In only a couple of days, 90,000+ broadcast and video professionals will converge once again on Las Vegas for the annual NAB Show. While the gathering in Sin City has become familiar to most, ever-changing technology continues to make the show look quite different with each passing exhibition.
Within the past decade, we have gone from standard def to HD, and last year 3D was in vogue. Station engineers are still around but they’ve been joined by a level of IT professional that would have been more apt to be strolling down the aisles of Interop rather than NAB a few short years ago.
But, as the old saying goes, “Change is good.” That is certainly the case with this year’s NAB. A global platform (attendees are expected from more than 150 countries, according to show management), NAB has a concentration on 3D once again, but also mobile apps and transmedia will make their presence known. Personally, I’m excited to see how the world of digital media will continue to revolutionize our industry. No doubt, some of that change will be on display by the approximately 1,500 exhibitors, of which Fujinon is one. We will be addressing the trends in the marketplace with our new optical products.

One thing that I believe NAB management has done successfully the past few years is to define the areas of interest so it is as easy as possible for attendees to make the best use of their time. This is no easy task, given that the show covers so many topics over a landscape of more than 800,000 square feet. Areas such as the various “PITS” (People Integrating Technologies and Solutions) worked well last year and it’s good to see them again at NAB 2011. Given the whirlwind pace of change in our market, it’s also good to see the educational program have such depth.
“The more things change, the more they stay the same” is another well known saying. That applies to NAB 2011. It remains the show of our industry but it continues to have a different look and feel. I’m interested to hear some other thoughts, so stop by our booth (C7525) and let me know what you think of the show. And check back here, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages, for show updates.