Inter BEE 2010: Day 1 Digest -- The Inter BEE 2010 Professional Broadcasting, Video and Audio Equipment Exhibition Opens.

Broadcasting equipment exhibition Inter BEE was held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from the 17th~19th of November. Inter BEE presents cutting-edge professional production equipment and software tools for broadcasting, TV programs, TV commercials, videos and content, all under one roof.

Now in its 64th year, Inter BEE is held along with the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters Association's Symposiums of Broadcast Technology and other sessions. The show also features a variety of related forums, and is one of the largest broadcast and video equipment exhibitions in the world.

This year a record-breaking 824 companies exhibited, including 478 companies from 28 different countries and regions to create an even richer event that was attended by some 30,000 visitors.

At the opening ceremony on the first day, guest-of-honor NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) General Managing Director, Executive Director-General of Engineering Mr. Kenji Nagai gave a welcome speech and described the advances made toward digital broadcasting citing examples such as NHK's scheduled completion of its digital repeater installations in December, and the more than 90 million units of digital broadcast reception devices that have already been shipped. Due to the absence of guest-of-honor Shunichiro Kudo, Senior Director of the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters in Japan (NAB-J), NAB-J Director Takeuchi of the association's Planning Department took the podium on his behalf, stating as part of Mr. Kudo's opening address, "cooperation from broadcasting equipment makers, appliance makers and governing bodies is required for the shift towards total digitization."

Chairman Hamada of the International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition Executive Committee delivered the official opening message for the 2010 exhibition which was followed by a tape cutting ceremony performed by the guests of honor.

The exhibition center was divided into several specialist zones for the show.

The largest of these zones was the Video and Broadcast Equipment Zone exhibiting video broadcasting gear and software solutions. The show also presented professional audio equipment and systems in the Professional Audio Equipment Zone, and lighting equipment for lighting professionals in the Professional Lighting Equipment Zone. The exhibition also included the recently established Cross-media Zone that was divided into 4 area showcasing new broadcast and content business systems and proposals.
　
Now that 3D is the hot topic in the movie, Blu-ray and TV industries, the Video and Broadcast Equipment Zone exhibited 3D camera and production equipment from a whole range of different companies, and was well attended by engineers and technicians involved in the video and program production business.

This area of the exhibition also included a large number of exhibitions featuring file-based systems, reflecting the shift towards total digitalization all the way from video shooting, through to processing, modification and editing.

The Professional Audio Equipment Zone was crammed full of high-end professional microphones, headphones and audio mixing systems, many of which were available for visitors to touch and try out for themselves.

The Professional Lighting Equipment Zone featured a rich variety of lighting gear from a range of companies, including specialist television program lighting equipment and the latest stage production lighting gear.

Exploring new fields of broadcasting, the Cross-media Zone showcased a variety of the businesses and equipment for new broadcasting systems such as IPTV and Mobile TV, and presented equipment and applications for Digital Cinema, Digital Signage, and 3D Imaging.

824 overseas companies presenting video, professional audio, professional lighting and the latest gear for new content businesses all under one roof. That's Inter BEE. The exhibition at Makuhari Messe in Chiba closed on the 19th of November.