I was out sick last week, and I’m not emotionally prepared to admit that NAB is next week.

But it shall be, and once again, I shall be there.

Compressionist Party: Tuesday, April 21st, 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

And, as many of you have emailed me to ask about, yes, we’ll be doing the Compressionist Party again. And I’ve finally got (most) of the details figured out. I think this may be the 8th annual incarnation, although I can’t quite remember when my wife and I threw the first of these in our Hilton suite for a few industry friends. People always seem to have a lot of fun.

It’ll be at the Encore Las Vegas (sometimes called the Wynn Encore).

As in past years, we’re scheduling this as a “between events” kind of thing, since there are so many big industry parties every night, so people can drop by between being at the exhibits and later events, or after an early dinner. I’m trying to arrange for some drinks and light snacks, but there won’t be a full spread. And there will be no pounding music.

It’s a casual event without any presentations; just chit-chat and networking between compression nerds. We get a good mix of Microsoft folks, people from tool vendors and service companies, and hands-on digital media folks.

We won’t know the actual suite number until this weekend. So your best bet is to RSVP to me (Ben dot Waggoner at, well, you know the company) with how many you’ve got coming and what times you’ll think you’ll be there, and I’ll email details when we’ve got them. I like to track a ballpark estimate how many folks we’re going to have when so we don’t get the room too full or too dry. Or drop by and see me at the booth, ala:

My booth schedule: 9:00-1:30 Mon-Thur

This is simple. I’ll be at the Microsoft booth every morning of the exhibits (we’re right near the main entrance of South Hall, across from Grass Valley). I’ll be talking about and demoing my usual stuff: Silverlight, compressing for it, Smooth Streaming, etcetera. Come by, ask questions, and see some demos of our great new stuff!