On Wednesday, April 26, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer met with Steve Golub, product line business manager from the Panasonic display division. The Panasonic booth showed two Panasonic LCD monitors (17in. and 23in. displays) side-by-side with 17in. and 23in. Sony displays showing the same footage simultaneously. With Boyer keeping him honest, Golub described the artifacts present in the Sony monitors that weren’t seen in the Panasonic displays.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Golub, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Wayne Andrews, Matrox product manager for the MXO, a product so hot that Apple featured it in its own product demos. Wayne explains how the MXO allows your second Cinema display to replace a $5,000 HD monitor and enhances training and live production capabilities all for less than $1,000.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Andrews, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer met with David Stamp, director of Formatt Filters. Stamp explained how soft filters designed for SD cameras often show dimples when used in high-definition recording, and how Formatt’s new filters use smaller dimples that can’t be picked up by HD cameras. One show using these filters, Stamp reported, was the weekly television show House.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Stamp, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Ikegami Engineer Haluki Sadahiro, who demonstrated the HDN-X10 EditcamHD, Ikegami’s first HD camcorder with hard disk-based storage. After describing the features of the HDN-X10, which should ship by the end of 2006, Haluki discussed the advantages of using hard disks-based cameras over other tapeless storage mechanisms.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Sadahiro, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Peder Norrby of Trapcode in the Adobe Plug-in Pavilion. Norrby described Trapcode’s Particular plug-in for After Effects, which provides a 3D particle system for effects like natural smoke and explosions, as well as geometric or organic design elements.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Norrby, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer met with Bellina Israel from Kata Bags, who got his attention by inserting a digital camera owned by Bogen’s PR rep into a Kata mini-bag and throwing it 30ft. down the convention isle (the camera survived). Then she walked Trevor through the ultra-protective capabilities of Kata’s new camcorder bag, distributed in the United States by Bogen.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Israel, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Chris Putnam from Serious Magic, who demonstrated and answered questions about the DV Rack, a computer-based tool that functions as a digital disk recorder and provides a waveform monitor, vectorscope, and audio spectrum analyzer, and seven other tools. The $295 product works with DV, with a $200 upgrade available for HDV.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Putnam, click here

When you name your product Sledgehammer, it better be good. On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Giovanni Tagliamonti, CEO of Maximum Throughput, to determine if Max-T’s new product, the Sledgehammer Dual Stream, could live up to its billing. Judging from the real-world demos in the booth, including one from the BBC, Sledgehammer’s ability to store and distribute video to multiple editing and production environments is bound to be a smash hit.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Tagliamonti, click here

On Monday, Senior Editor Michael Goldman sat down for a chat with Jeff Roth, VP of postproduction at Focus Features. Roth discussed his use of various Avid-based pipelines to edit, finish, and collaborate on modestly-budgeted feature films, and his philosophy for solving problems and designing workflow solutions on limited budgets.

To listen in on Goldman's conversation with Roth, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer met with Wayne Schulman from Bogen Imaging to discuss the new Manfrotto Fluid Monopod, which will work with cameras up to 8.8lbs.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Schulman, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with William L. Wilson, Ph.D., chief scientist and founder of InPhase Technologies, the developer of the holographic storage technology used by Maxell and other vendors. In a technical discussion, Wilson described how holographic storage is fundamentally different than traditional techniques, and how that translates to exponentially higher storage capacities and ultra-fast read and write speeds.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Wilson, click here

On Wednesday, April 26, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Rich D’Ambrise, director of technical services for Maxell. After describing Maxell’s upcoming holographic storage system, D'Ambrise detailed Maxell’s support for both Blu-ray and HD-DVD, and described why the compatibility issues that plagued the launch of dual layer discs won’t reappear with either new HD-DVD format.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with D'Ambrise, click here

Technical Editor Dan Ochiva interviews Autodesk’s Director of Product Marketing Maurice Patel in this afternoon’s podcast. Patel notes, “The sophistication of what needs to go into producing a final digital product and then versioning of it, applying it to multiple areas, are producing new types of problems for our clients.”

To listen in on Ochiva's conversation with Patel, click here

On Monday, April 24, Senior Editor Michael Goldman met with Jacob Rosenberg, an editor and postproduction supervisor who has been at the forefront of pioneering the concept of the “desktop DI” by designing Adobe Premiere/Cineform-based editing pipelines for independent films. Rosenberg is presenting at the Adobe booth this NAB, and, as you will hear, he had a lot to say about his preferred workflow and its potential impact on the industry.

To listen in on Goldman's conversation with Rosenberg, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Senior Contributing Editor D.W. Leitner met with Panasonic Field Engineer Greg Boren, who discussed the HDX900 camera and the upcoming HPC2000 camera, which will ultimately include MPEG-4 storage. Boren also disclosed that Panasonic was considering a camera for digital cinematography, and described some of the features that were potentially in the mix.

To listen in on Leitner's conversation with Boren, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer interviewed Paul Miller from Silhouette FX, which sells two plug-ins for the Adobe Production Studio: Silhouette Roto and Silhouette Paint. After describing the Roto tool, Miller claimed credits in a number of movies, including King Kong, though he admitted that he didn’t get to meet the namesake simian during production.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Miller, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer met with Ken Swanton, president of Broadcast Pix. Swanton described the features and market success of the company's flagship Studio 2000 product, and then introduced the Slate 100, a switcher with CG, still store, logo storage and other features for less than $10,000.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Swanton, click here

On Tuesday, April 24, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Gil Irizarry from Conoa at the Adobe Plug-in Pavilion. Conoa currently sells three sets of plug-ins for After Effects: EasyFX (tints, toons, smoothing, and other looks), EasyShapes (sphere, cube, and cylinder plug-ins), and 3D (12 different 3D shapes and two material modules), and plans to extend these to Premiere Pro in the near future.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Irizarry, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Sean Safreed, manager and co-owner for Red Giant Software, at the Adobe Plug-in Pavilion. Red Giant publishes plug-ins for the Adobe Production Studio, including the highly acclaimed Magic Bullet plug-in, and Safreed discussed options for giving a “film” look to DV and HDV source video.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Safreed, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Brian Dickman, vice president of marketing for SmartSound. Dickman discussed the key new features in SonicFire Pro 4, which includes mood mapping, a technique that customizes the instrument mix and feel of a mucic track for the changing moods of a video production.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Dickman, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer met with Fred Geyer, CEO of VBrick. The two discussed how video over IP was used in security, first responder, and corporate applications. Geyer also demonstrated VBrick’s newest product, VBCorpCast, which makes it simple to synchronize streaming video, audio, and PowerPoint slides for training, communications, and similar applications.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Geyer, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Karl Sims, president of GenArts, at the Adobe Plug-in Pavilion. Sims described the features of the company's flagship plug-in, Sapphire, which includes more than 175 image processing and synthesis effects that have been used in films such as Sin City, Titanic, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Sims, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Technical Editor Dan Ochiva met with Eric Schmidt, group product manager of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. The two discussed the implications of SMPTE’s recent release of the VC-1 standard, and how Microsoft’s VC-1 codec had been selected by Universal Pictures for its HD-DVD library. The conversation moved to other delivery mechanisms for Windows Media video, including cellular, tools to support the new distribution outlets, and new media-related features in Microsoft Vista.

To listen in on Ochiva's conversation with Schmidt, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with David Taylor, president of Cineform, to discuss Aspect HD, a $495 plug-in that provides capture and output presets for Adobe Premiere Pro, plus a digital intermediate format for capturing and editing multiple HD formats, including the quasi progressive modes from Sony (Cineframe) and Canon (Frame mode). Taylor delineated the advantages and disadvantages of working in a digital intermediate format compared to working in native HD formats.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Taylor, click here

On Tuesday, April 25, Editorial Director Cynthia Wisehart met with Bob Donlan, senior marketing manager for digital video and audio at Adobe, to discuss Adobe Open HD, a consortium of companies that provide integrated HD solutions for the Adobe Production Studio. Donlan discussed the advantages of Open HD systems and detailed solutions for both HDV and SD-HD editing.

To listen in on Wisehart's conversation with Donlan, click here

Technical Editor Dan Ochiva interviews VBrick’s corporate and product marketing directors, Andy Howard and Mike Savic (respectively), in this afternoon’s podcast. “Instead of just delivering high-quality video over a network, what if you could just as easily deliver a streaming presentation that included PowerPoint and Web content to a variety of users?”

To listen in on Ochiva's conversation with Howard and Savic, click here

On Monday, April 24, Editorial Director Cynthia Wisehart met with Jim Guerard, Adobe’s vice president of web and vVideo, to discuss the market adoption of the Adobe Production Studio, and how the merger with Macromedia, and integration of Flash with Adobe’s video production tools, has opened up new revenue streams for Adobe customers.

To listen in on Wisehart's conversation with Guerard, click here

Several members of the Digital Content Producer editorial team saw Apple’s Gail Nishimura introduce the dual-core 17in. Macbook Pro, which features a 2.16GHz Intel Dual Core processor, 1GB RAM, a 120GB 5400 RPM drive (upgradeable to 100GB 7200 RPM), an embedded iSight camera, 8X dual-layer DVD burner and Firewire 400 and 800 ports. The new laptop costs $2,700.

To listen in on the editors' conversation with Nishimura, click here

On Monday, April 24, Millimeter Senior Contributing Editor D.W. Leitner met with Robert L. Ott, vice president for optical/network products and marketing, Sony Broadcast and Production Systems Division, and grilled him about the new XDCAM HD format. Topics addressed included the number of lenses available, the data rates and transport streams of the different XDCAM HD formats, and the gritty details of software support from various NLE vendors.

To listen in on Leitner's conversation with Ott, click here

On Monday, April 24, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer met with Nick Rashby, AJA’s director, sales and marketing. Rashby described the capabilities of the new Xena 2K card, which adds 2K compatibility and a native Premiere Pro driver which supports uncompressed SD and HD, including 2K and Dual Link formats. Within Premiere Pro, the Xena now provides realtime, key-frameable primary color correction for 2K and HD projects. Software plug-ins supplied with the card also support Adobe After Effects 7.0, Photoshop CS/CS2, Autodesk Combustion and Eyeon Fusion 5.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Rashby, click here

On Monday, April 24, Editorial Director Cynthia Wisehart met with Chris Hock, group production manager, Flash Media Server, who described the various models Adobe customers use to deliver content to their customers via the Flash Media Server. Hock also reveals how a new feature in Flash Media Server 8 can streamline the installation of the Flash Player.

To listen in on Wisehart's conversation with Hock, click here

On Monday, April 24, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer spoke with Jim Farney, director of market development for Exavio, manufacturer of the ExaMax 9000 SAN Accelerator. Targeted at HDTV and digital film production facilities needing workgroup access to shared assets, the product is designed to deliver local attached storage performance in a SAN environment for more efficient workflow in a truly shared environment.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Farney, click here

On Monday, April 24, Contributing Writer Jan Ozer spoke with Jon Thorn, AJA’s product manager for desktop Macintosh products. Thorn described the new software features available with the v2 upgrade to AJA’s popular Kona 3 card, including 2K support and 1080-to-720 and 720-to-1080 cross conversion. He also deliniated the components of the Kona 3 product line, described the user base and types of projects produced with the Kona 3.

To listen in on Ozer's conversation with Thorn, click here

On Monday, April 24, Technical Editor Dan Ochiva met with Grant Petty, CEO of Blackmagic Design. Petty discussed the features of Blackmagic’s new DeckLink HD Extreme card, which offers 10-bit SD/HD-SDI with 14-bit digital-to-analog conversion for $995. Grant also shared his views on the recent consolidation in the NLE market and the value proposition for open systems based upon programs like Adobe Premiere Pro and Apple Final Cut Pro.

To listen in on Ochiva's conversation with Petty, click here

On Monday, April 24, Editorial Director Cynthia Wisehart met with Simon Hayhurst, Adobe’s director of product management, audio and video, to discuss how Dynamic Link, Clip Notes, and other workflow innovations are saving Adobe customers time and money and improving their creative control.

To listen in on Wisehart's conversation with Hayhurst, click here

On Monday, April 24, Video Technology Editor Trevor Boyer spoke with David Rosenberg, principal consultant with Siemens Business Services Media, about the company’s mobile content delivery trials with the BBC and Siemens’ efforts at bringing the “holy grail” model of “any content, any device, anywhere” to its clients.

To listen in on Boyer's conversation with Rosenberg, click here

Senior Editor Michael Goldman sat down Sunday, April 23, for a chat with 3D HD camera rig expert Vince Pace, president of Pace Technologies, to discuss the latest innovations in 3D HD camera technology and his view of the future direction of that technology.

To listen in on Goldman's conversation with Pace, click here

Technical Editor Dan Ochiva interviews Juan Dewar, vice president of media and entertainnment for Sun Microsystems. Listen in on their extended conversation regarding Sun’s transition into the Digital Content Creation and mobile digital media field, as well as Sun’s initiatives for royalty-free digital rights management, here

“We’re on the cusp of some pretty big opportunities, and for the first time in a long time in the broadcast world, we’re seeing an expansion of the market. There are many new opportunities based on the ability to deliver rich media and video programming through alternative distribution means.” For audio Digital Content Producer Technical Editor Dan Ochiva's conversation with Guerard, vice president, product management for web and video solutions at Adobe, click here

“What’s exciting about the industry for this year and certainly through next year is that all the studios face the challenge of moving to HD. For that, the computer architecture really needs to step up to the plate and drive a lot of the performance. You’ll see higher-performing technology such as dual and even multi-core processors, 64-bit environments, and more, all leading to new creative possibilities when users can run multiple streams of realtime HD.” For audio from Digital Content Producer Technical Editor Dan Ochiva's conversation with Wood, director of product marketing, personal workstation, workstation global business unit at HP, click here

“We find ourselves in a key role, helping our clients understand how to produce and distribute content when faced with the complexity of today’s media environment. We make recommendations to them about what file types should be used, what they should be doing to build the right workflow for moving 2K elements around, QC’ing them, and then ensuring that they’re color correct when they get a film printed in Spain, Rome, or Thailand.” For audio from Digital Content Producer Technical Editor Dan Ochiva's convesation with Stewart, vice president of business development for digital media services, Ascent Media Group, click here