The SVG’s Top 10 NAB Conferences worth attending

As if the massive show floor of the NAB isn t enough to try and cover the annual confab also offers a wealth of meetings, seminars and presentations. SVG went through the list and pulled together some programs that are worth checking out.

Broadcast Engineering Conference
There s a lot, and we mean a LOT, to be found at the NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference that begins on Saturday, April 22. Among the noteworthy panels:

Super Session
The Digital Home and the Future of Broadcasting
April 24, 10:30-Noon, Room S222
Following a presentation by Intel s Kevin Corbett on Winning in the Internet Broadcast Era a panel from 11-noon entitled Becoming the Hybrid Network: What must broadcasters do? looks promising. Execs from MediaFlo, MovieBeam, NBC Universal (Glenn Reitmeir) and Kasena (Mark Gray) will discuss how mobile, VoIP, VOD and DVRs are changing all the rules.

SuperSession
Internet TV: What the New World of Ubiquitous Home Broadband Means for Broadcasters
April 24, 1-2 p.m.
With more and more sports leagues, teams and broadcasters looking to broadband distribution this session could prove enlightening
Television Masters Luncheon
New Distribution Pipelines: Turning TV Content into Revenue
April 25, Noon-2 p.m., Las Vegas Hilton Ballroom A
A keynote by Anne Sweeney, co-char, Disney Media Networks and president, Disney ABC TV group is only the appetizer for a lively discussion with top-notch panelists like Larry Kramer, president, CBS Digital Media and Terry Mackin, EVP, Hearst-Argyle TV. Ric Harris, EVP/GM NBC Universal TV stations and Susana Schuler, VP of News for Raycom Media also participate.

Emerging Technologies for Television
April 26, 2-5 p.m., Room S221, LVCC
If you can wipe your slate clean and sit down for three hours this is the place to be. Topics of discussion include MPEG-4 AVC (from 2-3 p.m.), Software-based master control playout (2:30-3 p.m.), Internet Video Broadcasting (3-3:30 p.m.), WiMax (3:30-4 p.m.), Super Hi-Vision (4:30-5 p.m.) and 3DTV (5-5:30 p.m.) are on the agenda.

MoTV: Mobile Video and TV Forum
April 25, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., S229, LVCC
Mobile TV is all the rage in sports and beyond and a number of the panels during this track should be very useful for the sports community.
At 10:10 in room S219 David Brooks, Snell & Wilcox VP, systems and architecture, will provide a case study of Mobile Content Processor. Following his presentation Salil Dalvi, NBC Mobile VP, wireless platforms, will deliver what is sure to be an informative keynote given the mobile work NBC did with the Olympics.
The must-see panel is likely to be The Race to Broadcast TV to Mobile Phones set for 12-1 p.m. in room S219. Look for all of the new technologies like DVB-H, Qualcomm MediaFLO and Modeo to be discussed.
And at 3:50 p.m. in room S222 a one-hour panel will be held on VOD vs. Real Time: Two Mobile Paradigms. Execs from Irdeto, HP, and Entriq are among the presenters.

IPTV World
Held on April 26 in room S219 of the LVCC this promises to be an interesting event. Topping the list? A keynote presentation by Phil Corman, Microsoft TV director, worldwide partner development, on IPTV: Television s Promise Fulfilled. Building IP-based TV delivery systems has been easier said than done so Corman s presentation could be worth hearing to see if the promise is actually fulfilled.

Following Corman s presentation a panel from 9:30-10:30 called War! will prove amusing and informative for over-the-air broadcasters. The discussion will center on who has the upper hand in multichannel services: the telcos or cable ops?

Later in the day at 5:30 in room S222 a breakout session on Building an IPTV Network features the likes of Bob Wilson, CEO of Modulus Video and Ray Carnovale, VP and CTO of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation discussing the use of MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and what type of set-top boxes and middleware is best for IPTV.