Avid Pulls out of NAB

[Stoney]

Originally Posted by eb

Different event.... but I think it was NBC or CBS that pulled out of NATPE, another huge similar Vegas show. Different reasons... but interesting as well.

The Avid pull out is interesting. We just converted to Avid servers/editors/newsroom system - so the line about ...."some products had been rushed to market, resulting in some dissatisfaction among customers" was of interest. Ours seems to be working fine... but with some expected and unexpected glitches. Most computer systems have hang ups now and then. So I expected them. Who knows what this is all about.

Public relations will spin everything into a "positive" move meant to make customer service and their products "better." But there are a ton of people attending NAB, and Avid's competition like Apple and Adobe will get a lot more exposure there. Then again, they will pay the millions needed to go to NAB. Avid will be saving that expense.

Definitely interesting to hear they are not going to NAB. It is a huge roll-out event. However, a lot of companies have shunned the big trade shows. This is common in many different industries. The problem lies with the trade show costs (huge costs to put on those massive displays), the trade show timelines that are imposed (Avid needs to roll out a project by the start of the show, rather than when they are ready to), and customer relations (maybe Avid wants to get into the consumer market more than they want to increase their professional market... no home users go to NAB).

Whatever their reasons, they have a huge loyal following. Hardly any client ever refers to a non-linear edit as a Final Cut session but they do refer to non-linear as an Avid session. That is a big marketing bonus for Avid.