Tuesday morning the phone function on my Treo broke, putting NAB on hold while I, panicked-ly, scurried around gettting a replacement into service. The experience gave me some new insights into modern life.

First, being phone-less is akin to a disabiity; forcing you into, as Blanche DuBois said, “depending on the kindness of strangers.” Second, the Treo remained useful even though I couldn’t make “phone calls:” calendar, contacts, reminders, chat, Internet, mobile TV.

I was able to check in with Teamcast’s session on the company’s new hybrid DVB-T/DVB-SH mobile TV product line, debuted at NAB. The advantage of a hybrid solution, says TeamCast EVP and GM Serge Mal, is that it lets operators offer mobile TV services leveraging the advantages of both satellite and terrestrial transmission systems. more

Sony have released an HDCAM-SR camcorder, the SRW-9000. This will be a winner for steadicam shots, where the F23/35 have limitations due to their size and weight. This is the first Sony camcorder that permits 10-bit acquisition in HD.

Over at Panasonic, good news for those who find P2 cards too expensive. They have released an economy line, the E-series in 16, 32 and 64GB. The 64GB card will sell for $998.

Harmonic announced that they are integrating Google’s Content ID into the Rhozet Carbon Coder. When content is transcoded to a distribution format the Content ID can be generated on the fly (typically at 10X realtime). The ID is submitted to Google with usage tags. If that content is uploaded to YouTube, when it is processed to the web format, a fingerprint is generated and checked against their database. Unauthorized content is then automatically blocked. This is an easy way to control piracy from YouTube, and can be built right into a post workflow.

As stations add sub-channels after the digital transition, providing EAS to many outputs becomes expensive with discrete channel systems. Many Public stations cover a state, and may want to target one area with an EAS alert. Trilithic released at the show a way to insert EAS into an ASI transport stream. An announcement can be inserted into chosen program streams, with optional graphics insertion for snipes and logs. The system uses RGB Networks BNP for the transport stream processing.

From the Briefing Room…

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — April 7, 2009 — Omneon Inc. today announced that it is partnering with New York’s Tekserve and Hollywood’s Integrated Media Technologies (IMT) to deliver new workflow solutions targeted to the needs of the television and motion picture post-production market. Through these reseller relationships, Omneon will offer purpose-built storage solutions based on the powerful Omneon MediaGrid™ active storage system to enable efficient and highly scalable editing and repurposing workflows. more

Axcera introduced the 6X Series liquid-cooled solid-state television transmitter that uses the company’s frequency agile exciter and LDMOS devices for broadband operation across the entire UHF band.

The showed a 6X transmitter that supports 7kW DVB-T, 10kW ATSC and 20kW analog operation on the floor. It will support power levels up to 30kW DVB-T and 40kW ATSC. According to company president David Neff, an important feature of the 6X transmitter is its relatively small form factor.

Axcera also highlighted the fact it’s supporting five different transmission technologies for mobile TV broadcasts with a red-hot car receiving mobile TV broadcast transmission as part of the NAB2008 demonstration of the technology.

Neff discussed mobile TV transmission, the final push to complete the DTV transition in the United States as well as a recently released report from research organization Centris showing that DTV coverage patterns may leave millions of viewers without over-the-air television reception.

Listen to an audio clip from David Neff.

I came to the Belden thinking I’d prepared for my interview by brushing up on Belden’s latest cables. Boy, was I wrong. There is a lot going on at this booth this year, and two of the biggest attractions aren’t cable products at all. The three big product groups I looked at were: recently acquired Hirschmann’s MACH 1000 and 4000 switchers, new modular racks and the introduction of the 1855p (the plenum version of it’s 1855a).

First, let’s start with Hirschmann. Tim Toth, director of sales, told me this was Hirschmann’s first showing at NAB. Hirschmann offers Ethernet switchers and routers for mission critical applications. The group’s goal is to eliminate single points of failure in Ethernet networks. The MACH 1000 and 4000 are created to provide 99.999 percent reliability, even under extreme circumstances. The fanless MACH 1000 has an operating temperature range of -40 degrees F to 185 degrees F. The switchers also have a handy USB flash drive backup setup. For more, check out a short audio clip of Tim talking about the MACH 1000 and 4000.

Next, on to Belden’s new racks. Product line manager and engineer Denis Blouin says that Belden’s goal in making these racks was to provide enclosures designed with broadcasters’ needs in mind. And the well-thought-out setup for cable placement and flow is to be expected from racks being designed by a cable maker. Denis showed me the ultra-slim truck rack, which has the option of being made from aluminum. All the rack frames include the company’s Quick Mount System for cable placement, allowing a cable to be attached anywhere a user wants. For more, check out a short audio clip from Denis about the racks.

And, yes, there were cables too. The company introduced new HDMI cables for HD audio and video. It has also completely updated its Brilliance Tactical Fiber Optic Cables. And Marc Stringer, market manager, told me that Belden will soon be offering the 1855p.

Related articles: Making the connection; Belden to acquire Hirschmann Automation; Belden Brilliance fiber-optic cable stands up to rugged environments.