LAS VEGAS—Want to play some hoops? That will be an option on the floor of NAB Show 2020, as LiveU has announced it will highlight its range of live video production technologies at its LiveU Courtside Studio, which will feature a basketball court covered by multiple cameras.

The star of the studio is LiveU’s Wireless At-Home Production platform, which includes a number of production needs, like Tally Light and Return Video. Then it will show how content can be curated with the LiveU Matrix. It will also demonstrate how its LiveU Control app can enable users to control their LiveU units from anywhere.

This set-up from LiveU was used by the NBA, AT&T and Ericsson to bring 5G to the NBA Summer League’s live production in 2019, and the trio will be on hand at the Courtside Studio to discuss that experience.

In addition, the Courtside Studio will host live streamed interviews with innovators in content production, and LiveU has teased some surprise guests.

The 2020 NAB Show will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 18-22. LiveU will be located at booth SU2615.

More information is available at www.liveu.tv. 

WASHINGTON—NAB today announced submissions are open for the third annual Travel Video Awards (TVAs), which will be presented April 21 during the 2020 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

The awards, created by Citizine Networks Inc. and presented by the Travel Video Alliance, honor innovative and inspiring travel videos created by independent filmmakers, the travel industry, media companies and lifestyle brands, NAB said.

All video and story submissions must have aired or been digitally published between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2019. TVA is accepting submissions through Jan.17, 2020

In 2019, the awards program received more than 800 entries from filmmakers and brands in 44 countries. Among the submissions were those from CNN Travel, United Airlines, Marriott International, Tourism Australia, Land Rover, Food Network, Sony, Rimowa luggage, La Mer and Travel + Leisure magazine.

“Of the $600B+ in online travel bookings, video was part of the decision process for the consumer in over 60% of those bookings,” said Citizine and TVA founder and CEO Philip DeBevoise. “Travel videos are a powerful marketing tool—indie filmmakers, tourism companies and other brands are creating videos showcasing the lifestyle, culture and beauty of destinations across the globe that are driving these online bookings.”

Besides the annual awards ceremony, the 2020 TVAs will include three panel discussions and a new awards category, NAB said. “We’re excited to announce the new TVA-Steller Award, in partnership with Steller, that recognizes the beautiful mix media travel stories being published on the Steller platform,” said DeBevoise.

NAB is once again serving as the presenting sponsor for the TVA program. More information about the awards and TVA programming is available online.

The 2020 NAB Show will be held April 18-22 in Las Vegas. More information about the show is available on the NAB Show website.

WASHINGTON—Now in its fourth year, NAB’s Pilot Innovation Challenge is now accepting proposals and has announced a new component for this year’s program. For the first time, Pilot will provide support to a pair of winners so they can develop a prototype to be presented at the 2020 NAB Show.

The prompt for this year’s Pilot Innovation Challenge is to build an AI character that can have conversations with individual viewers, listeners or consumers, with character traits that can be defined and trained by the broadcaster.

Individuals, teams, companies, academic institutions and nonprofit organizations are eligible to submit proposals, with up to five finalists selected by a panel of judges by the end of November. Of those five, two winners will be granted as much as $150,000, relevant mentorship and feedback during the development of their prototype. They will also be invited to the 2020 NAB Show, April 18-22, in Las Vegas to demonstrate the prototype.

The deadline to apply for the Innovation Challenge is Oct. 18. Interested applicants can review the judging criteria and apply here.

WASHINGTON—If you have an interesting insight into some of the major technology trends in the radio, TV or general broadcast industry, then the NAB wants to hear them as the organization has announced that it is now accepting technical paper proposals for the 2020 NAB Show’s Broadcast Engineering and Information Technology Conference.

The BEIT Conference, which is designed for all involved in the development, manufacture or implementation of broadcast technology, will feature many technical papers that address the latest opportunities and challenges facing broadcast engineering and media-industry IT professionals.

Topics of interest for the NAB will be eyed toward trends and technologies that will help drive the future of broadcast. Possible topics could include all-digital AM and FM HD radio; audio over IP; podcasting; Next Gen TV technologies; OTT technologies; content and signal security; 5G effects on broadcast; C-band satellite issues; smart speaker applications in broadcasting; and others.

All proposals will be subject to peer review. All content proposed should be presented in a tutorial, non-promotional form.

The deadline for proposals is going to be Nov. 1. Selected papers will be announced in December.

The 2020 NAB Show will take place in Las Vegas from April 18-22.

For more information, click here.

LAS VEGAS—NAB Show always has an eye toward the future, but at the 2020 show there will be a particular focus on future professionals who will make up the industry.

NAB, in partnership with the Advanced Imaging Society, is launching NSPIRE, a two-day conference designed for the next generation of creative professionals. NSPIRE is geared toward three groups of artists and storytellers: millennial and Gen X creatives and tech pros; content creators for social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram and Facebook; and traditional storytellers from motion picture studios, streaming platforms and other creative services.

Conference programming will run on three tracks. The Content Creators track will feature workshops and sessions on social media platforms; Motion Picture/Episodic Storytelling will feature master storytellers sharing their processes for connecting with today’s audiences; and Technology Empowering Storytellers will bring creative and tech experts to discuss the latest technologies.

“Young creative minds are not only changing how the world consumes content, but also reshaping the business of media itself,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown. “We are excited to partner with AIS to launch NSPIRE as a platform for young trailblazing professionals to explore the latest innovations in content creation and to dive deep into the future of media and entertainment.”

NSPIRE will run April 19–20 during the 2020 NAB Show, scheduled for April 18–22, 2020, in Las Vegas.