April in Las Vegas

The Scoop on NAB '97

by Pam Malouf-Cundy

With over 100,000 attendees this year (the largest ever) and two convention centers full of mainly broadcast equipment I will not even pretend to say that I saw everything. However, as a "plain old" film editor who attends NAB annually, allow me to humbly point out the new products and information that I found pertinent and interesting. If you're familiar with NAB, skip the next "what" paragraph. (PS, please forgive any technical flubs--I'm just a film editor trying to relay information for the greater knowledge of us all.)

What NAB Is:

The National Association of Broadcasters Convention features products specifically designed for broadcasters (networks, cable companies and their affiliates) who are transmitting signals (programs) locally and all over the world. Products on display this year included: satellite video services (manufacturers and transmitters); new & used equipment companies, tape cleaning & storage; Wilson & Anvil cases & soft equipment protection packs; cameras for use in the field including latest robotic car mounts and Gyro head technology; lighting equipment; broadcast bandwidth upgrades & how they affect the signal; production music libraries; the latest in digital on-line, desktop, in the field & special effects news editing--both offline and online; desktop animation programs with 2D, 3D, paint box & more (at cheap prices); real-time visual effects for compositing with news reporters--and more.

Do You Care?

Most of the products are not too applicable to motion picture editing, but the opportunity to see the latest in cutting edge technology in a closely related field should not be discounted. Also, I ran into several post production department heads, video house representatives and producers. In addition, there were some things of direct interest to us editors--such as the latest and greatest computer special effects software and, of course, all the current and new non-linear offline editing systems--Avid, Lightworks, D-Vision, Digital Studio by Softimage (looks good), Media100, Montage and many more "wannabe" competitors!

Most Interesting:

1. Live talent composited in real-time with 3D virtual sets and environments. Example--an actor paced on a green screen background but on the monitor we saw him going around and around on a 3D cube with his size changing proportionately. In front of the 3D cube was a pool of water which he dived into and it looked real. Live, tapeless slow-motion was also demonstrated.
   
   
2. Virtual Light Processor: the VLP1000 is a rack mountable unit with controls for light reconstruction, brightness gain, shadow gain, bright area enhancement, shadow area enhancement and all area enhancement--all done in real time. It allows you to fix dailies where color matching or lighting is a problem! Light content in the bright areas can be modified without affecting the details in the dark area of the same image. Hidden details can become clear under a wide range of brightness and shadow adjustments. Not designed for us editors to purchase but certainly something the local video houses should have so they can provide this service to us. Made by Haplotec Inc. 408-573-9000.
   
   
3. Can you imagine a 72" diagonal, rear projection (enclosure) screen? Well they had one on display--awesome.
   
   
4. NATE: the National Association of Tower Erectors--nothing to do with us editors but sounded sexually humorous!
   
   
5. Speaking of sex, the ratio of men to women is about 40 to 1, so if you're a single gal take note. Even if 80% are married... However, I spoke with one petite, young, blonde female who said she couldn't get the time of day (information and respect) from any of the men in the booths!

Happening News:

• Digital Fusion Version 1.2 allows non-linear compositing, 64 bit, unlimited layers.
  
  
• Avid has an online program called MCExpress that works off Windows NT but has none of the bells and whistles of the Film Composer. Don't expect Film Composer (with its current features) on Windows NT for at least 3 years, maybe even more although a substandard film composer program on windows NT may be out in early 1998.
  
  
• Hyperlink: see under next paragraph!

New Lingo You Should Know:

• DVD: get it right! DVD stands for Digital Versatile Disk, an ultra high capacity, high density disk. This name comes from the fact that DVD will come in different varieties--as you read on you'll see why they call it versatile!
  
  
• DVD-Video: enough storage capacity to hold at least two full length feature films (133 minutes of high quality video per side) with multiple soundtracks, (allows up to 8 dubbed languages!). Multi-angle function delivers up to 9 viewing angles for increased reality, multi-aspect function permits viewing in both 16.9 "wide" and 4:3 aspects, parental lock function & more. Note: Will need a DVD-Video player.
  
  
• DVD-ROM: will play on current CD-ROM players yet delivers up to 4.7 GB of nearly component digital video quality and CD quality audio - so games will look and sound a lot better.
  
  
• DVD-Audio: 7 times the capacity of one CD, including up to 8 channels, delivers better than CD quality audio and will likely store entire compilations of musicians whether it be 10 songs or 50 songs or more. The 17 GB version may be able to store every Grateful Dead recording!
  
  
• DTV: digital television.
  
  
• DVD-Video Players: durability and quality approaching D1, the only hold up is copyright issues.
  
  
• DVD-R: for computer users, 3.9 GB disks that write once, read many times - expected mid-1997.
  
  
• DVD-RAM: 2.6 GB and 5.2 GB (double side) rewritable disks - expected 1998. This will eliminate storage problems for computer users.
  
  
• ATV: Advanced Television - digital, wide screen, high definition (HDTV).
  
  
• DAB: digital audio broadcasting (radio broadcasting will be on a digital track in the near future).
  
  
• DVC: composite digital cassette.
  
  
• DVCS: is a DV format, serial interface between DV equipment such as camcorder and VTR.
  
  
• MPEG-2: current standard of compression of video, audio, VBI signals, and user data channels into a single Transport Stream (makes possible DTV and DVD video).
  
  
• CYBERCASTING: broadcasting live video and audio over the Internet.
  
  
• HYPERLINK: means you can click on an object in a video sequence - such as shoes - and link immediately to a web page for information about where they can be purchased. This is done using "hypervideo" - digital video embedded with "hot spots" that are hyperlinked to various related media, such as text, sound, pictures, video sequences, URL's or executable software applications. (This could not be done on ordinary video tape.) There's no secret to these "hot spots" they just have to be marked.
  
  
• Digital 601: new slang (term) for the best digital quality.
  
  
• 10 bit NTSC frame: best quality (standard broadcast) digital image. 8 bit seems to be common but not as good.

Dealers/Companies You Might Be Interested In:

• MEGADRIVE: from 69 GB up to 4 terabytes, the MX-500 uses 5.25" 23 GB drive modules as building blocks for up to 115 GB per unit and is compatible with a wide range of systems: (818)-700-7600 or 1-800-664-MEGA.
  
  
• MONTAGE is still in business (!) If you care to keep up, call: 212-769-4100.
  
  
• AVDIGITAL: Advanced networking and storage solutions including rackmount or table-top with over 200 GB capacity: 1-800-927-7424.
  
  
• BASEBALL: caps/jackets/uniforms/shirts at great prices for (mix & match) a quantity of 100 with custom logo's if desired. Call:1-800-619-1110.
  
  
• NoNoise: World's Leading Sound Restoration System - 1996 Emmy Award Outstanding Achievement for reducing noisy production or to improve the sound quality of problem recordings: 1-800-sonic-4u.
  
  
• VIDEO LOGGING SOFTWARE called "Executive Producer", (Reviewed by Alan Bell in the Sept/Oct'96 Newsletter.) allows logging in the field with only a VCR and it puts out some spiffy story boards, shot lists with digital pictures for reference or reports and it even prints tape labels, packing slips, etc. For further information visit the Imagine Products website or call (317) 843-0706.
  
  
• NAB 1998 - April 6-9, Las Vegas. Book your hotel early for the best rates and get free passes to the convention from your local post production vendors. Want more information? Visit the NAB website or call "fax on demand" from your fax machine (301) 216-1847.