3:50 PM - 5:00 PM
Track IV: Presented by DVD Association
Next Generation DVD - Part I – Market Makers SuperSession
On the very day the first high-def discs appear on store shelves, hear directly from executives on the front lines about their plans and expectations for the long-awaited Market rollout of high-definition digital discs and devices.
T.K. Arnold, Contributor, USA Today & The Hollywood Reporter; Editorial Director, Home Media Retailing, Moderator
Steve Nickerson, Senior VP, Warner Home Entertainment
Andy Parsons, Senior VP, Pioneer Electronics; Blu-ray Disc Association
John Town, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Research and Development, Technicolor
Mark Waring, Director, Sanyo Technology Center USA; HD DVD Group
Bruce Apar, Editor-in-Chief, DVDJ.INFO; DVDA Board Member, Moderator
Stephen Nickerson, Senior VP, Market Management, Warner Home Video
(WHV): Steve is responsible for worldwide sales and marketing activities. Since joining WHV in 2000, Steve has also been Managing Director for WHV’s operations in Australia/New Zealand and Senior VP of U.S. Sales. Prior to joining WHV, Steve spent 16 years in the consumer electronics industry, mostly with Toshiba in sales and marketing positions. Steve was integral in the launch and success of DVD in the U.S. and also developed and implemented the business plan that enabled Toshiba to become a leader in Projection TVs during the 1990s. Steve has served in several industry associations, including Consumer Electronics Association Video Division Chairman and member of the Executive Board 1997-1999, as well as a founding board member and past President of DEG: Digital Entertainment Group. A graduate of Drexel University (’83), he also was in post graduate programs at Stanford University.Andy Parsons, Senior VP, Pioneer Electronics and Blu-ray Disc Ass
ociation: Andy Parsons has worked in the optical disc industry for more than 25 years. He has held technical and senior management positions at Pioneer, Optical Disc Corporation and Discovision Associates. His experience with optical formats began with the early days of Laserdisc, and has progressed through the CD, DVD, and now Blu-ray Disc formats. Andy is currently senior vice president of product development and technical support at Pioneer Electronics (USA) in Long Beach, California.John Town, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Research and Develo
pment, Technicolor Home Entertainment Services: John Town is senior vice president of worldwide research and development for Technicolor Home Entertainment Services. Since joining Technicolor in 1998, Town has been responsible for overseeing the division’s research and development activities for new products and services, as well as the qualification of new technology and processes used in the manufacturing of DVDs and CDs throughout the company’s worldwide operations. In addition, he works with Hollywood studios and other major customers in creating technology solutions for the management of their new technology requirements. Currently, Town is working with customers on next-generation optical disc technologies and security technology solutions. Prior to coming to Technicolor, Town was vice president of research and development at Nimbus Manufacturing. In this role, his responsibilities included the qualification of new technologies and processes used in the fabrication of DVDs and CDs around the world, and directing Nimbus’s research and development initiatives for new product offerings. Town is a board member of the Digital Entertainment Group, a member of the MEDIA-TECH Steering Committee, and a founder of the Optical Disc Manufacturers Association (ODMA).He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Leeds, and a master’s degree in microelectronic systems from the University of Liverpool.Bruce Apar is an executive consultant specializing in digital + ente
rtainment communications under the banner Mediapar. His expertise and broad background covers more than three decades of writing, speaking and advising on new media, from his role in the introduction of VHS to christening former Warner Home Video President Warren Lieberfarb "Father of DVD." Apar also created with Time Magazine its "Video Man of the Year" honor in 1987. He is founding Editor-in-Chief and Publisher of Mediaware Magazine, the first professional journal of the 21st Century for media makers, movers and users, published by International Recording Media Association (IRMA) with Mediapar. He also serves as Executive Producer of the annual DVD Awards with Leonard Maltin (of Viacom’s "Entertainment Tonight" TV show). Apar authors speeches, scripts and white papers for IRMA and other corporate clients in the media industry, including DVD Forum. He is on the National Board of DVD Association and Advisory Board Member Emeritus of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications. In March 2005, he added the title of Movies Editor at Grab.com, a major new website featuring DVD and theatrical releases, owned by Los Angeles company Intermix, being acquired by News Corp. He also consults with the Magazine Publishers of America and consumer magazine companies such as Rodale.