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Ronnie Schronce of Keeper
Technology makes the point that you
don’t want “unintelligent storage.”
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To many attendees at the NAB Show,
the outside exhibits are just something you
walk through on the way from the Central
Hall to the South Hall. A steady stream of
people ply this shortcut, but only a few peel
off to visit one of the outside exhibitors.
The few who visit these exhibitors get
to see the too-big-for-the-show-floor trucks
and trailers that comprise a healthy
part of the outside exhibits. For example,
NEP had one of its big production
trailers open for tours.
NEP crisscrosses the country —
and even has rigs positioned in Europe
— to handle live remote broadcasts.
The company not only operates dozens
of full-HD production trucks but
also builds and refurbishes production
trucks.
At the moment, NEP has
two 3D production trailers
and is waiting to see if there
is demand before building
more.
Another truck builder in
the outside exhibits is Accelerated
Media Technologies
(AMT), which was
launched a couple of years
ago by several people with
long experience at truck
fabricators.
“It’s not easy starting
a manufacturing business
these days,” said Peter
Deary, vice president
of manufacturing for
AMT.
Tricky start notwithstanding,
Deary said that AMT has a
backlog of orders through September 2011,
and it expects to receive more at the show.
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3ality Digital staff
sets up 3D production
gear, while jump
shots are practiced at
the company’s
basketball court.
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This is Las Vegas, and outside is where
the sunshine is, so it shouldn’t be surprising
that there are several exhibitors showing
solar power solutions. Solergy displayed its
novel solar energy collection system, which
can generate electrical power and thermal
energy at the same time. Studded with
lenses, the system on display can deliver 2.5
kW of electricity, as well as 4 kW of heat
generation. And this is from a reduced-size
system created for tradeshows.
Is that ... a walking garbage can?!? Ronnie
Schronce of Keeper Technology beams a
wide smile from inside a metal trash can —
complete with galvanized lid for a hat — to
illustrate “unintelligent storage.” Nearby is
Keeper Technology’s RV, which has a demo
room featuring its Motion Media Suite for
intelligent archiving of audio and video files.
At the end of the outside exhibits is the
large display and production facility for
3ality Digital, a provider of 3D hardware
and production systems.
It’s a two-part display,
with technical equipment
inside a spacious tent and
a basketball court just
outside.
As people shoot baskets,
cameras capture
the action in 3D. Don’t
be surprised if you see
clusters of viewers wearing 3D glasses ...
you might even want to slip on a pair yourself,
as the effect is pretty convincing.
Some of us have to use video gear and
can’t spend the day shooting hoops. West
Barba of On Call Communications had a
camera on his shoulder, shooting a live uplink
for Fox News in New York. Fox wanted
to get a demo of On Call’s remote capabilities,
and what better place to do it than from
the exhibits at the NAB?
If you don’t spend time outside, you miss
exhibits with a different ambiance than under
the roof of the Convention Center. Outside,
it’s a loosen-your-tie atmosphere that’s
a little more relaxed than inside the hulking
halls to either side.
-- Bob Kovacs, TV Technology