The NAB convention concluded today providing further evidence of the tectonic shifts reshaping the television landscapes.
Nearly 100,000 broadcasters, production and post-production professionals, multimedia creators, vendors, government bureaucrats and elected officials descended on Las Vegas for the annual event – many in search of a better understanding of how the DTV transition will shake-out and the role HD will play both from the point of view of technological advancements and potential business models.
One of the convention’s highlights was an actual working model of a high-definition television station. Attendees witnessed the technology, workflow and management required to acquire, produce, playback and transmit an HD signal.
Dubbed NAB-HD, the model station broadcast pre-recorded and live convention-related HD programming in 720p complete with closed captioning and PSIP data.
The signal was transmitted via an Axcera Innovator LX solid-state digital low power UHF transmitter. It also was fed via fiber to the Mobile Media area outside the Las Vegas Convention Center where it was uplinked via satellite, and retransmitted on KVVU-HD throughout the city.
The annual event also gave broadcasters at the beginning stages of the 2GHZ Broadcast Auxiliary Service re-location process an opportunity to learn details directly from Nextel.
Michael Degitz, vice president of Nextel Spectrum Resources, and Cindy Hutter, director of Nextel Broadcast Engineering, were on hand to present an overview, and background information, transitioning from the current plan to the new channel plan and methods for market relocation.
The association also honored several broadcasters for their contributions to the industry. This year it presented its Distinguish Service Award to Lowry Mays, chairman of Clear Channel.
The NAB also honored Dr. Oded Bendov, president of the TV Transmission Antenna Group, as the recipient of the Television Engineering Achievement Award. His many achievements include being the architect of the industry’s transition to circularly polarized TV antennas, authoring fundamental papers on DTV planning factors, coverage and service analysis, and writing the chapters on transmitting antennas in the TV Engineering Handbook and the Encyclopedia for Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
For more information, visit www.nabshow.com.