Adobe · AJA · Avid · Cineform · Edirol · Focus · G-Tech · Ikan · Matrox · NAB · Sony ·May 20, 2009

Videoguys' NAB Show Report 2009

Videoguys' NAB Show Report 2009

This year's NAB was very different form those of the last 5 to 10 years. Make no mistake about it, the recession is hitting our industry and it is hitting Las Vegas - Hard! How hard you ask? By my estimates attendance at the show was off 50% from last year. What does that mean? No problem finding a room, word was out that some of the biggest and best hotels in Vegas were running specials for under a hundred bucks a night. No problems getting a taxi, cab lines were non existent. No problem jumping off the show floor to make a pit stop, little or no lines at the rest rooms or food areas. Most importantly though, there was no problem getting time at the booth with the people you needed to meet with!

This will probably go down as one of our most successful NAB shows ever! We've picked up several new lines, the most significant one I can tell you about is AJA, but we will have more exciting news to share with you as the spring heads into summer. We also saw the launch of a new product line-up form Matrox, giving them affordable HD I/O devices at every price/ user level. Sony announced a new version of Vegas Pro (version 9), but the even bigger news was Vegas getting more attention and support from the Sony mother ship as the Sony Creative Software group becomes part of a bigger Sony business unit. While Avid & Adobe didn't have major product announcements, they did provide a peak at their very exciting road maps for the future.

One of the most anticipated announcements for NAB 2009 did not happen. Although Apple was not at the show, the Final Cut Pro Users Group Super Meet was a huge success. Many of the attendees were hoping for big news from Apple about the next version of Final Cut Studio, but alas, nothing yet. The rumor going around the show was Snow Leopard OS first, then the new Final Cut Studio a few months later.

Visit Videoguys.com for more information or call one of our knowledgable sales reps at 800-323-2325
for more information about the products that were mentioned at the NAB Show 2009!

Videoguys NAB Report - Matrox

At this years NAB the biggest and most important new product announcement for our customers is the Matrox MXO2 Mini. This "under $500 wonder" allows you to add full HD I/O (analog and HDMI) to your PC or Mac. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - AJA Video Systems

We are very excited to announce that we are now an authorized Aja dealer. For years we've wanted to work with them, but outside forces always seemed to get in the way. Not anymore! The timing could not have been better! (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - Sony Creative Software

At NAB Sony had Vegas Pro 9 featured prominently in it's own special pod adjacent to the gigantic Sony booth in the back of the South Hall. This was a big change form prior years when Sony Vegas was tucked away in a single pod at the Sony booth or located in it's own small booth nowhere near the main Sony booth. After seeing the demo of Vegas Pro 9 and talking to our Sony sales team, it became clear to me that Vegas 9 was no longer the red headed step child in the Sony family. It was finally being embraced as an integral part of their product offering. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - Avid Technology

The buzz around the Avid booth wasn't about new products, but rather a new corporate logo and identity. The new Avid logo uses shapes familiar to video editors to make the word AVID. I must admit that at first glance I liked the logo, but it took me a couple of double takes before I realized the shapes spelled out the word Avid. When you see the logo created using images of people using Avid products it becomes even more powerful. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - Adobe

As usual Adobe had a very big presence at NAB, with round the clock demos of their CS4 product line. Those are all well done and interesting, but what grabs my attention every year is the technology demonstrations. At NAB2008 Adobe was showing off speech recognition technology that was then integrated into Premiere Pro & OnLocation CS4. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - Focus Enhancements

We had the chance to get a sneak peak at the new FS-5 version 2 software just before NAB. The FS-5 captures your footage while you shoot in either DV or HDV. Using D.T.E. (Direct To Edit) technology the footage is captured into the format that your NLE application works with best. Regardless of the format you choose the video plays back perfectly on the LCD screen - smooth, crisp and clear. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - iKan

Kan introduced two new HD LCD monitors, their biggest and smallest yet. First for the big one - a whopping 17 inches! The new V17 monitor from ikan is an effective, overall solution for studio and field production. The other new iKan monitor is the v5600. The new V5600 is a 5.6-inch LCD HDMI monitor that is the perfect size for new Hi-Def enabled DSLR cameras and smaller HD camcorders. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - G-Technology

Just prior to NAB G-Tech and Fabrik were acquired by Hitachi. This is very big and important news. With Hitachi behind them it gives G-Tech a cost, availability and technology advantage that other external drive companies simply will not be able to compete with in the long run. It also shows how important the added value of G-Tech design, performance and reliability is to one of the world's biggest computer and electronics companies. We think it will be an excellent fit and we expect great things form this acquisition for video content creators. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - CineForm

We have been a CineForm partner since the company was first founded. CineForm is an incredibly cool company that has developed a technology that allows you to edit HD footage more efficiently. They do this by replacing the original CODEC with their own CineForm CODEC. (Read More)

Videoguys NAB Report - Edirol

Several months ago Videoguys' announced that we have become an Edirol dealer. Edirol makes a full line of digital video mixers and filed recorders. (Read More)

Products Featured in the Videoguys' NAB Report 2009

Sony Vegas Production Assistant

Avid Media Composer 3.5

Avid Mojo DX with Media Composer 3.5 Upgrade

Adobe Premiere Pro CS4

Adobe CS4 Production Premium

Focus FS-5 Portable DTE Recorder

Focus FS-4 HD

Focus FS-4 Pro HD

Focus FS-100 for Panasonic users

G-Tech G-SPEED eS PRO

G-Tech G-SPEED eS PRO XL

CineForm NeoScene

CineForm NeoHD

Edirol V-4 Video Mixer

Edirol V-8 Video Mixer

Edirol F-1 Field Recorder

Click here to subscribe to the Videoguys' Blog RSS feed with an almost daily update of information from Videoguys.com as well as our tech's favorite sites on the web!!!

Sign up and save