Perry Sun

  • Hang on to your Macs!

    We are all aware of the recent price increases on new Macs, thanks to the AI craze leading to shortages in memory chips. As a result, Apple has raised prices about 15% across the board, with notice that further hikes may be necessary.

    As a result, I believe many current Mac users have opted to hang on to their machines and hold off on upgrades, knowing what they have is still great for their essential needs. I also expect the secondhand market to heat up, as people look for cost-effective alternatives to the new Macs.

    I have an early 2023 MacBook Pro that runs perfectly fine, with more than plenty of power and no foreseeable need to upgrade. I’m among the legions who value our Macs more now than ever, because of the considerable price jump to replace a lost or badly damaged machine.

    Perry

  • 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.

    Perry

  • 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.

    Perry

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  • 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.

    Perry

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  • Why is no one talking about on-device AI?

    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.

    Perry

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  • 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.

    Perry

  • 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)

    Perry

  • 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.)

    Perry