HD For Indies

NAB 2006-Other Schtuff
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Hey all - so at long last, here's my NAB 2006 Other Stuff Wrap Up notes. This is the last of my bulk notes from NAB 2006 (a month later, yeah I know, sorry, but ya gits whatcha pay for!)

So what is "Other Stuff?" Stuff that wasn't immediately identifiable as shooting gear, storage, editing hardware or software, and that just didn't have a clear other place to go.

It took me so long to get all this transcribed from audio, emailed press releases sifted, brochures sponged for actual facts instead of "marketing copy', that I don't have the time/energy/inclination to go through another pass and format all this. So here it all is, a big gob of data, not in any particular order of preference.

Here's a catch-all for "other stuff" I saw at NAB:
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Summary of the better stuff:

-Intel's expected Mac tower chips out sooner than expected
-Bella's Catapult will let you record DV and HDV to an iPod (!!!)
-Creative Cow now has a print magazine
-QuVis and Christie have new D-Cinema products
-there's other interesting tidbits
-and links to all the photos and videos I took during NAB

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On departing Vegas, after a week there, as I wait for my flight which was delayed until about midnight:

"Las Vegas is built on the broken promises of the money you will not win and the sex you will not have."

-mc

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INTEL (FROM MacOSXRumors.com)

During its financial results conference, for the second time this year, the company has announced it will be shipping its next-generation processors earlier than scheduled.

The Conroe, Merom and Woodcrest were first scheduled to be released in late 2006. Some weeks ago, the company announced it would be shipping them a bit earlier in Q3 and now they’re planned to be shipping by June according to the company’s CEO Paul Otellini.

Intel has also announced it would startlarge restructuring efforts so as to get some market share back from its main competitor AMD. The company also announced it is already working on the two next generations of processors, with plans to change generation every two years.


Mike's Comments: Oh, well THAT'S good news! Perhaps we'll be seeing macintel towers at WWDC? Shipping in the fall?

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The Bella Catapult is a new gadget that lets you record DV or HDV directly onto an iPod via USB 2.0 connector. It'll do time lapse, remote trigger, pre and post recording, record over 3 hours with the batteries, comes with Windows or Mac presets, ships second half of this year, about $300 or less. Sounds good!

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Cobalt Digital has SD/HD analog component to SDI/HD-SDI converter box, model # 8090, 12 bit A/D converter, does 720p, 1080p, 1080i, all the usual framerates, one box for all markets (no PAL vs NTSC models), is $1195

See this page for related photos

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Creative Cow
See related pics somewhere on this page

...now has a print edition magazine covering Mac creative industry applications - so print as well as video as well as 3D etc. I'd imagine. Update - I flipped through and read several articles - this is good stuff, I'd recommend picking up a copy and see how much is applicable to what you do. A lot of it was applicable for me.

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HDRVFX.com - downloadable high dynamic range spherical HDRs, panoramas, etc., at NAB had 60 or 70 pieces up, instead of selling by the DVDs, can by the single image a la carte and download it, the do custom work as well, all HDRs are realworld, NOT rendered out of 3D packages, have pre-lit scenes for Carerra, going to add the other 3D packages like Maya, Lightwave, Cinema4D, maybe a Boris product, etc., are based in SF and NYC, can get reflection maps for $4, 360 degree spherical HDR for $12, and the pre-setup scenes are $15,
-sizes - 3.5K, 1K, 512, have stair stepped pricing (higher res more expensive)
-at NAB had about 70 pieces at various resolutions online
-shooting'em on D70s with the 10.5 Nikon spherical, 5700 with a fisheye
-shooting a variety of shots at different angles, stitch one and it can be batched (she shoots 6 around, 5 in each position, 5 panoramas 2 stops apart each)
-they take the panoramas and collapse'em down with CS2 or other apps (CS2 is kinda wonky)
-it is a .hdr file (radians file) - RGB-e file (the e is exposure)
-ILM uses a $50K camera for their inhouse work, they feel they can do good bang for the buck with their tools

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CANON XL H1: compared w/D-20, HVX200, Silicon Imaging, Phantom HD, the Viper was the sharpest, cleanest camera in the bunch, the XL H1 was second in the group

Mini35 adaptor for XL H1 - they got it working

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RED COUNT - pushing towards 250 by the end of the week of reserved units for the Red One

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QuVis showed their 4K DCI compliant JPEG2000 based theatrical stuff:

The QuVIS Digital Cinema System™ delivers unsurpassed image quality to the silver screen using DCI JPEG2000, or its own patented wavelet compression technology, Quality Priority Encoding (QPE™). The system architecture supports resolutions through 4K and provides transparent real-time playback of a 2K image from a 4K master and optional 3D. In addition to film-resolution playback, the QuVIS Digital Cinema System™ supports current video broadcast standards including High Definition and Standard Definition at guaranteed quality levels. The systems approach includes integrated support for automation control and audio, as well as optional show and theatre management system components.


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Christie was showing 12K and 20K lumen projectors - Christie introduces the latest generation of the most powerful and brightest digital projectors in their classes, the Christie Roadster S+ 20K, the Christie LX120, and the Christie DS+26 SXGA+.


Introducing….
 
THE NEW CHRISTIE ROADSTER S+20K PROJECTOR
 
The Christie Roadster S+ 20K DLP projector is the latest generation of its popular Roadster Series of compact, purpose-built projectors for the rental/staging, live entertainment, trade show and exhibition markets.  Driven by a powerful 3-chip DLP SXGA+ engine and delivering 20,000 ANSI lumens, the projector offers superior image quality and increased brightness levels with greater power, performance and lower cost-of-ownership to meet the challenges of the most demanding environments. 
SEE COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE BELOW.
 
 
THE NEW CHRISTIE LX120 LCD PROJECTOR
 
Setting the industry-leading standard for brightness with 12,000 Lumens of power, the Christie LX120 LCD projector is the latest in Christie’s popular RoadRunner series.  Featuring a superior 1300:1 contrast ratio, the Christie LX120 offers the ultimate in reliability, dependability and flexibility.  With configurable illumination to operate either in quad or dual lamp mode, it is equally at home in large auditoriums and churches, as well as executive briefing rooms and conference centers.   
SEE COMPLETE PRESS RELEASE BELOW.
 
 
THE NEW CHRISTIE DS+26 SXGA+ PROJECTOR – SMALLEST AND LIGHTEST IN ITS CLASS
 
Offering power, performance and portability in a compact design, the new Christie DS+26 digital projector is the smallest, high resolution, single-chip DLP projector available on the market today.  It features true SXGA+ 1400x1050 resolution, a powerful 2500 ANSI lumens and a 2500:1 full field contrast ratio to deliver images of exceptional brightness, sharpness and clarity. The Christie DS+26 is the only compact DLP projector on the market with 100% vertical lens shift for distortion-free imaging. Ideal for unobtrusive installations, the DS+26 compact size and quiet operation is ideal for smaller conference rooms, boardrooms and training rooms.


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Full pics from NAB 2006:
Red Booth Day Zero & One - this is setting up in the Red Booth and the first day of my working with those guys:

Here’s some pictures from Sunday and Monday as we set up the booth and hit the first day of the show. The players include - Ted Schilowitz, Graeme Nattress, Chris Petrillo, Hugo from Oakley, Jarred Land, Stuart English, Mark Pederson, and of course, Jim Jannard.

NAB 2006 Crowd Day One - this is really just to show how quickly the crowd grew on Day One of NAB 2006. Not gear exciting...

NAB 2006 Day Two - this was Day Two, this was me working the Red Booth mostly.

Day Three Part 1 (there is no Part 2-I swear! Not holding out...) - pics wandering the show floor, including pics of:

Pictures from Day Three of NAB 2006 - Ted Schilowitz, Red One Digital Cinema Camera, AIM Award, Silicon Imaging SI-1920HDVR, Autodesk, XDCAM HD import, Sony booth, Grass Valley Infinity, Thomson Viper Venom Flashpak, Varizoom, La Cie, Elvis, FCP User Group

NAB 2006 Day Four Part 1 of 3 - wandering the floor, checking out the following:

Silicon Color Final Touch HD & Final Render, Tangent, ADTX, S.two Take2, EditShare, Panasonic Plasma 103 inch HDTV, FireStor DTE FS-100, AJ-HDX900 specs, Mini35, Editcam HD, HJVC GY-HD200 & GY-HD250, 16mm lens adaptor, redrock micro 35mm adaptor, JVC 1920x1080 LCD, 9” HD CRT


NAB 2006 Day Four Part 2 of 3 - this is more wandering the floor, checking out:

NAB 2006 Day 4 pt2 of 3 pictures - Doremi booth, ARRI D-20 with modded Quantel eq rackmount field case for RAW ingent/edit/playback/color grading, FlashPak RAM for D-20, ReflecMedia for keying, and the Phantom lineup of cameras


NAB 2006 Day Four Part 3 of 3 - this is more wandering the floor, checking out:

NAB 2006 Day 4 Part 3 of 3 pictures. Automatic Revolution, Miranda DVI Ramp2, JL Cooper MCS3800 Final Cut control surface, Cobalt Digital converters, Teranex media processors, Quantum SDLT-600A data tape backup w/FTP MXF footage retrieval on GigE, Huge/Ciprico RAIDs, Flip4Mac new products, Matrox MXO specs, Mini35 adaptors, Red Schtuff


Also, I've posted some short video clips on another page titled NAB 2006 videos that I took with the video mode of my little Canon S450 and used QuickTime Player to Export To iPod Movie (320x240). Quick and easy. Footage includes the announcement and crowd reactions from the first Red NAB preso at 9:30am Monday, a nice long chunk of video of Ari explaining the Silicon Imaging SI-1920HDVR camera to me, some footage demonstrating how the Automatic Revolution works, a quick sample of how the Varizoom works, and Ted Red getting ready to raffle off the Red "r" #200 (the winner gets a place in line on a Red One camera and $1000 off list price).

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Whew! That's it for NAB 2006 notes!

I'll do a "Best of NAB 2006" thing sometime in the next few days.

-mike