I have to rethink my plans to visit NAB on the last day. For years I would go in Sunday and leave Tuesday, which meant I had to deal with the crowd on opening day. Thursday is the only day that fits into my current schedule, so the last two years I've gone for the last day. Last year it seemed like a smart move, it is definitely the slowest day at the show, but partly because the show wraps at 2PM so most people go on days where they can see more. I'm pretty good at getting through a show quickly, but a half day may be too short.
This year was not at all impressive even though crowds were reported to break the 92,000 mark, up quite a bit from last year. The show itself did not seem as huge as previous years. Most of the south and north halls held very little of interest.
The layout of the show seems to be less and less organized each year. Avid was on the upper layer of the south hall. Audio was was all over the place. It was almost impossible to avoid having to go to every hall.
There was not a lot in terms of new announcements. TV manufacturers are still pushing 3D TV but there were no innovations as far as I could see. Avid barely represented Digi at all, they had one C|24 on display. The biggest announcement came from someone who was not even exhibiting: Apple. Final Cut X will be only $299. There will no longer be a difference between the Pro and Express versions. But then, no one was showing it, it's vaporware until June at the earliest.
I did have fun as always, but I hope next year shows off more innovation. I may have to skip a class to next year, and avoid being there only on the last day.
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