7 Reasons #NABShow beats #CES and #SXSW

Drone Racing – Ring Digital llc believes it will be the next billion dollar broadcast sport

In “The Purpose of Silicon Valley,” MIT Tech Review author Michael Malone talks of a geeky debate happening in the Valley these days. The question? Are we losing our purpose?

Social networking apps are fun, the argument goes, but global hunger isn’t yet solved – and tech startups need to be involved in those problems. (Even for self-preservation – after all, California is running out of water!)

But Steve Berglund, CEO of Trimble Navigation takes an optimistic view that positive change is already underway. He says:

“Young people in Silicon Valley want to build things—stuff like robots and drones. Just go to the Maker Faire and watch them. They’re going to take this Valley into a whole different direction.”

As my readers know, my family loves the Maker Faire. And I loved that quote.

With that context: NAB Show is the Maker Faire for the video & TV industry set. And this year, I’m especially psyched for NAB. Yes, that pegs me as a serious nerd. What can I do? It’s my authentic self. So forgive my pleading – but you simply MUST attend #NAB2015!

Here are 7 reasons to go.

(1) Drones. Reading about pioneering sports broadcasts that utilize drone cams is great – but I’m going to get a rich picture of what it means to bring them to full-scale production. I’m sure it’ll provide dramatic impact.

But what no one’s talking about is Drone Racing – see this months’s Make Magazine cover above — which will surely capture the world’s attention and become the next billion dollar broadcast sport! (That is, until Elon Musk comes along, takes it into Star Wars territory, and then who knows how big it’ll get.)

And it starts at NAB 2015, in the aerial robotics and drone pavilion.

(2) Citizen duties. Unlike those other shows, NAB represents the broadcast industry – an industry that operates using public airwaves – and with the public’s permission. So it’s an important place to have discourse about a range of topics, not least of which will be how over-the-air TV and over-the-top TV can be re-bundled and re-invented. Should we have the ability to record broadcasts off antennas? In the cloud? Watch them on our iPads? This is an ongoing conversation – not a feit accompli.

(3) Citizen journalism. Another element of our public bargain with broadcasters is that they have an obligation to provide us with important educational, news and informational programming. Our nation decided years ago that this was critical for a healthy democracy.

iPhone streaming through cloud production apps will provide killer content extensions to existing news reports – and journalism should get cheaper, faster, and better – all at the same time. (Ask me about my cloud graphics engine at NAB!)

(4) Now-casting. Meerkat has invented a new content genre – one that prizes the urgency of now, the intimacy of unscripted content, and the exclusivity of limited access. Think of it as UGC 3.0. It’s like the earliest days of YouTube – but live!

Sure, today’s TV consumers are time-shifting much of their premium content watching – but not all of it. ‘Now’ and nearly now is a mobile-first content window that will hold premium value across all devices and content types. In fact, I’ll call it #SocialTV.

(See also – Meerkan’t: Why Meerkat won’t be the app that defines Now-casting.)

(5) OTT is Now. Timing is everything – and NAB’s timing couldn’t be better. I’m hugely excited to see the Apple / HBO service and hope it arrives on the first day of NAB, just to rock the boat a bit.

Speaking of which, I’ve written several articles & comments about HBO Now. After 15+ years of involvement in both the OTT & legacy side of the TV biz, I’ve made my view clear – it’s the definitive watershed moment for OTT. (See: “This is huge.” Why Eddy Cue is right about the latest Apple / HBO announcement.)

(6) If content is the King, creative is the seductress. Last year, I met the guy that invented a pan-tilt time-lapse system that enabled Drew Geraci to shoot the brilliant clips that David Fincher & team assembled into what I believe is one of the most important title sequences in the history of the entertainment business – for HBO’s House of Cards. That’s who you get to meet at NAB.

(7) Cams everywhere. GoPro was a big story last year – but c’mon Wall Streeters, camera tech is a much bigger story than that. IP cams are the largest component of the #IoT market – and now they’re broadcast quality ready. When you have the ability to inexpensively capture, digitize & stream high-quality consumer video from anywhere to the cloud – that’s big news. Add remote controlled pan-tilt-zoom – and the above mentioned drones – and you have the beginnings of Amazing.

That’s the list! If you’re still not convinced you should attend – add a comment below and let’s discuss!

Visit me at NAB April 12 – 17 – I’ll be at the Wowza Media Systems booth which is dead center on the South Upper floor. Check out this map of what to see at NAB on my Twitter: www.twitter.com/brianlring