The National Association of Broadcaster’s annual convention in Las Vegas can easily be technologically overwhelming. While wandering around the floor, it seems like half of the 1,000,000 square feet of exhibits are widgets and gadgets which are so complicated and technical that very few of the 100,000 attendees even care.
But there are always a few highlights for those of us who can’t tell a bit from a byte. Here are a few which tickled my fancy:
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality glasses
I’m pictured wearing a pair of glasses which use a smart phone for playing back video which allows me to look up, down and 360 degrees around while a rocket launches from Vandenberg. Just amazing sense for being right there floating in space. This will be a powerful tool to sell special vacation spots! One mega-yacht owner sends a pair of VR glasses to a prospective client. I guess if you’re paying $500,000 per week for rent, you ought to get something special.
8K Video
If you were impressed when we moved from Standard Definition to High Definition TV, hold on to your digital horses. One screen (18′ by 30′) was absolutely spectacular. The clarity of 60″ 8K monitor is beyond life-like. I used a powerful magnifying glass to look at one print from an 8K frame and it was impossible to see any pixels. I’m skipping the 4K world and waiting for this.
Six Million Dollar Drone
Sure enough, just like Steve Austin, they’re getting better, stronger, faster. The quality of these high flyers are getting easier to pilot and carry more payload such as larger gyro-stabilized cameras. One system has a tether which can supply power and return video. They can stay up all day and don’t require any special license to fly.
IP (Internet Protocol) Video
Most of us don’t care, but the proliferation of this technology is changing the broadcast/cable industry as much as digital telephony changed the cost of calling. Now MCI can watch as well ashear a pin drop.
