NAB PostGame Report: Business booms as tech matures

By Ken Kerschbaumer

When the NAB officially closed the door on the 2007 convention last week it also ended one of the more interesting NAB shows in years. And it wasn’t because of a wealth of fascinating new technologies but rather because the industry finally seems to have stabilized. Cameras have made the transition to tapeless HD recording in a wide variety of price points and flavors; networking and storage technology continues to grow in size while falling in price; and mobile delivery seems ready to explode across local TV stations and cellular providers in 2007 and 2008.

All of those maturing technologies had attendees ready to sign purchasing agreements and exhibitors talking about one of the best shows in years in terms of leads and new business. And sports, as usual, was at the center of a lot of the top deals. NEP, for example, signed a deal with Sony to purchase 150 HD cameras, the largest camera deal Sony has ever signed (and we’re guessing the largest HD lens deal ever won’t be far behind). The Beijing Olympics also made its presence felt as companies like Snell & Wilcox and Isilon Systems inked deals related to the first all-HD Olympics. And Qustream landed deals with the three creeks: Game Creek, Crosscreek, and Token Creek.

For the Sports Video Group NAB 2007 was unquestionably the highlight of its short life. The SVG Pre-Game party on Sunday night at the Empire Ballroom drew more than 420 people and set the stage for multiple nights of networking as both NEP and Game Creek held events on Monday and Tuesday night that continued the remote production fun.

And on Monday SVG held the first NAB Sports Technology Forum. During the day more than 900 people attended the various sessions which dove into everything from sports graphics creation and editing to 1080p and, the highlight, two screenings of the NBA in 3D HD. On behalf of the SVG and its members and sponsors we just wanted to publicly say thank you to the NBA’s Steve Hellmuth and Mike Rokosa for giving us the honor of demonstrating this exciting next generation technology.

The NAB success story has given SVG new momentum in the industry, helping prove that bringing end-users and manufacturers who are both committed to high-quality TV productions is always a winning proposition.