The spring NAB Show is approaching. Between now and then Radio World will conduct several short Q&As with manufacturers about their plans and offerings, to help you get the most out of the big annual trade show. Mike Pappas is vice president, business development, DaySequerra.
Radio World: How has business been for the company since last year’s NAB Show?
Mike Pappas: We have seen a significant increase in sales since last year’s NAB Show. Our major Orban dealers have had seen solid increases in our sales since the acquisition.
RW: With the acquisition of Orban, how’s that going to be handled at the show — a group booth or separate? Will the big bus be there?
Pappas: Orban is our flagship and we will debut a new 40 x 40 double decker booth in a new location at the entrance to the North Hall next to Ross Video at this NAB Show. We will display DaySequerra tuners as part of our Orban new product demos. Orban has historically had an automotive motif as part of the booth; we’ll continue that tradition with a certain twist. In the place of an RV, we’ll use a Cadillac to demo our new breakthrough Orban HiFi consumer technology.
RW: What are you hearing from your customers about their business outlook this year? In what areas should we expect growth or the most interesting projects?
Pappas: Our customers are very optimistic for 2017 and many are telling us that their cap-ex budgets have increased for the first time in years.
RW: You’ve been active in the HD Radio market for years. What’s the biggest problem or challenge facing users in this segment right now?
Pappas: The automotive sector has been successful in putting more HD Radios in the hands of consumers, in vehicles where most radio listening is done. We need to make sure that their HD Radio experience is perfect. That means diversity time alignment has to be spot on and HD processing needs to make the most out of the limited amount of available bits.
Applying analog FM processing to HD Radio digital audio isn’t the right answer — what works for a frequency-modulated, 75 μS pre-emphasized, limited frequency response analog transmission system is wildly inappropriate for digital.
It’s about preconditioning the audio to make the most out of the codec’s capability and the available bits. And that’s very different than just trying to make it LOUD.
RW: What new goodies will your company be showing? Why should attendees visit your new booth in the North Hall N3203?
Pappas: We will be introducing eight new products at NAB; this might be a record for Orban. Everything from new AM and FM processors, new 4K UHD ATSC 3.0-compatible loudness control, new openGear stereo TV audio processors to a 5.1 surround headphone monitor and a BS.1770 R128 loudness measurement system. Bob Orban and the Orban engineering team have been very, very busy.
RW: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend at the 2017 NAB Show?
Pappas: The AoIP trend will continue and gain speed. AES67 is the lowest common denominator in AoIP with audio-only compatibility. It would be nice to have self-discovery, embedded SNMP, command, control and telemetry and that doesn’t require a raft of IT acolytes to get it up and running.
RW: You’re a show veteran, what’s your favorite thing about the show?
Pappas: Getting to reconnect with all of our customers face to face and to listen to what they need.
