The National Association of Broadcasters or NAB stands tall as a pinnacle episode or event in the world of broadcasting and media upheaval. One year after the other, the renowned event acts as a major gathering ground for the industry’s professionals, technological enthusiasts, and visionaries who wish to explore the latest and greatest advancements which craft the foreseeable future of the content creation as well as its distribution.
This year’s iteration of the NAB concluded recently and it was full of top-notch announcements and launches, to say the least. The event took place between 13th and 17th April at the Las Vegas Convention Center, South Hall. It upheld its reputation as the unrivaled hub of top-of-the-line cutting-edge tech and innovative announcements. Right from the giants in the industry to emerging players, many companies converged together and unveiled their respective innovations.
In this blog, we will tell you all about what happened in Vegas! Or at least we’ll give you the highlights as we dive deep into NAB 2024’s heart and dissect all the major announcements as well as launches which managed to captivate the attention of both the attendees as well as the audience watching from afar. Right from revolutionary software updates to game-changing products and tools, we will shed light on all of the key revelations which are crafting the media production and consumption’s landscape. Let us begin on the journey through some of the most noteworthy unveilings which happened at NAB 2024:
Adobe
Adobe has been a leader in the digital media industry for almost three decades now. The company’s creative software solutions truly redefine the possibilities in the realm of content creation. Here is what the industry giant announced at NAB 2024:
Premiere Pro
Premiere Pro, Adobe’s highly-advanced video editing application is all set to receive a plethora of new generative AI features and tools this year, each of which will facilitate users in editing videos and offer them access to numerous options. Here is a brief look at some of them:
- Generative Extend: With the help of this feature, users will be able to smoothly add multiple frames and extend the lengths of clips. This will make it easier to time edits with perfection. Moreover, it will also facilitate the addition of smooth transitions.
- Removal and Addition of Objects: This feature will allow users to choose and track objects as well as replace them. Users will be able to remove any items they do not want, alter the wardrobe of an actor featured in a clip, and quickly include set dressings or elements such as paintings, flowers, etc.
- Text to Video: With the help of the “Text to Video” feature, users will be able to generate footage within the video editing tool. All they would need to do is insert text into a prompt. Besides this, they could also do the needful by uploading reference images. The generated clips can be utilized in ideating or creating storyboards, or in making B-rolls for the augmentation of live action footage.
A brand new video model will power the new editing workflows. The new model will be a part of the collection of Firefly models. Adobe has been developing new AI models in numerous categories like video, audio, imaging, etc., and it aims to seamlessly integrate them across its Creative Cloud suite as well as Adobe Express. Besides this, Adobe also previewed early explorations in terms of bringing numerous other AI models such as Runway, Sora, and Pika directly into the video editing tool.
In addition to unveiling the plans for upcoming generative AI-powered video tools, Adobe also made the announcement of new audio workflows. The latest innovations in the realm of audio editing within the advanced editing tool include making the process of audio editing quicker, easier, and most importantly, highly intuitive.
The Enhanced Speech feature which Adobe released earlier this year has been optimized for performing locally on the user’s machine, allowing them the option to use the feature on an infinite number of clips.
Once the process gets completed, the audio will become immensely clear in addition to the speech becoming much more distinctive, thereby enhancing the quality of all dialogue recordings. Moreover, with the help of Mix Amount Control, you can also easily adjust the level of enhancement by using the slider.
Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic Design, known globally for its out-of-the-world video production & post-production tools and equipment, remains at the very front of tech-based innovation. Check out what the company announced or unveiled at NAB 2024:
DaVinci Resolve 19
On 12th April, Blackmagic Design announced DaVinci Resolve’s latest version, namely DaVinci Resolve 19. The major new iteration or update of the advanced editing tool brings a plethora of new features, tools, and capabilities, each of which further add to its credibility as a highly advanced editing tool which is trusted by millions of users globally.
The new update features highly-powerful, brand new Neural Engine-powered AI tools along with more than a hundred upgrades. For starters, video editors can now directly work with audio that is transcribed to find speakers as well as edit clips. On DaVinci Resolve 19, colorists will now be able to create rich film-like tones and shades with the help of “ColorSlice” six vector palette. They will also be able to create cinematic pictures with the help of the brand new effect of film look creator, which is perfect at emulating photometric film processes.
Within Fairlight, users can utilize the IntelliTrack AI utility to track motion in videos as well as automatically pan audio. Besides this, the revamped Organizations tool available in Blackmagic Cloud facilitates larger companies in defining a specific organization or company. Customers will now be able to create new groups or teams as well as quickly share their projects with the entire group at once.
For editors, upgrades in the workflow of transcriptions makes editing clips possible. The tool’s analyzer also received an update, i.e., it has become capable of detecting multiple voices, thereby facilitating users to assign specific names to each speaker. The cut page of the application is now compatible with realtime selection of recordings done on live camera for quick replays.
Besides the aforementioned features, the newly-announced version of Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve has numerous other updates. Here is a brief glimpse at some of them:
- New option for multiview is available in the source tape for reviewing time-synced footage.
- New ability to edit the content on the timeline as per source clip transcription.
- Addition of AI-facilitated UltraNR noise reduction.
- New Defocus Background for Isolating foreground with blur.
- Completely integrated native workflow of Ambisonics.
- New Dialogue Separator FX for separating dialogue, background noise or ambience.
Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Besides announcing DaVinci Resolve 19, Blackmagic Design also unveiled an extensive range of cameras, each with their own set of top-class features. One such unveiled camera is the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K. The Cinema Camera is precisely engineered to match the specific requirements of professional directors and filmmakers.
Featuring a 36x24mm sensor, the PYXIS offers a 6K resolution, which needless to say, offers exceptionally fine details along with an extensively wide field of view. This makes it perfect for capturing cinematic pictures featuring shallow depth of field.
As per Blackmagic Design, the cinematic camera works with a variety of different lens mounts, including the likes of the EF, PL, as well as L mounts. This flexibility aids users to utilize an extensive range of lenses as per the requirements of their project.
Moreover, the stellar camera also permits simultaneous recordings, i.e., users can record both in high-quality RAW mode as well as in the H.264 codec. This capability of the PYXIS 6K promotes efficient workflow, right from shooting to the phase of post-production.
Avid
Avid is a highly-trusted company name in the realm of professional audio & video technology. It continues on its path of setting industry standards via its cutting-edge solutions. Delve into the Avid’s unveiling at NAB 2024 below:
MediaCentral
Avid introduced numerous advancements in its renowned MediaCentral news production service at the NAB 2024 event. The announcement emphasized on collaborative editing, top-notch search tools, and most importantly, AI-backed advancements through Avid Ada. At the event, Avid demonstrated two new concept proofs in the web-based app of MediaCentral.
The first demonstration was related to news, i.e., it showcased the use of AI services interrogating stories within iNews, which is now known as the Newsroom Management System, in an attempt to recognize trending topics. Results are showcased in word cloud, wherein users can select a specific word and view both stories related to, for example, wire agencies as well as suggested video content from inside the Product Management System of MediaCentral.
The AI-backed service is deployed locally, which is why no cloud-based services are needed. As per Avid’s Senior Director of Product Management, this kind of AI backing has the potential to speed up journalists’ workflows.
The second demonstration of proof of concept showcased numerous ways following which AI can be deployed in the world of editing. In Cloud UX of Media Central, a journalist can now type a script as well as record a voiceover directly to the timeline. Moreover, they can also select a specific timeline section and request the AI service to recognize the relevant footage which matches the script. This update ensures that despite the input of AI, the journalist is the one who remains in control.
Besides the aforementioned proof of concepts, Avid services featuring AI were also showcased at the event, including PhraseFind AI as well as the ScriptSync AI of Media Composer.
Pro Tools
In addition to the demonstrations and announcements made for MediaCentral, Avid also made announcements about Pro Tools, a highly renowned music software used for creating top-notch audio. The primary focus was to shed light on the enhanced interoperability between Pro Tools and the Media Composer utility. The four primary improvements of Pro Tools related to Media Tools which were previewed at the event were:
- The capability of saving Pro Tools Sessions as files which are compatible with the Media Composer, complete with precise sample volume as well as pan information, along with markers.
- The option to drag Pro Tools Sessions straight into the bins of Media Composer.
- Users can now export a session of Pro tools which can be opened in the Media Composer utility.
- Addition of brand new workflows which facilitate importing of the timeline comments created in Dropbox Replay directly into Avid’s Pro Tools utility.
Sony
Sony is deemed a pioneer in the world of tech and entertainment. The globally-renowned company consistently offers groundbreaking innovations to the world in the realm of media production. Here is what Sony unveiled and announced at the 2024 NAB show:
VERONA
One of the most popular offerings Sony unveiled at the NAB 2024 show was VERONA. The company deemed it as “The Next Generation of Crystal LED Wall for Virtual Production”. The futuristic LED video wall is ideally perfect for demanding virtual production uses. VERONA is designed to deliver images of groundbreaking quality with exceptional impressive brightness as well as clarity.
Its out-of-the-world black levels, extremely low reflections, top-tier brightness, high rate of refresh, and most importantly, a broad color gamut make it a perfect choice for professional creators when it comes to composing ultra-realistic visually-pleasing experiences based on any scale. Sony’s VERONA seems to be a highly-compelling choice for the purpose of virtual production, primarily because it can simplify the creation of complicated shots containing multiple elements without needing live actors to execute scenes in front of green screens.
Ci Media Cloud
Sony announced major updates to Ci Media Cloud, its cloud-facilitated media management & collaboration solution which aids users in capturing, backing up, reviewing, transforming, as well as running highly streamlined post-production workflows. The new features include:
- Enhanced NLE integrations for Avid-based systems as well as Adobe’s Premiere Pro tool, with Marquis Medway.
- CI workflow enhanced media processing power along with Colorfront Transkoder (for VFX Pulls which are automated).
- Increased forensic watermarking along with customized layouts and formation for visual watermarking.
- Addition of “Ci Transfer” PC application for easily transferring files as well as folders to and from the Ci Workspace.
Elation
Elation is a leading name in the world of professional lighting solutions. Its offerings are known to illuminate the global stage with their top-tier designs and stellar technology. Here is what Elation announced to the world at the NAB 2024 event:
ColorTune
Elation announced the launch of the ColorTune Technology at this year’s NAB show. ColorTune is a lighting fixture software which facilitates in-depth control over the output as well as the color accuracy of the company’s LED lighting fixtures. With the help of the new software, users can conveniently customize the lighting output and ensure that their exact requirements are met, whether it is emphasizing brightness or the fidelity of colors.
Here is a brief look at some of ColorTune’s key features:
- Color Tuning: Users can choose between the highest outlet and fidelity or a balanced mixture of both parameters to create optimal lighting.
- Output Balance: With the help of the new uniform setting, ColorTune users can maintain a consistent amount of intensity across numerous fixtures of the same product model and make sure that CCT and colors are closely matched for different models which share the company’s full-spectrum engine.
- Adjustment of White Point: This option allows setting a specific CCT value as per requirements and then mix up the color from the white set point in order to achieve the perfect tone, along with the flexibility to blend colors manually or selecting the required ones with the help of a virtual swatch book.
Final Thoughts
The unveilings and announcements made at NAB 2024 from industry tycoons like Adobe, Sony, Blackmagic Design, and many similar companies, have offered us a peek into the foreseeable future of media production, broadcasting, as well as of the entertainment industry as a whole. Right from futuristic software solution updates to revolutionizing tools, the wide range of innovations showcased at the Las Vegas iteration of the NAB is posted to restructure and reshape the ways in which individuals create, distribute, and most importantly, consume content.
