One of the takeaways that I really took from the show is that coming to these shows is, like, a lot more than just shopping for equipment. Mhmm. Right? It really is around coming to these different manufacturers, people you buy from, people we partner with, and meeting them in person. Right? Because at the end of the day, people buy from people. Yeah. And with so much AI stuff happening on the Internet and everyone is getting AI generated emails to, like, buy this and that, and it's hard to tell. Mhmm. But is there a human behind that or not? Being here at at a show and meeting our customers in person and talking in real life with them, talking with potential customers about their problems and helping them figure out solutions, it's really fun. This podcast is for city communications teams and video professionals in government. We talk about expanding service delivery with video and streaming, media accessibility, gear, broadcast and streaming workflows, and more. It's all right here on the Government Video Podcast. Welcome back to the Government Video Podcast. I'm here today at NAB twenty twenty five, and I'm joined with our CEO, JJ Parker. Hello, everyone. So, JJ, we are back on the floor. The Tightrope Media Systems is back on the floor for the first time in how many years? I think we must have taken maybe, like, a five year hiatus because COVID was in there, and then the show didn't happen, and then we did our sweet thing. But, yes, we are back on the floor in the excitement of the NAB. And we're here in the West Hall. So tell me a little bit, like, what's the energy level feel like for you? It's been great this year. Yeah. We've been exhibiting at NAB for, I don't know, like, over twenty years, and we have been in every single hall all over the place. And, typically, South Hall has always been, like, the real hot spot because a lot of the big booths are there. This new West Hall that they have here, very nice. It's very nicely done, and the energy in the West Hall here has been really great. It's been super exciting for us because, I mean, Tightrope has a new product. So that's really specific for government. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yep. So that's our MediaScribe product. And the genesis of this product was that our government cable cast customers who had video servers and are doing television automation and playback kept on asking us, like, hey, can we somehow use the closed caption as being generated in the broadcast feed in our council chambers? And we're like, I don't know that you can do that. You know, we have some customers trying to, like, put together some solutions that would add open captions and and things like that. We started looking at that problem. We're like, wait. We could actually build something that's purpose built for this government meeting problem. So that's what we did. I'm really proud of it. I I always think it's amazing that we get so many of our ideas from our customers. That's where the best ideas come from. Yeah. So I love that that's what turned into this amazing product here. So being here on the floor, what are some of the industry trends that you're seeing that may be applicable for our government communicators at home? Well, what's interesting again, like, over the the many years I've been coming to NAB, there's, like, always a theme. Right? And back in the day, it was, like, SD to HD, and then it was four k and it's three d, and then, you know, it's, like, all these things all the time. Holograms. Yeah. Some of them didn't really take. And last year, it was, like, really a lot of AI happening. It was, like, AI everything last year. Mhmm. But this year, the AI thing I feel like has settled down in its hype cycle. Yeah. And the AI stuff that's left is actually, like, legitimate, useful AI stuff. So when you do walk around, you do see a lot of, you know, a lot of AI, but I feel like that is a weird way to phrase it, but everything at the show seems like very reasonable. You know? It's like it's like try and ensure technology. It's all working. Yep. It's not, like, super hype y. Like, oh, look at this, the next new thing. Mhmm. But it all feels, like, very stable. Yeah. That's great. And it's very useful. It's very you can't just with all of the AI and everything. Before we get back to this episode, here's something you'll wanna hear. Picture this. Every resident is able to follow your public meetings in the room and in real time. Time. With MediaScribe, live captions are easy to display in the chamber and beyond, so no one misses a word. Whether they're watching from the hallway or just stepping in, the conversation is clear and accessible. And it doesn't stop there. Residents can follow along on their phones with live captions and translations right at their fingertips. 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So I noticed we had a ton of cities come by our booth Mhmm. With again, NAB is historically very broadcasty. Yep. But it was amazing that we had cities, we had schools, we had a lot of other end users and folks like that that came by. A lot of the themes that I saw that they were really interested in were around this accessibility. Mhmm. Do you know what's driving all of that? Well, I would I'd say that a lot of the things that are driving the accessibility stuff is obviously, like, new laws coming into effect. Right? Yep. Where we do have cities and and other public institutions that do need to adhere to the new laws. So our customers and us are just trying to figure out how do we comply with these things and what exactly are the rules and and who do they apply to also because not all of the laws are the same in all of the states. How they apply, like, what applies to a broadcaster doesn't necessarily apply to maybe a government TV station. One of those rules apply to, like, their in meeting situations or their website and things like that. So I think everyone's just trying to figure out all of the accessibility compliance they need to do and where and to what media. Yeah. It's been nice to work with folks on that journey Mhmm. And, you know, especially around MediaScribe and what we're building there to be able to, help serve them more. Yep. What are some other key takeaways that you have around the show that you've seen? My key takeaway is I kinda forgot how physically demanding it is to stand in the booth all day long for four days in a row. We got these neat fatigue mats though, so that's been helpful. But, like, no doubt, it's been sneakers all day, and then you still need to change your shoes at the end of the night. I listened to your, like, pre n a b episode and, like, the shoe change tip. That was, like, the key tip. I've done that every day. Other than that, one of the takeaways that that I really took from the show is that coming to these shows is, like, a lot more than just shopping for equipment. Mhmm. Right? It really is around coming to these different manufacturers, people you buy from, people we partner with, and, like, meeting them in person. Right? Because at the end of the day, people buy from people. Yeah. And with so much AI stuff happening on the Internet and everyone is getting AI generated emails to, like, buy this and that, and it's hard to tell. Mhmm. But is there a human behind that or not? Being here at at a show and meeting our customers in person and talking in real life with them, talking with potential customers about their problems and helping them figure out solutions, it's really fun. So a key takeaway for me about this show is just such a great opportunity to connect with people. Sure. I've noticed that, especially with the government folks that came out, this is a huge deal for them. For them to come from whatever city that they're from, fly out here, stay in Las Vegas, that can typically be a hard sell for some Mhmm. Some of their administration. Yeah. A lot of, you know, a lot of our customers are on limited budgets, are really responsible for their money and investing in this kind of trip. That's a big deal. But it it's important because it they everybody needs to have this information, this knowledge gathering opportunity. Yeah. And so it's been really fruitful and really hopeful that they're able to come here and get that. But I noticed that it happens in cycles. So it's important for our listeners at home, especially with cities, to start planning for their next NAB trip. If it's not next year, maybe it's the year after. Well, JJ, thank you so much for your time. Yep. This has been such a great show, and it's so exciting to be back on the floor. And to our viewers and listeners at home, thanks for watching the Government Video Podcast. My name is Dana Healy, and I'm here with JJ Parker, and we'll see you next time.
