By all accounts, it was a busy and successful NAMM Convention this year. As usual, the expected mountains of new gear were on display and all the usual suspects were present – including the perennial Ozzy Osbourne look-alike (who seemed to pack on a few pounds since last time.) Having rested my weary feet and voice, here are a few highlights…

NewYorkDVD develops EMMY screeners for USA Network’s “White Collar” series. In developing the double-disc screener set, NewYorkDVD worked directly from USA’s broadcast master HDCAM SR tapes and once edits were complete, the NewYorkDVD team utilized it’s advanced multi-pass CinemaCraft system to encode standard definition 16×9 MPEG2 streams for final authoring.

NEW YORK – NewYorkDVD, a leading DVD development, design and authoring firm, today announced that it has produced the companion DVD for the Barnes & Noble book, ‘Barack Obama – Words That Inspired a Nation: Essential Speeches, 2002 to the Inauguration.’ The release is the first official licensed Book/DVD product to include President Obama’s Inaugural Address, as well as the 2004 Democratic National Convention Keynote Address (‘The Audacity of Hope’); the 2008 Democratic National Convention Acceptance Speech (‘The American Promise’), and the 2008 Presidential Election Victory Speech (‘Change Has Come to America’).

BLU-RAY: MORE THAN A SHINY NEW DISC: How to Leverage the Latest High-Definition Video Platform

The Blu-ray Disc (BD) format achieved the status of next-generation DVD platform in early 2008, besting the Toshiba-led HD-DVD format. In addition to offering a high-definition video experience, the BD format includes online extensions, through its BD Live, that create a new interactive environment for producers and consumers alike. The benefits of Blu-ray, which is resident in the Sony PlayStation 3 game system, are inherently multi-platform: this is more than another optical disc format, it is an experience that brings us closer to truly immersive home entertainment.

At an early age, Brian Brodeur performed music while also learning to program his Apple II+ home computer. He studied Music Technology at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Over the years, he has run a recording studio and participated in countless musical performances in many styles, formats, and on various instruments. Before long, he was producing critically acclaimed indie-label recordings and developing audio for CD-ROM games, including Blizzard Entertainment’s “Warcraft” franchise and Davidson Software’s “Magic Tales” series.

Phish Walnut Creek DVD – Released on August 5th 2008, Phish’s double-disc ‘Walnut Creek’ live concert DVD debuts at #1 on Billboard Magazine’s Top Music Video chart. Working closely with Justin Rumack of NYCD, along with Kevin Shapiro and Julia Mordaunt from Phish Inc., Brian Brodeur completed encoding and authoring for the double-disc set during the Spring of ‘08.

John Davis’ “Marshfield Tornado” Enhanced CD is ranked #1 on Amazon.com following feature on NPR Radio’s ‘Here and Now’ program. With audio production by Dubway Studios and interactive development by Brian Brodeur and NewYorkDVD, John Davis’ latest CD, released by Newport Classics, earns sales rating of #1 Ragtime CD and #3 Solo Instrumental on Amazon.com sales charts.

Brian Brodeur produces multi-camera production for CD/DVD release by Barnes and Noble. ‘Esteban’s Complete Chord Book’ features all the basics needed to begin playing guitar – and the package is released with a thorough Chord Book and and audio CD containing over twenty play-along and example audio tracks.

NEWYORKDVD DEVELOPS PRODUCERS GUILD OF AMERICA NEW MEDIA COUNCIL EAST EVENT SERIES DISC; CAPTURES NEW MEDIA LUMINARIES: ‘2006 Salon Series’ Disc Present Leading New York New Media Monthly Event Series Featuring Execs from MySpace; Brightcove; AOL; ESPN; Activision, and FremantleMedia
NewYorkDVD, a leading DVD development, design and authoring firm, today announced that it has provided the authoring and menu design services for a premium DVD for the Producers Guild of America (PGA) New Media Council (NMC) East.

Working closely with Joe Travers (the Zappa Family Trust ‘vaultmeister’) and Dweezil Zappa, Brian Brodeur completed editing of never-before-seen footage of Frank Zappa for use during the 2007-08 Zappa Plays Zappa concert tour. During the tour, Dweezil Zappa leads a band, which includes Joe Travers on drums, through a diverse catalog of Zappa music. During several song performances, the ZPZ band performs with video of Frank Zappa playing along in perfect syncronization.