CES 2014: What the Hype About Tomorrow Means to Your Business Today

ProductionHub by Ken Kerschbaumer

Last week the Consumer Electronics Show was held in Las Vegas, the annual convention of “all things electronics” as everything from smart toothbrushes to new electronic fitness bracelets and, of course, ultra-expensive Ultra-HD TV sets were introduced. Oh...and thousands upon thousands of covers and cases for smartphones and tablets were also rolled out.

The New York Times today had a quick recap that really encapsulated what the show has become: a convention-sized version of the Sky Mall magazine found on airplanes as you often spend as much time thinking “why would anyone need that” as you do “what a great idea.”

For those involved in TV production the show has two main functions: to provide a possible roadmap for future distribution platforms like Ultra-HD and small-screen video that may impact production tool purchasing plans and also as a place to see new consumer-level cameras, etc. that could play a role in a professional-level production.
One of SVG’s reporters, Adrian Pennington, spent some time investigating some of those acquisition tools. He says that Panasonic and Sony launched budget 4K cameras to help stockpile UHD content – Sony’s a $2,000 4K Handycam and Panasonic’s a POV mini-cam. Panasonic further said it was developing a digital single lens mirrorless camera compatible with 4K video.

He also says that Action sports camera developer Liquid Image rolled out a $200 body-cam capable of streaming live video coded in WQVGA over the 4G LTE network. The Ego LS will work with $200 4G network module with carrier Verizon in the US, with the European market targeted via Vodafone, Swissom and Orange. read more...