That time of year again! Scott, Jeremy, Larry, Jim and I are heading to the NAB Show.
The show floor opens Monday at 9am. If you are in town, please let us know. We’ve got a few extra badges if you’d like to see us. We are showing the SetPlayer line and MediaFlow software. 
Our focus in on Broadcast here, but show control is never far…our V16 Pro is running the Sony booth this year!
We will host a free training session for our show control products in Orlando on May 4 from 9 am to 4 pm. Seating is limited, so those interested in attending are encouraged to reserve a spot by calling Kara Camp at 407-296-5800.
The full-day training session is designed for Technicians/Programmers and will feature Intermediate level training on Alcorn McBride’s V16 Pro/V4 Pro line of controllers, WinScriptLive!, Touch and ShowTouch.
You will experience a hands-on learning environment that spans our Pro line of show controllers, WinScriptLive! and Touch interface design software. You will gain a broad and deep understanding of how the tools work together to deliver easy to use, maintenance-free show control solutions.
Ryan McCurdy, Historic Tours of America, is interviewed by SVC in this podcast. It’s a fun interview!
Image credit: HistoricTours.com
Click here to listen: SVC Podcast
Editor’s note – Our Engineers are well versed in diverse aspects of technology. Adam Rosenberg took a short break from product development to judge a robotics competition! Very cool! -
I have been interested in robotics since an early age starting with Lego Mindstorms and later at the FIRST robotics competitions. I was introduced to VEX Robotics by my good friend, Ilylia. Ilylia is from Malaysia and is a driving force in her country to spread math and science education through robotics.
2010 was a record sales year for Alcorn McBride. In this article, Steve Alcorn comments on the challenges of the AV market and the growth of our company:
February 2011 -The economic downturn of 2008 impacted nearly every aspect of worldwide business, and the A/V installation sector was no exception. Themed attractions certainly saw their attendance fall in 2008—although it seems to be recovering nicely now. Two things helped them weather the storm: guests’ tendencies to take “staycations,” visiting local facilities they might have skipped before; and the addition of major new attractions, Harry Potter at Universal’s Islands of Adventure being the prime example.
Hunter Olson joined the Alcorn McBride Team as a Design Engineer. He has a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from California Polytechnic State University and has experience with Alcorn McBride products from his tenure with Six Flags Georgia. We are thrilled to add Hunter to our growing team!
We have a new sales assistant! Valerie Powers is replacing our adored Crystal who is leaving the company to raise her family. Valerie spent five years at The Walt Disney Company as a sales assistant and has a background in the hotel/hospitality industry. We are confident that she will uphold our value of excellence in customer service! 
IAPPA 2010 was a fun and productive event. A bit smaller than I remember from last year, but the industry greats were still all there. On the last day of the show, I had time to walk around, catch up with other exhibitors, and try out some of the latest things on the show floor. 
Although I am not in the market to buy mass amounts of body glitter, semi-permanent tattoos, and hundreds of over-sized stuffed animals, it was certainly fun to participate in these theme park activities without waiting!
Tommy Bridges spent last week in Syracuse NY with his friends from the Society of Broadcast Engineers Chapter 22. Tommy and his band have been regulars at the show for many years. Chuck Zarriello with Com Tech shared booth space with Alcorn McBride to show off our new SetPlayer series. Designed for easy and economical on-set video playback, these units caught attention at this Broadcasters show! Tommy’s Band played at the Member reception and he also served as a judge for the show. Thank you Chuck for hosting us! Click here to learn more about Com Tech and this link will take you to the SetPlayer info.
Here are a few snapshots from the event.
Jeremy, Larry, Tommy, and I attended the TEA SATE Conference last week. It was an awesome event! The event kicked off Wednesday evening with an event sponsored by Alcorn McBride and VOA. The Tommy Bridges Jazz Quartet entertained a group of about 100 people. The SATE Conference was held at Universal City Walk Rising Star which comfortably held the 160 attendees. 
The conference began Thursday morning with a thought provoking presentation by Dr. Margaret King who spoke about the importance of understanding how we have a genetic predisposition to story-telling. She explained that gossip stems from our brains desire to fill in the missing pieces to make a story come together. When designing attractions, story is king, but be sure to leave enough holes for people to make their own connections.
Alcorn McBride Inc. is the leading manufacturer of show control, audio and video equipment for the themed entertainment industry.