Broadcast industry descends on Dubai
Published: MEA
UAE: Cabsat 2015 has got underway in Dubai with a new floorplan and an enhanced focus on education and training.
The regional broadcast industry descended on the Emirate to be greeted by a new floorplan at the 21st edition of show. With more than 900 exhibitors, once again Cabsat fills the main eight halls of the Dubai World Trade Centre, but this time there has been the addition of several new educational spaces hosting a variety of training sessions.
The main Cabsat NAB Conference has hosted a range of sessions with a particular highlight being the keynote from Netflix founder Corey Bridges. Aside from this there have been postproduction training opportunities and a range of free seminars in the new Content Delivery Hub.
These new theatres have not been the only changes. While last year the broadcast manufacturers occupied Halls 5 to 8 of the DWTC, this year this has been switched to Halls 1 to 4. There is a suspicion that this may have caused some confusion for visitors, and it can certainly be argued that footfall in the morning was lighter than in previous years. This being said, the majority of exhibitors declared themselves happy with the first day. People were not inundated with visitors, but everyone reported a steady flow of traffic and highlighted the quality versus quantity argument.
Another change to the floorplan has seen a number of manufacturers choose to exhibit at the show in their own right for the first time. Shure MEA has taken a large booth to highlight its range of broadcast mics and headsets. Studer has equally taken the opportunity to have its own dedicated space at the show to promote its Vista X and V consoles. Klotz AIS meanwhile is this year displaying its cable range in the Bavarian pavilion.
In terms of product launches, in a now traditional move Imagine Communications took the opportunity to give a global debut to a product ahead of NAB. This time the manufacturer used Cabsat to unveil its Platinum VX digital video router. The new router replaces the Panacea product line and comes in four frame sizes from 16x16 to 288x288. The show has also played host to a variety of regional launches from the likes of Trilogy, Avid, Calrec, RME, 3D Storm and Clear-Com.
Of course like all regional shows, Cabsat is about more than new products. Most exhibitors find one of the major advantages is the networking opportunities that the event provides. Many come to Cabsat to build relationships rather than to make direct sales and this was in evidence right across the show floor.
Another highlight has been a pair of distribution announcements. The first day of the event saw the news that Rycote will now be represented in the region by Sennheiser Middle East, while Set Square has taken on Solid State Logic’s Live consoles.
Overall it has been a positive first day for Cabsat. Exhibitors will hope for a larger footfall over the next two days, and with the variety of educational and networking opportunities still available, such as the Yamaha audio for film and postproduction seminar, as well as the plethora of products to see they could well get their wish.
Cabsat continues at the Dubai World Trade Centre until Thursday March 12th.