WASHINGTON—The second and last day of the Government Video Expo & National Drone Show saw attendees return to the hall for a slate of presentations, product demos and the Expo’s highly anticipated free raffle. At the NewBay booth, Valerie Smith guarded the drum of raffle entries to be sure there was no “ballot stuffing” incidents.
Rodney Grubbs, an imagery specialist with NASA, gives a keynote talk on the role of 4K video in upcoming Mars missions.
Close by was the Government Video Theater, where there were two interesting keynotes this day from Timothy Herlocker and Rodney Grubbs. Herlocker, the director of New York City’s emergency operations center, discussed how live video fits into the City’s tactical operations, making it safer for both first responders and citizens. Grubbs, an imaging expert with NASA, gave a presentation on how 4K video and developing technologies such as high dynamic range will be an important feature of upcoming Mars missions.
Across the hall at the Drone Show Theater were presentations on using drones to generate revenue, as well as a talk on emerging applications and opportunities for drones. Between sessions at the Drone Show Theater was a continuous showing of award-winning drone films—some pretty amazing stuff.
Of course, many attendees were drawn to vendors’ booths to examine and silently lust for the latest gear. David Brigham, a videographer with Epsilon Systems, spent time researching cameras at Blackmagic Design’s booth. His company works on a variety of projects, including training videos for the U.S. Navy, and he described his specific needs for cameras.
Valerie Smith slides an attendee’s raffle entry into the drum at the NewBay Media booth.
“We need something that does not have Wi-Fi,” Brigham said, noting that signal security is a top priority on Navy jobs.
The ability to work quickly is also paramount.
“We have to have a small footprint to get in and get out fast,” he said.
A couple aisles away, Teradek showed off its new 2D 360-degree live streaming system, called Sphere. Jon Landman, Teradek’s sales vice president, said that three 4K versions of the system will be used at the upcoming presidential inauguration, giving viewers multiple 360-degree views of the proceedings.
There was plenty of action at the drone cage, where presenters discussed a variety of techniques to improve and manage drone video. One presentation was by Lou Siracusano of VideoBank, which makes software to archive and process real-time drone video streams. John Riehl, VideoBank’s executive vice president, said that the company’s Virtual Meeting Room software is in the process of being certified by the Criminal Justice Information System so that it can be used to store and process evidence for legal proceedings.
