Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 at DVinfo.net

Gary Bettan · April 29th, 2012, 06:29 PM

Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012

Our First Article Highlighting News from the Show

Over the next week or two I'll be posting our NAB roundup article(s) going into more depth on each of our vendors NAB announcements and new product introductions. Today's article is more my impressions and reflections on the overall tone of the show and where the industry is heading.

NAB is a professional show - again.
Over the past few years the NAB show started to feel more and more like CES. We were starting to become dominated by the Apple distortion field and the thousands of FCP fans that attended. While FCP had made enormous inroads into professional post, the NAB floor seemed to be teaming with FCP kiddies. This crowd was full of young, aspiring editors who went more for the fun and give-aways than to conduct business. Last year’s FCPX fiasco at the Supermeet put an end to that, and I don't think it’s a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I still love the SuperMeet and the Videoguys are a proud sponsor, I just think that the NAB show is better when it is attended by professionals and people who make a living using, selling, and creating products.

The Post PC era

Tim Cook, the new head of Apple, now refers to the current technology trend as the “post PC era.” I happen to agree with him when he talks about the people who use technology to view, watch and participate in media. But, when it comes to actually creating, managing and working with media, we still need the strongest most powerful machines.

The buzz around NAB was that the Mac Pro is dead. I heard speculation about this at almost every booth I visited. Based on all the intel (pun intended) I could gather, I'm going to give it to you straight - We will not see new Mac Pro updates. I hope I'm wrong, just like I was a year ago with FCPX. But my gut tells me that it's a done deal. Sure, Apple could change their mind in a heartbeat, but I don't see it happening. What I could see, and what I would LOVE to see happen is for Apple to license Mac OS to HP and allow us to run OSX on one of the new HP workstations, especially my dream machine, the all-in-one HP Z1 workstation.

As I tweeted the other day @videoguys “OS X on a new HP Z1 would be amazing! A Symphony to my ears, Smokin hot for all NLEs, my head would be in the CS6 clouds.”

Click here for the full article Videoguys' Reflections on the NAB Show 2012

Gary

David Knaggs · April 29th, 2012, 07:19 PM

Great write-up, Gary. It covers the two most important points for editing on the Mac: the future of the Mac Pro and the state of Thunderbolt peripherals. That's precisely why I ended up buying a pimped-out iMac last year. I'd hoped that someone would make an external graphics card enclosure with Thunderbolt so that I could leverage CUDA with my Adobe CS5.5, but your "Thunderbolt, calling Mr. Thunderbolt!" section has fully explained the current state of affairs. Thank you for that.

On your wish to see Apple license the Mac OS to HP to install on the HP workstations, I'd be there in a heartbeat. But that's precisely why I don't think it will happen. I only buy the Mac hardware (and pay their premium) to work with the Mac OS. Unless Apple think they might make more from licensing fees than the hit they would take on hardware sales? But that would also undermine their "positioning" in the marketplace and what makes them one of the world's most profitable companies: a better "user experience". And at the heart of that is their OS (and iOS), in my opinion.

Chris Hurd · April 29th, 2012, 08:09 PM

Nice job as always, Gary, and it was great to see you (briefly) at the show.

I'd be happy if they'd just rev the iMac...

Stephen Crye · April 30th, 2012, 04:45 PM

Having just shelled out nearly $2K for a new MacBook pro for my beautiful and hard-working college-bound daughter, Apple better not be abandoning the Mac Book!

I've been a Windows PC guy because I work in IT. Linux on servers, Windows on the desktop. Finally warned up to the Mac 'cause the kid really wanted one. I must admit it is a slick piece of hardware. It better have a life!

Steve

Robert Sanders · April 30th, 2012, 05:29 PM

MacBook's are definitely safe. It's Apple's bread-n-butter Mac.

Apple is probably looking at the numbers and realizing that they don't sell very many Mac Pros. Which is sad.

When Keycode Media came in an recently installed our Media Composers and Symphonys, we all knew one truth... these will probably be the last Avid's we use on a Mac.

April 29th, 2012, 06:29 PM	#1
Gary Bettan Sponsor: Electronic Mailbox Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Glen Cove, NY Posts: 757	Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 Our First Article Highlighting News from the Show Over the next week or two I'll be posting our NAB roundup article(s) going into more depth on each of our vendors NAB announcements and new product introductions. Today's article is more my impressions and reflections on the overall tone of the show and where the industry is heading. NAB is a professional show - again. Over the past few years the NAB show started to feel more and more like CES. We were starting to become dominated by the Apple distortion field and the thousands of FCP fans that attended. While FCP had made enormous inroads into professional post, the NAB floor seemed to be teaming with FCP kiddies. This crowd was full of young, aspiring editors who went more for the fun and give-aways than to conduct business. Last year’s FCPX fiasco at the Supermeet put an end to that, and I don't think it’s a bad thing. Don't get me wrong, I still love the SuperMeet and the Videoguys are a proud sponsor, I just think that the NAB show is better when it is attended by professionals and people who make a living using, selling, and creating products. The Post PC era Tim Cook, the new head of Apple, now refers to the current technology trend as the “post PC era.” I happen to agree with him when he talks about the people who use technology to view, watch and participate in media. But, when it comes to actually creating, managing and working with media, we still need the strongest most powerful machines. The buzz around NAB was that the Mac Pro is dead. I heard speculation about this at almost every booth I visited. Based on all the intel (pun intended) I could gather, I'm going to give it to you straight - We will not see new Mac Pro updates. I hope I'm wrong, just like I was a year ago with FCPX. But my gut tells me that it's a done deal. Sure, Apple could change their mind in a heartbeat, but I don't see it happening. What I could see, and what I would LOVE to see happen is for Apple to license Mac OS to HP and allow us to run OSX on one of the new HP workstations, especially my dream machine, the all-in-one HP Z1 workstation. As I tweeted the other day @videoguys “OS X on a new HP Z1 would be amazing! A Symphony to my ears, Smokin hot for all NLEs, my head would be in the CS6 clouds.” Click here for the full article Videoguys' Reflections on the NAB Show 2012 Gary __________________ Check out http://www.videoguys.com 800 323-2325 We are the video editing and live video production experts! DV InfoNet members save 5%! Use Coupon Code DVINFO5OFF

April 29th, 2012, 07:19 PM	#2
David Knaggs Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 826	Re: Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 Great write-up, Gary. It covers the two most important points for editing on the Mac: the future of the Mac Pro and the state of Thunderbolt peripherals. That's precisely why I ended up buying a pimped-out iMac last year. I'd hoped that someone would make an external graphics card enclosure with Thunderbolt so that I could leverage CUDA with my Adobe CS5.5, but your "Thunderbolt, calling Mr. Thunderbolt!" section has fully explained the current state of affairs. Thank you for that. On your wish to see Apple license the Mac OS to HP to install on the HP workstations, I'd be there in a heartbeat. But that's precisely why I don't think it will happen. I only buy the Mac hardware (and pay their premium) to work with the Mac OS. Unless Apple think they might make more from licensing fees than the hit they would take on hardware sales? But that would also undermine their "positioning" in the marketplace and what makes them one of the world's most profitable companies: a better "user experience". And at the heart of that is their OS (and iOS), in my opinion.

April 29th, 2012, 08:09 PM	#3
Chris Hurd Obstreperous Rex Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: San Marcos, TX Posts: 27,366 Images: 513	Re: Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 Nice job as always, Gary, and it was great to see you (briefly) at the show. I'd be happy if they'd just rev the iMac... __________________ CH Search DV Info Net \| 20 years of DVi \| ...Tuesday is Soylent Green Day!

April 30th, 2012, 04:45 PM	#4
Stephen Crye Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: El Paso, TX Posts: 77	Re: Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 Having just shelled out nearly $2K for a new MacBook pro for my beautiful and hard-working college-bound daughter, Apple better not be abandoning the Mac Book! I've been a Windows PC guy because I work in IT. Linux on servers, Windows on the desktop. Finally warned up to the Mac 'cause the kid really wanted one. I must admit it is a slick piece of hardware. It better have a life! Steve

April 30th, 2012, 05:29 PM	#5
Robert Sanders Starway Pictures Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Studio City Posts: 581	Re: Videoguys Reflection of the NAB Show 2012 MacBook's are definitely safe. It's Apple's bread-n-butter Mac. Apple is probably looking at the numbers and realizing that they don't sell very many Mac Pros. Which is sad. When Keycode Media came in an recently installed our Media Composers and Symphonys, we all knew one truth... these will probably be the last Avid's we use on a Mac. __________________ http://www.starwaypictures.com http://starwaypictures.blogspot.com/