Got a ticket to NAB, any tips on how long to go for, where to stay, etc.?

It doesn't seem like a very long walk from the general Harrah's area to the convention center just by looking at google maps. Would I be in for a surprise when I get there? Am I missing something? Could be a good way to wake up in the morning?

Also - anyone stayed at the Best Western next to Harrah's? It's under $100 for a night, has good reviews, and looks decent and relatively modern. Plus, I could just walk next door to Harrah's for their shuttle if I wanted, or food/atmosphere?
 
filmguy123 said:
It doesn't seem like a very long walk from the general Harrah's area to the convention center just by looking at google maps. Would I be in for a surprise when I get there? Am I missing something? Could be a good way to wake up in the morning?
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Stayed in Harrah's this last September. It was quite decent, quiet in the rooms and clean. Don't know if there are different levels of rooms.

Breakfast at Denny's (near by) was also OK.
 
Jason Adams said:
I always recommend MGM it is the main station for the monorail and first station so it is never crowded to broad monorail there. If you want a cheaper option with good access to monorail Harrah's is actually a good deal and a descent stay. Also the eats around Harrahs are cheaper. Some fast food options and such. I always use the monorail or cab the shuttles take forever.
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I've been going to NAB more years then I care to remember. I used to be a Manufacturer's Rep and had to work the show each year. Now I go to see all the new goodies, network and visit with old friends. Most all the advice given is spot on. I personally stay at the far end of the strip at the Luxor (I get special deals there as a regular). I grab a cup of coffee in the morning and walk over to the MGM for the monorail, it is the best way to get around IMHO. I buy a 3-day unlimited pass and have no worries. I find the Luxor has great food offerings and you're on the strip if you want for something else. It is also connected to the Mandalay Bay for more food choices (try the Burger Bar!). Most of all, be ready to walk.

1. Good, shoes
2. Monorail pass: http://www.lvmonorail.com/buy-tickets/ticket-information/
3. Backpack
4. Water, water, water
5. Business cards

I usually spend a good 2 days at the show...and the third is for relaxing. :beer:
 
"Circus, Circus is better than sleeping on the streets of Vegas".

But not by much. Van Video's review pretty much mirrors my own experience.
The Rio is good. Don't know if Maxim's is still around, but they always had great rooms and decent prices. Shuttle was across the street at the old MGM Grand. Traffic along and around the strip is always rough (I mean L.A. rough!). Although I might drive into town, I always take taxis at night and/or shuttles to and from the Center.
I always enjoyed the after show parties hosted by many major vendors.
Ken
 
What I haven't seen from you is any comments about what you hope/want/need to see. There are many good comments in this thread and I know I've posted either here or on DVinfo about how to see the show in the past. Tell us more about what you hope to get out of the experience.

For me, I always stay at Circus Circus and find the rooms to be clean. I never eat there and rarely have a drink there. It is the best price of any hotel and you can either walk to take the shuttle.

I find it impossible to see "everything" in 4 days because I like to wander the Central and South halls after I visit my must see vendors just to see what the independent/small vendors are offering.
 
Good question. Being new, I'm not sure what I want out of it... trying to figure out the options! haha. I don't have workshop passes with my free exhbition ticket, which is a minor bummer as it would have been to cool to do a couple of those.

I want to see what Panasonic offers in person and hopefully play with some new toys from them, or talk to the reps and grill them a bit.
Same for Red, Sony, Canon - very interested in cameras this year.
Interested in external monitor/recorder options... Atomos most likely
Interested in stabilizers

Want to network and meet people for sure!
 
I am a little late to this thread BUT here is my 2 cents.
I go to NAB every year for over 10 years.
1) to find a cheap room. sign up on Caesar's website (or MGM's). There is nothing wrong with RIO. it is my preferred property. Large rooms and very quiet (no LV strip noise) There is a free shuttle to Harrah's and from there you can take the shuttle bus to LVCC. I do not recommending walking any more than you have to. For future trip. Sign up for the players card and gamble 5 bucks. you will then get room offers as a 'player'. The last 3-5 years RIO game me 2 free nights and $39 the third night.. so it pays to get the players card. (recently room rates have not been free-- recession over)
2) bring two pairs of sneakers or equally comfortable walking shoes. Alternate days wearing them. Plus plan to bring more stuff back with you - so plan some extra space in your luggage.
3) Plan on 2 FULL days (or 3 less full days) of walking and yes the last day vendors sell stuff cheap in order to not take it home with them. And don't get hooked into sitting at any booth for an extended time for their group 'pitches'. If it is something I have interest in, come back and talk one on one. Only exception is for the drawings. (GoPro is one)
4) Bring backpack for handouts, snack bar(s) if you plan to skip lunch there, bottle of water, business cards, camera, setup appointments in advance (scheduled through your vendor), bring your business AMEX Open card (if you have one) there is free coffee or water and snacks in the AMEX lounge. I pickup all the paper handouts just before I leave so I am not weighted down. But I take the freebies (like t-shirt and hats) as I go. Be sure to get a B&H catalog. lots of hands-on there too.
4.5)I hit South Hall first then Central and North last.
5) avoid taxis if you can. Take the shuttle from the airport to your hotel (and don't buy a round trip pass at the airport - they make you wait hours early - I just hop the first shuttle that shows up for others - If I don't get one in reasonable time - I will take a taxi and often look for someone else with luggage and offer to spit a taxi with them to the airport. Actually now I just rent car. More freedom.
6)plan an extra day or two for vegas siteseeing. other vegas tips can be found on a vegas forum like www.vegasjonesing.com
7) restaurant.com places, in this town, are plenty. Save on money and eat well at the same time.

can't think of much more but if you plan to rent a car. sign up for Dollar Car rental program and book your car. then 10 days from your trip check on the rate and you'll watch it dip and lock in on a new low rate. I usually get it for $12-15 a day. Your car is wating for you when you get there. On show days: I drive to Palazzo parking garage and take the shuttle from Venetian to LVCC. I eat off strip most of the time and stay off strip.
the end of my 2 cents.
 
It doesn't seem like a very long walk from the general Harrah's area to the convention center just by looking at google maps. Would I be in for a surprise when I get there? Am I missing something? Could be a good way to wake up in the morning?
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This is probably the biggest mistake most first time Vegas visitors make. Looking at a Map you say "hey that Hotel/restaurant is just two Hotels down from here." These resorts are HUGE. and walking down a hotel or two can be a mile or more. When you spend all day on your feet at the show you will want limit your walking in the evening as much as possible.
 
filmguy123 said:
Good question. Being new, I'm not sure what I want out of it... trying to figure out the options! haha. I don't have workshop passes with my free exhbition ticket, which is a minor bummer as it would have been to cool to do a couple of those.

I want to see what Panasonic offers in person and hopefully play with some new toys from them, or talk to the reps and grill them a bit.
Same for Red, Sony, Canon - very interested in cameras this year.
Interested in external monitor/recorder options... Atomos most likely
Interested in stabilizers

Want to network and meet people for sure!
Click to expand...

If you want to "play with some new toys & talk to the reps" don't expect to do that on Monday and maybe not even Tuesday if there is some hot new product. Wednesday and Thursday are best for that. A good place to see/maybe meet a lot of the people you see on posting on the net are the Zacuto and Canon booths. Tiffen also has a number of well known people present.

You'll have a much better chance of getting hands on some cameras at places like Able Cine, B&H Photo, Zacuto and other booths that sell add-on gear for cameras.

Most of the stabilizers are in the Central hall. I would start with Steadicam at the Tiffen booth. I personally think they are the best functioning/designed. Then go visit Glidecam, Artemis at Sachtler and probably some Chinese made products at the back of Central Hall and you'll be better able to compare product offerings.

I think most of the monitors and recorders will be in Central Hall except Lilliput which tends to be in South Hall.

Also consider signing up for LAFCPUG which is on Tuesday evening at the Riveria this year. Sign up in advance as it usually sells out. Who knows, maybe you'll win some gear at the raffle. $11.24 before March 10
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/thirte...-supermeet-tickets-10406777953?ref=ebtnebtckt

Mediamotion Ball on Monday is also a great place to meet a lot of people and is very laid back. Cost is $51.22:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mediamotion-ball-2014-april-7-monte-carlo-hotel-tickets-10266560559
 
BillStrehl said:
You'll have a much better chance of getting hands on some cameras at places like Able Cine, B&H Photo, Zacuto and other booths that sell add-on gear for cameras.
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I'll second this. Last time I was at NAB was 2011 & the Sony F3 had just come out.

The line to get up close to that camera was 5-10 people deep at the Sony booth. But Manfrotto had one sitting on a 504HD tripod head & there were maybe about 20 or so people in their entire booth. I was able to "play" with a F3 for probably 5-10min w/o feeling like someone else was breathing down my neck wanting to get up close to a new camera.

Also by Thursday things are nearly dead. So a great time to get up close to things w/o a crowd. Downside is by Thursday so many people are so very, very tired & either their voice or their brains are exhausted. You can ask someone if a camera records in 4:2:0 or 4:2:2 & they might respond with "you need to pre-heat the oven to 425 & then bake the frozen pizza for 10-12 min directly on the rack."
 
BillStrehl said:
If you want to "play with some new toys & talk to the reps" don't expect to do that on Monday and maybe not even Tuesday if there is some hot new product. Wednesday and Thursday are best for that. A good place to see/maybe meet a lot of the people you see on posting on the net are the Zacuto and Canon booths. Tiffen also has a number of well known people present.

You'll have a much better chance of getting hands on some cameras at places like Able Cine, B&H Photo, Zacuto and other booths that sell add-on gear for cameras.
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Thanks for the mention, Bill.

Of course I think everyone should stop Abel's booth #C6012, but I'm probably biased. :P We're still finalizing what's going where in our booth, but as soon as we've got it set, I'll certainly be posting here to let you guys know.

Also, if you want to pick the brains of some fellow nerds, a bunch of our specialists (including Andy & Jeff) will be hanging out at our booth too!

PS - Just in case anyone still needs to register, you can use our VIP code LV8658 for free passes until March 31.
 
I "might" decide to go their myself. Just some quick question. If I want to book a hotel through the NAB site, I'm assuming I can use a free exibit pass? Where do I type in the pass? How is the videography policy. Meaning how much freedom do videographers have. I know people do take videos and photos but I'm just wondering if theirs any limits. Will all the big vendors stay until the last day? If I go I'll fly on the 9th and so I'm only able to see the exhibits on the 10th. I can't come earlier than that.
 
The last day is the best way to purchase floor models. Some items are as is where is. so you need to disassemble, pack up and ship it yourself.
Small vendors will keep their booth up until the last 2 hours of the show. (assuming their booth is slow they will break parts of it down.)
sometimes you can get good prices doing a flight & hotel package deal. I would check the online travel sites prior to booking through NAB.
 
Camera Expert said:
I "might" decide to go their myself. Just some quick question. If I want to book a hotel through the NAB site, I'm assuming I can use a free exibit pass? Where do I type in the pass? How is the videography policy. Meaning how much freedom do videographers have. I know people do take videos and photos but I'm just wondering if theirs any limits. Will all the big vendors stay until the last day? If I go I'll fly on the 9th and so I'm only able to see the exhibits on the 10th. I can't come earlier than that.
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You register for the event at NABShow.com Booking a hotel is not connected to registering for the convention. You'll see there is a tab for reserving a hotel room. I have not noticed people stopping anyone from taking photos or videos. I am sure there must be a policy in place but I couldn't locate it. All vendors are supposed to be there until the show closes.
 
Big note, anyone even thinking about going to NAB this year should register for their free pass ASAP. All of the codes for a free exhibit pass expire soon & there will be a charge, maybe just $25 or so, but why pay $25 if you can pay $0. The worst thing that'll happen if you register for a pass that you don't use is that you'll get e-mails from NAB & other vendors that you can unsubscribe from if you don't want them.

Here is a code from Matrox: LV8249 ($25 after April 21st) and from Vitec: LV8526 (Vitec owns Vinten, Sachtler, Manfrotto & 3 dozen other video companies), but honestly I don't think it matters what code you use.
 
Camera Expert said:
Thanks, I finally registered with a code for the exhibits. Now to spend a day or 2 and decide to book a flight and hotel.
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1st, I think you may regret a one day visit unless you only have a couple vendors you want to visit.
2nd; don't make one of those days Monday as it is the busiest and will cause you to see the least.
3rd; not knowing where you are coming from, you might want to consider what I try to do. Arrive early in the morning so you have most of the day to visit the exhibits and leave as late as possible to have as much time on the exibit floor. For instance, I arrive early Monday morning and depart Thursday afternoon.
 
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