Roland showed their new RH-PM5 in-ear monitors. The sharp looking buds are tuned for live stage and studio monitoring and are perfectly matched to use with the new RSS Personal Mixing System featuring M-48 Live Personal Mixers. The in-ears come with different types of ear adapters to fit a wide variety of ear canals (S/M/L/XL). Also included is a 7 ft extension cord, plug adaptor (gold-plated stereo mini plug to 1/4 inch stereo phone plug), cord clip, two filters, filter replacement tool and carrying case.

Avid’s big NAB news has to do with identity and structure. The parent company will now share its new audio/video centric logo with Digidesign, Pinnacle Systems, M-Audio and Sibelius. The company has circled its wagons around customer groups centered around various sectors of its broad user base. The new logo forms a visual connection to iconic shapes that represent “volume up, volume down, play, pause, record and forward,â€? signaling a unification of the company’s core audio and video offerings. The distinctive mark also spells out the company’s name in abstract letterforms.

Dave Lebolt, Avid’s Chief Technology Officer, said, “We are refining the way we define and develop our solutions, leveraging technology across all of our audio and video capabilities in ways that no other company can. Having unification across the breadth and depth of Avid’s portfolio allows us to accelerate interoperability between Avid systems – like Pro Tools® and Media Composer®.  These two systems now sync smoothly via Video Satellite, allowing users to connect a Pro Tools|HD® system to an Avid Media Composer system for synchronized playback and connect up to four Pro Tools|HD systems plus one Media Composer when adding the Satellite Link option – and all without requiring any rendering of complex video sequences.  We’re also in a better position to further explore integrated bundled offerings – and how these offerings work openly with third-party applications – in a way that meets new and emerging demands of today’s content creators. We look forward to working closely with our customers to define these next-generation solutions.�

I saw TASCAM’s slick and miniature M-164 analog mixer at the show. It features 6 mic inputs, EQ, built-in meter bridge plus digital reverb, delay and chorus. The sister to the 164, the M-164UF is the first compact mixer with a built-in USB 2.0 to deliver all 16 outputs to a computer for live or studio recording (Mac/PC). Other features include: 16-channel mixing, 6 XLR microphone inputs with phantom power and hipass filter, 5 stereo line inputs, 3-band EQ on mic channels, 2-band EQs on line channels 7-10 and main output, RIAA phono preamp on channels 9-10, sub and Main output busses plus two aux sends.

Yes it’s that time of year again when Broadcasters from all over the globe gather in Las Vegas for the annual NAB Convention. I’ll be on the floor scouring the exhibits for the best new products and bringing them to you here on this Blog. Stay tuned.