Like a politician, MobiTV is a master of the art of the possible. In the ATSC mobile TV pavillion at NAB, MobiTV showed its new MixTV, which adds broadcast mobile TV to its unicast subscription mobile TV service — the best of both worlds according to Cedric Fernandes, MobiTV VP, Technology, who talks about it here.

Next week, the Community Broadcasters Association will meet with eight members of Congress to make the case that Class A and LPTV stations surpass the expectations the government has for broadcasters to promote station ownership by women and minorities.

The association will present a newly released report to members of Congress making the case that Class A and LPTV stations are democratizing the airwaves. Based on the results of a Web-based survey conducted between Nov. 17 and December 16, 2008, the report should open the eyes of lawmakers and regulators, who regularly advocate for new laws and rules to increase ownership of broadcast stations by women and minorities, to a broadcast service that’s often overlooked or minimized. more

Walking into the Ross Video’s booth at the NAB Show April 21, I was a bit surprised to see the company was in the character generator business.

The company was enjoying a sizable crowd of people looking at its new XPression character generator. The CG’s introduction into the Ross Video family of products is the result of Ross’s March acquisition of Media Refinery. Well-known in Europe, the character generator is new to the Americas and the rest of the world.

I spoke with David Ross, CEO and owner of Ross Video about the character generator and the company’s other new NAB introductions. That interview is presented as a podcast.

Grass Valley (SL 106) is busy demonstrating many new digital workflow products in their South hall boot. Among those being highlighted is the new K2 Dyno replay controller and Grass Valley Ignite with version 5.3 software. more

The Sony (C11001) HDVF-C30WR HD viewfinder delivers new, higher levels of color accuracy and reproduction than previous models. The new viewfinder is designed for use with many of Sony’s professional HD cameras and camcorders, including the CineAlta F23 and F35 digital cinematography cameras; XDCAM HD422 optical camcorders and HDCAM camcorders; the HDC-1500/1000/1550/1400/1450 series of multiformat studio and field cameras; and the HDC-3300 Super Slow Motion camera. more

Sony booth (C11001), yes that’s in the CENTRAL hall, is busy with attendees wanting to try out the company’s new line of HD studio cameras. Two of those receiving high attention are the new HSC-300 and HXC-100 cameras use Triax cable, making them highly compatible with current cable installations. more

Mobile DTV is one of the biggest buzzes at the NAB Show, and Rohde & Schwarz is hoping to capitalize on that with a full line of transmission-related products aimed at getting broadcasters on the air with a mobile signal and making it easier for them to monetize that effort.

Following the Open Mobile Video Coalition breakfast April 20, which in itself was filled with significant mobile DTV announcements, including the selection of Washington, D.C., as a product showcase market for mobile DTV technology, establishment of Atlanta and Seattle as technical mobile DVT research and development markets and the unveiling of a mobile DTV-enabled Dell Netbook computer, Rohde & Schwarz got in on the mobile DTV action at its press conference. more

The best is yet to come for broadcasters thanks to the DTV transition.

That’s the view of Jim Goodman, president and CEO of Capitol Broadcasting, owner of DTV pioneer WRAL-TV in Raleigh-Durham, NC. Goodmon made an appearance at Harris Broadcast’s 2009 NAB Show press conference to explain how the station is on the air today demonstrating the viability of mobile DTV, both technically and economically. more

By Phil Kurz, Broadcast Engineering contributing writer

Omneon is healthy, prosperous and delivering product aimed at tapping into more than simply the market for playout servers.

That was the message Omneon CEO Suresh Vasudevan and Geoff Stedman, senior VP, products and markets, conveyed April 18 to members of the media attending its NAB Show press conference at the Palms Casino Resort.

While many companies struggled last year, Omneon grew 2008 revenues 43 percent, up from its 2007 revenue of $89 million, said Stedman. Perhaps insulating it to a degree from regions with shaky economies, the company reported its revenue is fairly well distributed geographically with the Americas accounting for 42 percent, EMEA 41 percent and APJ 17 percent.

Capping off his description of the company’s financial health, Stedman reported Omneon has a cash position of $34 million with no debt. The proof points seemed intended to emphasize that despite significant challenges in the broadcast industry, Omneon is financially sound and in a position to take the steps necessary to assure continued growth.

To that end, Omneon announced some new products and partnerships aimed at accelerating its growth despite economic uncertainty this year. more

At the Tektronix NAB2008 booth, the company introduced a 6lb. HD waveform monitor designed for stations launching actual high-def electronic news gathering operations.

The company developed the WFM 5000 after listening to its customers who needed a basic monitoring device that would satisfy the need to maintain the level of quality control over field acquisition they’ve grown to expect after years of SD newsgathering at a price that would not weigh heavily on their budgets, said the company’s John Hammerstrom. The WFM 5000 has a list price of less than $7000.

Besides offering a basic HD waveform monitoring function, the WFM 5000 also can be used as an HD vectorscope, picture monitor and status display for video and audio. It supports audio monitoring for 16 embedded channels of audio and one discrete AES pair and can be mounted to a tripod or atop a camera. At the booth, Tektronix showed the new waveform monitor affixed to a camera mount atop a camera as the unit might be used in real-life shooting situations.

According to Hammerstrom, the company has received thousands of requests from customers for an HD waveform monitor that would allow them to remain competitive with other stations in town without exceeding their HD infrastructure budgets.

Listen to an audio clip from John Hammerstrom.

Related article: Tektronix offers new SD, HD waveform monitors, rasterizers.

Broadcast Engineering TV demo: Tektronix’s WFM7120 for single link SDI