Telepresence, the Ultima Thule of Teleconferencing Will Be a Featured Exhibition at Next Year’s NAB Show
Always at the forefront of new innovations in video and communications technology, the NAB show, the annual trade show for the National Association of Broadcasters will be introducing and featuring telepresence. at the 2011 show. Telepresence is the next step in trade show visual communication, which follows live filmed at the trade show videos, which are then posted on the company web site and You Tube, even while the trade show is continuing.
Telepresence will permit real time visual interaction between viewers at a distance and live participants at the show. While video broadcast of previous trade shows allowed viewers to see the show while it was in progress, now, viewers at regionally designated and outfitted telepresence centers will be able to participate, in two way visual interaction with attendees at the show. The viewers will see and they will be seen by conference participants.
Telepresence features bigger than life, wide screen broadcast of distant participants in any type of meeting or teleconferencing setting. Participants, from regional outfitted telepresence centers both view and are viewed as video technology places their image on the wide screen next to images of participants from other locales.
Imagine a virtual handshake with someone 3,000 miles away at the beginning of a discussion. Consider the fun of participating in a discussion with someone who is miles away, but whose form on a nearby screen is as large as anyone in the room with you.
All these technological advances make telepresence a more realistic and enjoyable experience. Developers recognize that video quality plays an important role in enhancing or detracting from telecommunications. In addition to life size images of participants, the advances of telepresence include high definition video and high fidelity sound. The goal, finally within reach is the the experience that participants can interact with people who look and sound as if they are in the room with them.
The 2011 NAB show will have a whole floor dedicated to the latest in telepresence technology. Not only will participants be able to view state of the art telepresence technology, they will be able to visit “telepresence-enabled” session rooms, where they will be able to experience the new technology first hand. In addition, Hemisphere Expo Service, the company setting up the telepresence exhibition will also be responsible for setting up the regional telepresence enabled centers which will virtually extend the range of next year’s NAB show. According the Mark Barounos, President of Hemisphere Expo service, the decision to partner with the NAB show grew out of extended market research, which showed it to be the best way to publicize their new technology.
The Hemisphere Expo Services company has been producing teleconferences since 1990, when the company was established. Telepresence is the latest development in their industry, soon to be followed by telecollaboration, a form of video conferencing that will have even wider applications than telepresence.
While not considered a broadcasting media, telepresence is relevant to the NAB show because it offers a platform for content delivery. Content delivery is the essence of what broadcasting is all about. Telepresence is expected to extend the capabilities of interviewing at a distance and inmprove the quality, for example, of broadcasts hosted by geographically separated hosts.
