NAB 2008 may be one of the most controversial NAB conventions (at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 11-17) in many years. This is greatly due to the relatively late decision of two of the biggest players, Avid and Apple, to drop out.  At the same time, however, even more sparks will be flying from booths exhibiting video monitors that are competing to replace the no longer acceptable CRT screens that have for so long been the preferred reference monitor technology. In addition, we will be seeing the impact of at least two new recording formats, HDCAM-EX and AVCHD, to stir the format soup once more. All of this is just going to make the experience all the more fun and worthwhile to attend.

Here are some of the newest product introductions in cameras & lenses, lighting audio, video monitors and editing that, from a pre-show perspective, may be of greatest interest to P3 Update’s readers.  It’s worth mentioning that this will be the last NAB before the shutoff of the analog broadcast signal. All this information was the best available at press time. Look for many surprises at the show.
Arri has been making quite a splash with its D-20 camcorder. Since the single 6 Megapixel CMOS sensor at the heart of Arri’s D-20 has the same size as a Super 35 mm film aperture, the D-20 uses the same lenses as 35 mm film cameras. The resulting images have the same depth of field as 35 mm film, giving filmmakers the ability to direct the viewer’s attention to a specific part of the image.

Canon U.S.A. will be showing a comprehensive lineup of HD camcorders, as well as HDTV and SDTV portable, studio, and field lenses (HD-EC cine-style prime and zoom). Visit their booth to see Canon’s new DIGISUPER 27 HDTV studio lens and the BU-40H remote-control robotic pan-tilt HD camera system. Don’t forget to check out their new Canobeam DT-150 HD Free Space Optics transceiver for bi-directional, uncompressed 1.5 Gbps transmission of embedded digital video, audio, and camera-control signals ─ with no delay.

JVC's top-performing Professional DV camcorder, the GY-DV5100U JVC, has newly upgraded digital processing circuits to meet the requirements of cost-effective alternatives to the over-priced tapeless solutions of other manufacturers. That’s especially true when it is combined with the DR-DV5000U that records the DV signal onto hot-swappable, HDD enclosures, which can be interfaced directly with many NLE systems.