NAB 2014 Reflects Innovation, Uncertainty

The 2014 NAB Show closes today in Las Vegas in a position that — like the television industry itself — is far stronger than it was in the wake of 2008 recession, but one that is vulnerable to new challenges.

The numbers show a major rebound from six years ago. This year’s edition of the annual gathering saw 98,015 attendees register for the show, a mere whisker away from the 100,000-plus attendee mark achieved when the show was at its strongest.

On the exhibition floor, the improving health of the show was evident, too. Not only did this year’s 1,746 exhibitors represent a 7% increase from 2013’s total, but the subjective feel of the show — based on the congestion in the aisles, on the escalators and at the exhibits — indicated the annual gathering is approaching its previous zenith.

However, the same factors creating uncertainty about where the television industry goes from here leave the NAB Show at a crossroads as well. Will the TV industry and the trade show remain relevant as new competitors from the wireless industry offer consumers attractive over-the-air alternatives? Can the industry and the event find a solid technological foundation in the wake of a spectrum auction and repack? Will the TV industry and the NAB Show even matter in an era when Internet connectivity turns every computer, cell phone and tablet into what essentially is a television screen?

Perhaps the most important thing to come out of this year’s gathering in Las Vegas is that both the television industry and the NAB seem to have a profound understanding of these existential questions and are responding in ways aimed at positioning television broadcasters for future success.

On the exhibit floor, at press conferences and engineering sessions, technologies were being shown and discussed to make it easier for broadcasters to compete and win using some of the same approaches wireless carriers and over-the-top streaming services use today.

One example on the show floor is a service offered to TV stations and station groups on a revenue-split basis by LiveStream that makes it simple to stream local newscasts from station websites with on-air advertising stripped out and replaced by commercials sold specifically for Web distribution. In the year since LiveStream began offering the service, more than 100 stations have signed up and more are being added every week, the company said.

Another is a smart TV technology trial announced at an NAB press event that will allow local broadcasters to add interactive components to their over-the-air newscasts via an Internet back channel.

The test, announced April 8 by the Pearl, a technology consortium of eight station groups, and LG Electronics, will offer viewers with LG Smart TVs polling and other interactive services during newscasts and commercial breaks. The trial is slated to begin this month at stations in Atlanta, Cleveland and Orlando, Fla., and will run into the summer.

A third instance of using the technology of competitors to the advantage of broadcasters is on display at the GatesAir booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center (N609). GatesAir, formerly the RF division of Harris Broadcast, is showing how a single 6 MHz TV channel can be used to transmit both an advanced OFDM-based terrestrial TV signal as a well as an LTE signal using time division multiplexing and advanced signaling.

While a technology showing and not a product that is for sale, the demonstration underscores the importance of the work being done to create a new OFDM-based digital transmission standard for U.S. TV broadcasters and highlights new business opportunities, such as leasing a portion of a broadcaster’s spectrum to wireless carriers, that are possible.

As with past NAB Shows, this year’s edition also saw the introduction of some surprising new products and continued development of existing technology that has taken some interesting twists.

A big surprise at the convention was the introduction of CION, a new 4K production camera from AJA Video. Secretly in the works for nearly five years, the camera was revealed to the press April 7. The new camera provides integrated Apple ProRes recording, ranging from ProRes 4444 to ProRes Proxy, and also supports RAW workflows. AJA Video said the camera will be priced at $8,995 and will be shipping in the summer.

Another in the camera category is the new Blackmagic Studio Camera, which is available in different versions for HD and 4K Ultra-HD applications. The camera body is built of lightweight magnesium alloy. It includes a 10-inch viewfinder, four-hour battery life, talkback, tally, phantom powered mic connections and built-in SDI and fiber optic connections. The surprising thing about these studio cameras is the HD version costs $1,995, and the 4K model is priced at $2,995.

JVC also offered up a 4K surprise with its decision to enter the 4K camera market. The company showed a concept 4K camera as well as a video drone equipped with a small 4K camera head in its booth.

An unexpected twist on existing technology that surfaced at NAB is the integration of social media support directly in the TVU Networks TVUPack.

The new feature gives news photographers one-button access to social media sites like Twitter from the site of breaking news, making it faster and easier to reach viewers with an image from the scene to drive them to the station for live coverage. The connection to social media also can first be relayed to the station for an added level of editorial control.

Perhaps the biggest NAB surprise of all was the message of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler to NAB attendees April 8. Wheeler told television broadcasters that when a new OFDM-based ATSC 3.0 standard is complete, “the FCC will be ready and responsive” with the full understanding that it will not be backwards compatible.

Wheeler said OFDM-based digital broadcasting would make more efficient use of TV spectrum. Considered in the context of channel sharing, knowledge that the arrival of an OFDM-based TV transmission system is around the corner may make the decision to give up some spectrum in an auction more acceptable. That in turn, Wheeler said, will generate substantial revenue from auction proceeds that can be used to help finance broadcasters as they deploy over-the-top content services into the home.