With a new name, a reinvigorated post-production conference track and a broader range of camera and software manufacturers on the exhibit floor, NAB NY may have finally found its niche. Now in its second year, the four-day conference and trade show held at the Javits Center earlier this week drew a respectable crowd and felt, for the first time, like the essential regional event it’s aiming to be. Coming so close after IBC, however, there wasn’t much product news on the show floor. Instead, show attendees were rewarded with the following:
1) Shipping gear. Several notable products announced at IBC are now shipping, and orders were being taken on the show floor. These included EditShare Field, portable shared storage for edit teams on the go; Avid’s Interplay, the workflow and file-sharing wizard that sits on top of the now-open Unity; and Bluefish444 Rage N|Code, which gives users accelerated HD MPEG-2 video compression inside Adobe Premiere Pro and Autodesk Cleaner XL.

2) Seeing RED’s 4K test footage in living color. Though screened in conditions slightly different from those at RED’s first screening at IBC, the infamous 4K footage had its New York premiere and gave area shooters a chance to judge for themselves if this camera is measuring up to the advance specs. (Read more reactions to recent screenings here as well as Bryant Frazer’s report from NAB NY.

3) Learning more, getting certified. NAB NY’s post conference chairs included the executive teams of Future Media Concepts and VASST, two training powerhouses, and FMC offered two-day courses in full Apple and Avid certification.

4) Discovering interesting partnerships. Mobile Studios, makers of portable consoles for live video production, was in the FOR-A booth showing its latest integrated case-on-wheels, the result of a happy pairing with FOR-A’s new HD/SD-SDI switcher. For as low as about $33,000, customers get a fully configured cart with a FOR-A HVS-500HS switcher (retailing for about $15,000) on board. Mobile Studios owner Rich Rubin or a member of his team typically hand delivers his turnkey products and helps customers integrate the live system into existing setups. Across the hall, Avid gave back-to-back demos of Interplay. Matt Feury, senior product marketing manager for Avid Technology’s advanced post products, says Avid is teaming up with new partner, Wexler Video, for an upcoming hands-on training event in LA that will show reality TV producers and editors, step-by-step, how to use Interplay to manage the post workflow on their fast-paced productions. More details on that soon.