THE BIG PICTURE

This week, I'm in Las Vegas for the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention. (It seems like only yesterday that I was here for CES, but it was actually three months ago!) Many have questioned my reasons for attending this trade show, which is aimed at broadcasting and content professionals rather than consumers. It's quite simple, really—I'm here to answer one basic question: How is the consumer experience impacted and improved by what is we see at NAB?

I'm covering the show as part of Team TWiT, headed by Leo Laporte, host of The Tech Guy, an international radio talk show aimed at technology consumers on which I'm a regular guest. TWiT is the official podcaster at NAB, producing about 20 hours of video coverage from Monday, April 11, through Thursday, April 14. Most of that coverage will be streamed live from live.twit.tv, primarily from 9:00 AM to 1:00 or 2:00 PM each day. Interestingly, our coverage uses the same platform—IPTV—that will undoubtedly be a big part of what NAB is all about.

I'll be on camera Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday mornings. From 9:00 to 10:00 AM on Monday, I'll be with Leo from the TWiT stage, where we'll interview Derek Smith, CEO of SpectraCal, developer of the CalMan calibration software. Then, from 10:30 AM to 12:00 noon, I'll be roaming the show floor with Leo and a camera crew equipped to stream wirelessly to the Internet. We'll be talking with representatives from three major companies—Panasonic, JVC, and Sony—about how their announcements at the show will affect the consumer experience. Our first guest will be Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, CTO of Panasonic USA, a very smart and articulate fellow who should have some interesting things to say.

On Tuesday, I'll be on the stage with Leo from 9:00 to 11:00 AM, and our guests will include Jason Power, senior director of Dolby's broadcast division; Tim Carroll of Linear Acoustic talking about controlling the volume of TV commercials; and Fred Kitson, CTO of DTS. My final appearance will be Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:00 AM, when our guests will include Namit Mulhotra, CEO of Prime Focus, which is doing the 2D-to-3D conversion of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

If you can't catch the live stream, all of TWiT's coverage will be available as podcasts at twit.tv/specials a day or two after they are recorded. In addition, our from-the-floor segment on Monday will become this week's episode of my Home Theater Geeks podcast, and I'll be linking to that and the other segments on which I appear right here at UAV. I'll also be posting my own photos and blogs from the show, so I hope you'll come back often to see what's new in the world of content creation and delivery and how that will affect your experience of watching movies and TV. It should be an interesting week!