The theme this year was The Story Starts Here. On the floor were Richard Rudman and Rollye James (l), and Adrienne Abbott. Follow Richard’s thoughts and Rollyes takeaways from the Show.

The folks from Inovonics had to add a second row to display all their current, updated, and new products for audio control, monitoring, and more.

The folks from Inovonics had to add a second row to display all their current, updated, and new products for audio control, monitoring, and more.

Nautel also had a large booth of upgraded and new products to celebrate their 50th year.

Live demonstrations included a transmitter doing power saving MDCL operations.

The Nautel NUG on Sunday was, as usual, well attended.

Console manufacturers

Wheatstone and LAWO not only showed off the latest in their console lines, but both had some strong virtual console products, which now let users set up on a computer and run the whole show with minimal hardware.

The Telos Alliance continues to be an industry leader in audio processing, codecs, and digital consoles – for stations of all sizes and markets.

First-time exhibitor Angry Audio had a lot of Gadgets.

GatesAir continues to build a good reputation for innovation in transmitters and interfaces to transport and/or convert IP audio.

After several years of turmoil, Broadcast Electronics was purchased by Elenos. Now Peter Conlon and Chuck Kelly are bringing both companies together to focus on their combined strengths.

Davicom showed off their Cortex 360 and the new Cortex 320.

Myat continues to supply RF system gear, switchers, filters, transmission lines and components.

Phasetek helps AM stations to multiplex, as well as build and maintain the phasors for which they are well known.

Coaxial Dynamics components and metering helps station monitor transmissions

April 10th… more to come!

2020

In response to feedback from the NAB Show community at large, the show floor will open on Sunday, April 19, 2020, instead of the usual Monday morning opening. The 2020 NAB Show floor hours will be as follows:

• Sunday, April 19 – 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Monday, April 20 – 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Tuesday, April 21 – 9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 22 – 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

FYI:

The 2013 NAB Show final attendance was 93,850. The 2014 NAB Show final attendance was 98,015. The 2015 NAB Show final attendance was 103,042. The 2016 NAB Show final attendance was 103,012. The 2017 NAB Show final attendance was 104,443. The 2018 NAB Show final attendance was 92,912.

At an exhibition as large as NAB, everyone comes back with a different view, of that most impressed them. Sometimes the Show is just what we expected. Other times, we end up thinking more deeply as to the real state of the industry. The highlight of this year’s NAB, as is the case […]

Among the crowds at this year’s NAB Spring Show, Richard Rudman walked as fast as he could to find things of interest to those who could not get there. Let us follow in his steps: In the classic words I have stolen from the old Monty Python Show, “Now for something completely different.” […]

The 52nd International CES was as big as its predecessors, if not a tad larger.

If you think NAB is a big sprawling show, consider that CES. Filled at least four convention center locations and into the hotel suites of three hotels, and that is if you do not count the private exhibits and press events.

Last update: 1/17/19

Put it this way: on Tuesday (the day the show opened) the app on my cell phone read more than 5.1 miles walked (14,350 steps) – despite several long sitting meetings. The only thing missing was a podiatrist booth, which would have been very well attended!

Statistics

The NAB Show in April, by comparison, has about 90,000 attendees. The International CES boasts over 180,000 attendees, severely jammed isles – and streets! – for three days.

But, no, there really is no way to cover it all.

An any rate, let’s share some quick thoughts of what was on view.

Audio Presentations

If major interest, of course, to broadcasters is what is new in audio.

As one might expect from a convention which had a key word of “Innovation,” it was clear we have not yet “seen it all.”

We can start, of course, will all sorts of car audio, including custom Internet, streaming, and dashboard accessories to deliver all sorts of audio (and even video) to the whole car. Some of these products – not just loud, but clean audio – make it hard to get out of the car!

Something was quick to catch the eye: With the recent renewal of interest in vinyl, it was interesting to see turntables by Audio Technica from $99 to $800. Como Audio had their new turntable on display, and Technics had a suite to show off speakers, headsets, and … the SP-10G and the SL-1200G! Of course, arms, cartridges, and styli were on display from modest cost to over four figures.

Microphones and headsets were all over the place, too. Wired, wireless, BlueTooth – and with diaphrams with ever cleaner reproduction. My Golden Ears friends are finding more great headsets with modest prices than ever before.

A More Perfect RPU Microphone

In recent year, manufacturers have been working hard to have quality microphones that can work with cell phone apps to record, edit, and upload audio from anywhere.

The new Shure (model) seems to have combined all the things one can think of, from selectable microphone patterns (adjustable in mono and stereo in small increments), built-in compression, and more. This would seem to be a no-brainer for stations sending anyone out to get news – or any audio in the field.

Audio Technica also displayed new microphones, headsets, and earbuds for studio and remote use.

And, you could hardly move without bumping into more companies displaying wired, wireless, and earbud products – everything from ear buds for exercising to hearing aids that can be adjusted by an app.

To make studio announcers happy, there is progress on reducing the latency in BlueTooth and WiFi products. Some, like Helm readying BlueTooth units using new algorithms allowing latency numbers under 19 milliseconds, potentially useful for most folks.

Speakers

Wandering the floor and, especially the suites, there were speakers galore that could deliver clean audio from a whisper to symphonic recordings.

Improvements on last year are BlueTooth speakers – indoor and outdoor – that might even include lighting. One product even looks like a rock to casual inspection. Others are six or eight feet tall and can handle several hundreds of Watts of audio with ease.

Accessories

Need a phone or tablet cover, protector, carry case, battery? The North Hall was filled with every sort of things for your cell phones and tablets – covers, chargers, keyboards, as well as apps that help you find things, check your heart/pulse/walking/ exercise, caloric intake, and more.

A fair amount of the Sands exhibit booths also featured health care apps, including several sleep and calmness enhancers, for example.

Tools You Can Use

Check this out: CAT (Caterpillar) phones has two models of cell phones that include FLIR IFR sensors that you can use – or send your workers out to relay back to you in real time, temperature checks of gear.

Litra showed off their LitraTorch 2.0, at small form light with BRIGHT LEDs! This was pitched for TV or podcasts – the color or brightness can easily be adjusted – but are perfect for getting into small or dark places (like inside transmitters) to do maintenance.

The Connected Home/Office

There were a lot of companies showing various home/office security plans – with and without WiFi and Cellular connections. It seems at the same time improvement and overkill. Personally, I do not wish to communicate with my refrigerator. Call me a Ludite.

Security

We noted above that many products for securing the home were shown, some of which could be utilized by stations and transmitter sited.

A variation on digital locks was shown by Lockly, where the number pads scramble and rotate with each entry. No one can tell your code by watching you push a button.

While some of the locks will allow you to open them remotely or via BlueTooth tags, each claims to be more secure from hackers. This may be need more proof, especially if your site if remote (takes a long time to get there).

On the other hand, the video doorbells were much improved, using IFR and zones to record activity and notify you immediately – before someone could destroy the unit.

Which leads us to a new – and useful – way to employ a drone.

Drones

An area that sure has exploded in that past few years is that of drones.

One display were many drones, from hobby products to some useful to inspect your tower and antenna.

But check this out: several companies showed off drones that will only go up to about 20 feet, but can actually take pictures and actually follow intruders to a prescribed distance. This could be a real boon in knowing about and securing remote sites.

TV Screens

The race for biggest screen seems to be over, but just like the audio industry went quickly from reels of tape to cassettes to CDs to DVDs, the big TV players seem to be working to outdate your screen by resolution.

Two years ago, Sony showed off screen that was 39 feet wide – possible longer than your living room! Rather than try to focus consumers on screens of this size (and major price tags), the emphasis now is moving from SD to HDTV to 4k and now 8k, with 16k just ahead. If content providers keep pace, we soon will not have to travel outside our homes to soon to view the beauty of creation.

Housing Notes

This may be considered a warning to make plans now for NAB. (Need a Floor Pass: use code MP-01)

Hotel rates have just gone plain silly, and worse: convention hotels jumped to double and quadruple their regular rates during CES – ranging from $65 to 995 a night, and sold out rather early. And then there were the resort fees. One popular low end hotel booked early enough to have a rate of under $40 added a $39 resort fee and a $14 parking fee, pus tax, in total well over twice the room rate.444

For those who have not been to Las Vegas in a few years, the Strip hotels have largely followed the MGM properties and installed parking fees – even if you only want to stop for dinner. The hotel where the Nautel NUG will be held in

April, for example, will check you close to $10. NOTE: There are a few hotels, mostly independents, where parking is free. Unless you need your car, the monorail tickets are a smart move.

There is still more to share. We invite you to check back over the next week to see what else caught our eye at CES – along with some pictures and specific model numbers.

With 244 first-time exhibitors among the 1800+ companies sharing nearly one million net square feet of space making up the 2018 NAB Spring Show, the expected 103,000 attendees will have to cover a lot of ground to see everything.

The theme this year is the M.E.T. Effect or Media, Entertainment, Technology, where the three aspects converge with new ways to bring broadcasting to the marketplace.

The events, as usual, started early with the PREC (Public Radio Engineering Conference) program on Thursday and Friday. Sunday morning was the Nautel Users’ Group (NUG) and GatesAirs’ program was in the afternoon.

On Monday, along with opening day, press conferences, and big crowds on the floor, the Broadcast Warning Working Group (BWWG) held a meeting with National Weather Service (NWS) and the FEMA to discuss ways to improve the EAS and WEA systems and coordination.

FCC Information

Several FCC Commissioners have given comments during the NAB, as usual. Also, the FCC released a Report and Order on Part 11 changes that will surprise more than a few.

Chairman Pai made the NAB and many owners happy with his report that the FCC has made more actions against pirate stations, as well as a continued commitment to remove old media rules from what he called “The Analog Age.” Responding to complaints about interference from the 1000 or so translators that have gone on the air as part of the AM Improvement, Pai now says he will advocate a simpler, faster complaint process for stations affected – but also require them to be “legitimate” complaints.

Commissioner Mike O’Rielly continues his advocacy of relaxing local market sub-caps to allow larger clusters. The thinking is a long the lines of higher caps would allow clusters to buy more FM stations without sell/closing their AM stations.

Commission Brendan Carr lauded the way broadcasters stop everything and go local and wall to wall during emergencies and disasters, such as the shooting in Las Vegas last fall, the fires in California, the hurricanes, and the resulting floods. He also touted the review of rules, and noted the end of the Main Studio Rule as one of several major moves forward.

On the other side of the aisle, Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel spoke about Press Freedom and her goal of sustaining it.

Transmission

In a live demonstration Nautel, PILOT and Beasley’s Las Vegas FM KKLZ are showing the ability to transmit multiple IBOC sidebands within the station’s signal, using Nautel HD Multiplex. The experimental demonstration, conducted in partnership with PILOT (NAB’s coalition of innovators, educators and advocates dedicated to advancing broadcast technology and cultivating new media opportunities) and Xperi, provides two independent IBOC sidebands on each side of KKLZ’s regularly programmed analog FM carrier.

The demonstration encompasses several minute-long loops of audio content, intentionally placed on the “even” dial positions surrounding KKLZ (which is on 96.3 MHz). The four digital sidebands are located at 96.0, 96.2, 96.4 and 96.6 MHz, frequencies that are not normally associated with standard FM radio stations in the U.S., and provide capacity for up to 12 HD Radio audio services in addition to the FM carrier. Beasley suspended its regular HD Radio programming during NAB Show exhibit hall hours to support the live demonstration.

The Continental Electronics booth had a TV transmitter, but also hosted RFE from Italy with their transmitters.

Audio

A number of new items were on the floor, from software updates to the Omnia series and Orban’s newest offering, to new consoles and virtual consoles from Wheatstone, LAWO, and Axia.

Data

Inovonics had their new RFS Encoder, the Model 732 on display as well as did Worldcast.

FYI:
The 2013 NAB Show final attendance was 93,850.
The 2014 NAB Show final attendance was 98,015.
The 2015 NAB Show final attendance was 103,042.
The 2016 NAB Show final attendance was 103,012.
The 2017 NAB Show final attendance was 104,443.

Another view of this year’s NAB Spring Show is from Kevin Kidd, head of the AM Ground Systems Company and KK Broadcast Engineering. My assignment was to walk the floor this year as usual and see what caught my eye, so I could share it with you. In general, 2018 was not an […]

With a million square feet of display booths, no one person can “see it all” at NAB. So, we asked a few folks what they thought were key “finds” that would be of interest to others. Here is part of what Richard Rudman saw. The classic question one is asked during and after […]

Each year during the NAB Show the(BWWG (The Broadcast Warning Working Group seeks to engage the National Weather Service and the FEMA to improve EAS coordination and alerts. Adrienne Abbot, Nevada EAS SECC Chair and Core Member of the Broadcast Warning Working Group (BWWG) organized a meeting […]

At a time when many see Broadcasting in trouble, 104,443 folks showed up to the 2017 NAB Spring Convention. About 2/3 of the world’s countries were represented. There was more exhibition space and new exhibitors, but no Riviera – the implosion has left nothing but one parking garage standing.

It was very interesting to see how radio exhibitors, in particular, were distributed – and distributed they were. More than a couple were so close to Las Vegas Boulevard that you felt oyu were dodging traffic to get there, others were on the East end of the floor, a few in the middle, and a bunch still in Central Hall.

For us, it has been a busy week, with one of our number slowed down by having his truck broken into and his medications stolen – not to mention his clothes. Another was snared by a job that came up at the last minute – and the situation was confirmed by talking to several folks who are pretty much booked until the end of AMC-8 (If you do not have migration plans, time is running out.) And family issues kept another of us back. Nevertheless, here is a sample of what we did see and hear.

The Chairman Speaks

Opening the show in a literal way as well as symbolic way, Chairman Ajit Pai told broadcasters a lot of what they want to hear – even if a lot of specifics were not available. It was enough to get him a standing ovation as he promised a new translator window this summer and a stiff look at killing outdated rules.

Traffic on the floor was varied, from busy to slow. It did look like those who stayed in the Central Hall got more traffic, but most were happy with what they got.

Anniversaries Galore

This was quite the year for anniversaries of many manufacturers. Most brought some cake and refreshments to the booth. A few had some well-known industry folks in attendance, including Shotgun Tom at the SAS booth.

Some of these, of course, are older than the NAB:

• GatesAir is celebrating 95 years of operations.
• Dielectric Communications has reached 75 years.
• Ward-Beck is now 50 years old, the oldest in Canada.
• Henry Engineering celebrated 35 years
• Sierra Audio Systems (SAS) reached 30 years.
• Omnia processing folks had 20th Anniversary shirts on.

Other anniversaries were on the floor, as well, showing that the industry is mature and yet we see new products and services that can make a big difference in station operations.

Shown on the Floor

It was interesting to see how broadcasting, which has gone through major changes in the past 20 years, especially since consolidation became the norm. Not only seeing the change in technology (some can remember the large number of tape-based products, for example), but watching the march toward streaming, which some – even in government – hope will supercede broadcasting.

There were quite a few streaming applications shown on the floor. Simple, one-way, setups to make remote connections easier were seen in the upcoming Opal from Comrex, as well as the existing application at ipDTL. Other implementations, such as from Enco, have developed several flavors of “video follows audio” for streaming live and delayed “podcasts.”

Speaking of Enco, their WEBDAD is making it easier and easier to incorporate the benefits of automation, wherever you are.

Using any common browser gives the remote the same screen and options as in the studio. From sports shows to inserting news and information during emergency periods, WEBDAD makes it pretty easy.

Around the corner, Lawo showed its new console. Completely software driven, it literally can be set up any way you want – for what ever studio needs you have. The layout, touch screen, and console are able to handle small stations to large studios.

The purchase of the PRE brand, gives Wheatstone a new product, designed for taking one or two studios digital at a modest cost.

The AirAura X4 was released, the latest audio processor at Wheatstone, with HD and receiver capabilities … leading to reliable timing correction.

The Telos Alliance had several new items, but one of the most interesting was the Volt, the new generation of audio processor, having features that meet the needs of experienced users or IT people pressed into station operations.

Another aspect of the consoles and processors was that AES67 was being supported as a standard and “bridges” are now available to connect different encoding techniques.

This might be best exemplified by the new GatesAir Intraplex IP Connect. Said to bridge any current standard, it should help operations that have to import audio from many systems and put out a feed that all can handle.

In the past few years, monitoring equipment has become more popular, to monitor off air, as well as various streams. Inovonics has been in the forefront of providing monitoring gear, from full-blown modulation monitors to modestly priced INOmini boxes designed to do everything from AM or FM or RDS monitoring to stream monitoring and IP return of audio to the studio. There are now plenty of these models, and Inovonics probably will need a larger table next year.

Yes There Was RF

Nautel continues to do things that respond to customer requests. This year, the NVlt series of transmitters was provided with a pathway to HD Radio, should stations change their minds about implementing the system.

American Amplifier Technologies, a newer company, brought several interesting items to the NAB Show, among them a digital power/SWR meter and a new filter.

The line meter is designed to give a reliable reading for power and SWR, no matter where in the output circuit it is connected.

Another welcome trend is some companies like PTEK are taking measures to repair/replace a rather unfortunate reputation with a proactive customer-based approach.

With evermore connections by IP, it was good to see those companies where efforts are being made to better protect station gear from the “script kiddies.”

Crown is among the latest companies to develop a remote display for their systems, including parameters and alarms. They intend to ensure that they are doing all they can to protect most users – with the obvious exception of those who do not change user/password on boxes that are connected to the Internet.

Think this is not necessary? To show how easy it was, one engineer, using a browser in a cell phone, displayed an open Barix box in less than 30 seconds. He could have shut it down or reset the audio from nothing to the “infamous” F Donald Trump loop. Another 1900 boxes were responding to pings. We hope none of them are at your location.

AM RF

It was nice to see more real attention being given to AM Improvement beyond making translator operators very wealthy.

Tom King, at Kintronic Labs had a very interesting display showing how syncing AM transmitters can make a big difference. Also, he ahs done studies looking at the noise floor and other issues will help AM stations improve what is transmitted.

Kurt Gorman at Phasetek was also at the show, with information on new and maintaining existing sites, as well as the current popular move: multiplexing. Whether a pair of ND’s or multiple AM-DAs, Phasetek and Kintronics are ready to help stations see what choice is the best for them.

Bits and Pieces

Needing to show the operator where a problem exists in a multi-station facility is not always easy. Henry Engineering and Paravel Systems are two companies that adding specific visual alarms.

Yes, we did have the 25th Annual Lunch Gathering … and we again filled the room plus some at the Westgate. It was really nice to see some faces that have not been to NAB in recent years.

Some pictures from the Lunch are in Alan Alsobrook’s piece. We have some more and may post them in the coming week.

Another tradition – at the end of the show – had a strangeness this year.

A lot of folks gravitate toward the Telos Alliance booth toward the end of the show. Beach balls are tossed, folks are dancing on the tables, air guitars are played with energy, all to the sounds prepared to backtime to the announcement of the show closing – and led by Frank Foti on the air guitar with “Won’t Get Fooled Again!”

Yes, the speakers are turned up – with clean audio – to be heard more than a few aisles down the way across the Hall. It is a great release after four days of the show.

And then – all of a sudden – it sounded like a 20 dB pad was dropped in .. and the release was more of a whimper.

The Scrooge was the NAB Registration table – although one wonders who/what/why they were still in place as the show closed. In any event, they complained to the NAB Floor Cops, one of which came over and really hassled the Telos folks, telling them to “turn it down now, or we will not give you any power next year” and “if you do not turn it down, we will fine you.”

We have to give it to the Telos audio team, John and Addison, who endured the attack – as if this audio had never been turned up before – and managed a timely recovery at the end of the song, to bring it to a level that allowed everyone to “release” the pent-up emotions!

This aural stand-off to continue next year….

FYI:
The 2013 NAB Show final attendance was 93,850.
The 2014 NAB Show final attendance was 98,015.
The 2015 NAB Show final attendance was 103,042.
The 2016 NAB Show final attendance was 103,012.

Thanks for walking the floor with us!