are saying that it's right there."


FOR THE COMPLETE BLOGS, CLICK HERE


Late-Breaking Product News
EUPHONIX: DAWS AND SANS, FYI
Two big NAB debuts from Euphonix: The System 5-MC is an integrated DAW audio mixing system. Euphonix and SAN Solutions also introduced a new Audio Facility Network Server Solution at NAB.MORE


DIGIDESIGN'S "BABY" ICON
New from Digidesign, the ICON D-Command™ medium-format integrated console environment. Plus, Pro Tools 6.9 software brings inline console emulation mode and other new features to ICON systems. MORE


"SUITE" NEWS FROM APPLE: FINAL CUT STUDIO
Straight from the show floor-a complete HD video production suite featuring Final Cut Pro 5, motion graphics tools and the new Soundtrack Pro audio editing and sound design app. MORE


DIGIGRAM USB I/O FOR AUDIO ON THE GO
Digigram introduces a USB audio interface designed for broadcast and other apps that require portable audio: It's plug-and-play, and it's not much bigger than a breakout cable. MORE


(NOT) SEEING DOUBLE AT ZAXCOM
Zaxcom's TRX900 is a digital wireless microphone transceiver with built-in Interrupted Feedback (IFB) that eliminates the need for talent to wear two separate body packs. MORE


HHB DVD-R MEDIA MANIA
HHB releases a new range of 1X-8X speed DVD+R and DVD-Recordable discs, available in both inket and thermal-printable versions. MORE


WOHLER'S SPECIAL FRIEND: THE PENPAL
The Penpal-HD portable broadcast HD test signal generator offers 32 video test patterns in 18 HD standards, which can all be combined with different audio tone settings-all in a six-inch, six-ounce package. MORE


ELEMENTAL CONTROL FROM AXIA
Axia Audio, the IP-Audio networking division of Telos, showed the new Element Modular Studio Control Surface, available in configurations supporting 4 to 32 faders, letting users customize Element to their hearts' delight. MORE