Perry Sun

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I enjoy writing about content creation, personal development, technology, or just about anything that sparks my interest. Feedback or questions? Get in touch: hello@perrysun.com.

  • SMPTE makes its Standards catalog openly accessible

    SMPTE, the 110 year-old, international standards organization for the entertainment technology industry, has made their vast catalog of technical standards freely available to anyone, thereby eliminating the requirement to purchase documents, each for well over $100. This includes their massive back catalog as well as the most recent and future publications.

    The decision to make their Standards catalog openly accessible aligns with SMPTE’s desire to help maintain interoperability in the face of modern, fast-moving technologies continually influencing a traditionally specialized industry for motion picture and television professionals. At the same time, open access can encourage greater involvement in contributing to existing or future standards development.

    Perhaps the most significant of today’s SMPTE standards is ST 2110 for sending media over IP network infrastructure. Technology and solutions providers can now freely access all relevant documentation without the accumulative cost of thousands of dollars for the foundational publications, plus all relevant documentation that goes along with them.

    For anyone needing to perform technical research related to media production or presentation, this is also a fantastic opportunity to get firsthand knowledge easily, without having to rely on third-party interpretations just to get around the prohibitive costs of getting the original documentation.

    SMPTE’s announcement could put the onus on related organizations, such as the Audio Engineering Society (AES), to follow suit and make at least a significant portion of their standards publications openly available.

  • •

    AI adoption needs inspiration to succeed

    We all feel the subtle but noticeable pressure to use AI in our lives in some way or another, including our jobs.

    But what’s sorely lacking is awareness of the problems that AI can solve and make life better for us. The challenges and pain points that only AI can address.

    The problems that AI can tackle that other technologies cannot. Or that humans cannot, or will not handle because it’s impractical or too dangerous.

    Personally, I get excited about a technology if I can see its problem-solving potential. There are more than plenty of issues that could be resolved through AI, directly or through AI-enabled products.

    There so much AI being thrown at us, yet very poor communication about its value proposition, or how we can benefit from it. There is this presumption that we will adopt AI under some perception of duress, and then figure out how to make it useful.

    Over time, failure to engage positively with AI may well lead to an unstoppable wave of user abandonment, simply because we don’t know how to make it work for us, both personally and professionally.

    And what a shame that would be, knowing the great potential of AI to enhance or improve our lives.

  • •

    Is this the great AI denial?

    Once again, I cannot help but notice the silence around on-device AI, as well as lower-cost AI services which could be solid alternatives to the giant AI labs out there.

    Fresh, big announcements from Microsoft and Nvidia have only made me more intrigued. And there are rumblings that Apple is planning to show new localized AI capabilities at WWDC the week of June 8.

    Perhaps the reason for the collective silence is because the narrative around AI is now dominated by investors, who are focused squarely on cloud-based AI and the great datacenter buildout.

    And because on-device or low-cost AI does not fit well with their narratives, they simply don’t talk about them.

    Yes, it true that there had been a previous attempt to promote AI on PCs – so called “Copilot PCs” or “AI PCs,” if you will. It was a move to compel all of us to upgrade our machines ASAP. That turned out to be premature, as the supporting applications and practical use cases were premature.

    As with anything technology-related, especially AI, things evolve and improve very quickly. An-device AI, or low-cost AI services are no exception.

  • •

    Why is no one talking about on-device AI?

    The short answer: on-device AI does not conveniently fit the narrative of Wall Street and VCs expecting massive returns from cloud AI.

    It is no secret that the devices we carry around with us have built-in processing to support locally installed AI models and execute AI-centric tasks.

    In fact, AI can even live in a web browser. Take Google’s Gemini Nano, for example.

    Tasks we commonly associate with AI, such as writing, editing, data extraction, data sorting, reformatting, and much more can readily be handed on our devices, without necessitating calls to ChatGPT or Claude which live in datacenters. Some coding-related activities can be accommodated with local AI as well.

    I would go even further, and posit that the bulk of our everyday back-office and front-office work can be automated, streamlined, or even replaced by AI running on our computing devices. On-device AI is the great denial that tech investors conveniently ignore.

    Don’t forget that like anything AI, models running on our devices are only going to get better over time, with more capabilities and practical use cases to follow.

    AI on our devices means energy savings, good vibes for the environment, and no compromise to our data privacy.

    But it also looks to be a threat to the big cloud AI companies. Henceforth the unwavering ignorance on Wall Street.

  • •

    Can AI be productivity rocket fuel?

    Well, I am about to find out for myself. From now until the end of 2026, I will be devoting time to learning about how to interact with GPT platforms and hopefully be able to use them effectively.

    As a product marketing professional, I do see a number of opportunities to engage AI to enhance the product launch process.

    Competitive intelligence. I am curious to find out whether AI can save considerable time in gathering key information from competitors and compiling them into a format I have predefined. That could be a compelling time-saver, even I have to verify everything afterward.

    Editing content. Product marketers always need to carefully define and document product positioning, key features, etc. The ultimate goal is to evolve this into public-facing content. This typically requires multiple rounds of copy tweaking and refinement. I’d like to know if this can be streamlined by having AI take a first shot at interpreting my initial messaging.

    Technical artwork. The products I work with require technical diagramming and visual layout to communicate key benefits. While I would not be creating production-level artwork, I want to be able to come up with a good starter to convey the essentials to a designer. Adobe Firefly could be helpful, and much faster in sourcing basic elements than hunting around stock image resources.

    Web applications. It’s always great to be able to offer utilties on our website to help our customers make key purchasing decisions. These include technical calculators and system configurators. The new crop of AI “vibe coding” tools could be great in establishing a solid proof of concept, that would then be handed over to web developers to refine and deploy.

  • Adobe has rebranded Premiere

    One thing I totally missed earlier this year was that Adobe has rebranded its desktop video editing application, from “Premiere Pro” to simply “Premiere.” It’s about high time as everyone has been calling it Premiere for years, so it’s great that Adobe has finally made it official.

    It’s actually a reversion back to the original Premiere name when Adobe first launched it in 1991. In 2003, Adobe introduced a complete overhaul of the software application and renamed it Premiere Pro to distinguish from the original.

    Premiere has been getting some pretty serious updates lately. There is Color Mode, announced in April which brings powerful color grading features in a newly designed user interface module.

    Another notable feature is something called Object Mask. It’s a AI-based tool that automatically masks out a user-selected object from its surroundings. Basically you just click on the subject of interest in a video frame, and then a mask is created. Because we’re talking video, the mask automagically tracks the subject in motion. Easy-peasy. Very cool, and so many interesting use cases.

  • NAB 2026 product award for a new Adobe Premiere feature

    Yes, you heard that right. A new feature called Color Mode is coming soon to Adobe Premiere, and based on its apparent significance, was awarded a Product of the Year Award at NAB Show 2026, despite it not being a product on its own.

    Believe it or not, Premiere has never been favored for its color-grading features. Professionals and prosumers alike have found it difficult to fine-tune color, contrast, and other visual settings with Premiere, turning to other applications such as Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve for their color-grading needs.

    Adobe Color Mode, a new color for Premiere
    Source: Adobe

    Color Mode is a complete revisioning of color tweaking in Premiere, meant to bring it closer to a first-class resource for color grading experts. It’s been getting plenty of good buzz, and is currently available as a preview in beta.

    I too have found color adjustments quite cumbersome in Premiere, and look forward to discovering how this new feature can make fine imagery customization much easier (and more satisfying).

  • Big influencers were a no-show at NAB 2026

    Compared to prior years, one thing I readily noticed was the absence of the most prominent content creators on YouTube. Those focused on the technology for making videos, the ones you always turn to when researching your next camera purchase, the ones with massive audience reach and a huge following.

    To be certain, travel costs have increased notably. Many influencers hail from Canada, so geopolitics may have prompted them to stay home this year. But it’s also possible that the novelty and uniqueness of new gear for content creators have plateaued. Truth be told, there wasn’t as much of that air of excitement over truly groundbreaking new products at this year’s show.

    With this in mind, I’m a little concerned that the creator economy relevance at NAB may have started to peak. Nonetheless, official attendance figures showed a very impressive 140% growth in registrants who identified themselves as content creators, and nearly half of all attendees visiting the show for the first time.

  • The action cam was the star of NAB 2026

    Based on the numerous videos I’ve watched on this year’s NAB Show coverage, it’s abundantly clear that the action camera was a clear standout.

    A lot of people shot their videos on the show floor with their action cams, and in particular, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 with built-in gimbal. This has been an incredibly successful product, and I’ve been very impressed with its image capture capability. Apparently, carrying around a lightweight handheld that fits in your pocket, is much more appealing than lugging around the heavier, bulkier mirorrless cameras which figured prominently at past NAB shows.

    Person using a DJI pocket gimbal camera at NAB Show 2026
    The DJI Osmo Pocket gimbal camera got a well-deserved nod in the NAB Show 2026 wrap-up video, right alongside professional broadcast video gear.

    DJI just announced the Pocket 3’s successor, much talked about and hyped – but missing from the show floor due to US import restrictions. Insta360 teased their Luna, their first pocket gimbal camera to compete directly with DJI. However, it’s questionable whether that product was actually exhibited on the show floor.

    GoPro introduced their Mission 1 series of action cams, including an interesting model with an interchangeable lens mount. Having bore the brunt of intense competition for years from DJI and Insta360, GoPro really needs a comeback, and is hopeful these new cameras will bring plenty of positive momentum.

    GoPro Mission 1 Pro ILS with a Micro Four-Thirds interchangeable lens mount. (Source: GoPro)

  • Following NAB Show 2026

    April is a personal ritual for me to follow the latest developments from the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas. Originally a convention and tradeshow for the television broadcast industry, NAB Show is now a wholly encompassing event for media and entertainment technology.

    In particular, NAB Show is the big confab for content creators eyeing the latest video, audio, and lighting gear from companies like GoPro, Insta360, RØDE, Blackmagic, Amaran, DJI, Neewer, Godox, Hollyland, and so many others. It’s also become the event for big camera launches, especially with the demise of photography tradeshows over the years.

    I always enjoy following the spontaneous show coverage, right on the floor as it happens, from content creators who not only talk about the gear but have documented years of experience using them in their productions.

    The video above is a great example. But there’s also something quite remarkable. The picture quality is fantastic, shot with the wildly popular DJI Osmo Pocket 3, a lightweight, super-compact, consumer-grade video camera with integrated gimbal. In fact, DJI just launched the Pocket 4 in the runup to NAB. (Unfortunately, US availability is uncertain at this point.)