The Big Vegas Chill

By Mark Lukasiewicz

Las Vegas - Can you say c-c-c-c-cold?? The Las Vegas Convention Center was a giant icebox this morning as TODAY's Al Roker broadcast live from the NBCU booth and media center. Unseasonably cold weather has had everyone inside Central Hall bundling up in multiple layers while the finishing touches are put on all the exhibits -- and as long as those big loading doors are wide open, the temperature inside is pretty frosty. It's the first time I can remember Al Roker being colder at an inside location than his co-hosts in New York standing outside -- in January, yet!

Our NBCU booth is already seeing plenty of action, with Al's live shots plus segments on CNBC. The whole space looks dramatically different this year compared with 2008 -- a bigger, open-concept design and more than 110 Sharp Aquos screens displaying our full range of content make for a great experience - especially on the giant 108's. I wish I had a room big enough for one of those.

If you are here, be sure to check out the Mediaport download stations (free content and a free SanDisk micro SD chip!) scattered throughout the booth, and take a spin through dozens of clips on any of the four Microsoft Surface units. The Surface units also feature a great little app called "DJ" (thanks to our friends at Vectorform) which allows you to create your own mix of NBC Universal themes, rhythms and sounds. Al had some fun with it this morning:

As CES's official broadcast partners, we're in a unique position to report on everything happening at CES and to tell our own story. Our theme -- "entertainment you can touch, content that touches you" -- means that more than ever before, entertainment and information are becoming deeply interactive. It's a two-way street between creators and consumers, enabled by all the technology you see here at CES. And at the NBCU booth (Central #12133), you can see exactly how the best content combines with the latest technology to produce entertainment experiences that no-one even dreamed about a few years ago !!

With less than 24 hours until the doors of CES officially open, our entire team is hard at work on all the usual last-minute adjustments.

Like the stickers we're putting on the full length Plexiglas wall of our "fishbowl" control room.

Apparently goldfish have better eyesight than middle-aged TV producers, as I discovered when I walked into the glass this morning.

We hope to see you at Central #12133