3:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Track IV:
Next Generation DVD - Transforming an Industry
DVD has single-handedly transformed the entertainment industry, creating a national stampede of renewed interest in film, TV and music content. In a few short years, the unpredicted embrace of DVD has surpassed all other forms of entertainment success. Not only is the release of a feature DVD likely to out-gross its box office numbers, the DVD is also creating a new and second life for favorite and niche TV shows. Music on DVD is generating tremendous sales and other new categories are emerging each month. Is this success due to the superior quality of the technology, the competitive pricing or are there subtle cultural movements at play? While it is always hard to pinpoint the specific reasons for success, what we can be sure of is the continued support for DVD in the industry. As we know, technology continually moves forward and provides newer and better platforms and now with DVDs success, we are preparing for the next generation of technology and its implications. In this session, we address both the issue of the technological as well as marketing future of the industry.
Jordi Ribas, Director, Technical Strategy, Windows Digital Media Division, Microsoft Corporation
Josh Peterson, Director of Strategic Alliances, Optical Storage Solutions Business, Hewlett-Packard
Rick Doherty, co-founder and Director, The Envisioneering Group
Richard Doherty, Managing Director of Blu-ray and Professional A/V, Panasonic, Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory
David Bunzel, Santa Clara Consulting Group and President of OSTA, Moderator
Rick Doherty is a co-founder and Director of The Envisioneering Group; a two-decade old Seaford, NY Technology Assessment and Market Research Corporation. Before that, for thirteen years, Doherty was the Senior Technology Writer for Electronic Engineering Times, where he remains a guest columnist. Doherty is an electro-physicist who has garnered more than a dozen U.S. patents in computing, communications, medical electronics, high performance tooling and consumer electronics industry sectors along with dozens of international patents. During Doherty's 32 year career he has been Director of the Urban Vehicle Design Group at Pratt Institute, an engineer for Data General Corp., Chief Engineer of Lourdes Industries, Inc., founder and President of Optronic Labs and since 1983, co-founder and Director of The Envisioneering Group. There, he directs laboratory testing of technologies, products and services, oversees publication of the Envisioneering Newsletter, market research reports and provides senior executive counsel on market development and intellectual property protection, portfolio management and licensing opportunities. Doherty's prime focus is on researching and articulating the impact of advanced digital technologies, services, products, industry initiatives and standards efforts on consumers, industry and society. Doherty is a 31 year member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and is active with its Biomedical Engineering, Solid State Circuits Society , Consumer Electronics Society, Broadcast Engineering, Magnetic Technology Society, Technology & Social Policy and other I.E.E.E. societies. This is his eleventh year as a planning director for the International Conference on Consumer Electronics. Doherty is also a member of the Society for Information Display, Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers and many other technology & professional business industry associations. In addition, Doherty has been a co-chair of, and presently sits on several cross industry standards associations and technical working groups, spanning consumer digital electronics, communications, digital media and computing architecture definition groups. He is called upon by the industry to organize and chair panels at trade conferences and technical symposia more than a dozen times each year. Amongst his many industry awards, Doherty has been cited by the International Television Association for his many years of technology coverage of digital video design and engineering trends, and is the writer most cited by the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment for detailed features on the evolution of America's Digital TV system. Doherty also assisted Dr. Richard Feynman, NASA and Congressional researchers in the Shuttle Challenger accident investigation at the Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center and many NASA contractor sites. In 2003, Doherty was nominated to and accepted a multi-year position on the Presidential Medal of Technology Award Selection Committee, reporting to the White House and Department of Commerce. Acting as an independent resource on the impact of digital and internet technologies on the consumer, society and business, Doherty is quoted frequently for his opinions on new technologies by CNN, CNBC, Fox News and by numerous American and international industry trade and daily business publications, including the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Newsday and the San Jose Mercury News. Doherty is married and resides in Seaford, NY with his wife and two daughters.
Richard Doherty, Managing Director of Blu-ray and Professional A/V, Panasonic, Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory: Richard Doherty is currently Director of Professional A/V for Panasonic. He works at the Panasonic Hollywood Labs (PHL), a R&D lab located on the Universal Studios Hollywood Lot, and is tasked with developing new a/v products for the professional and consumer market. PHL is taking a leading role in the development of the Blu-ray HD optical disc format for consumer and professional high-definition video products. Prior to Panasonic, Richard worked at the startup CineForm, where he was principal architect of the Aspect HD real-time editing system, which utilizes wavelet-based compression and software acceleration to realize real-time HD performance. Richard has had engineering management and marketing roles at a number of previous companies, including the film matchback software company FIlmMatch (as a founder), the internet entertainment company Zodo, and as a founder of the company Silerity which delivered datapath optimization software tools for the design automation market (and was later acquired by Synopsys). Richard is also an award-winning film director, with a dozen film festival awards under his belt. Richard has a BS in Electrical Engineering from Caltech, and a MFA in Film and Television Production from USC.
Jordi Ribas, Director, Technical Strategy, Windows Digital Media Division, Microsoft Corporation: Jordi Ribas received the Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering (Systems) from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1996. In 1994, he worked in the advanced video processing laboratory at NTT, Yokosuka, Japan. From 1996 to 2000, he was with the digital video department at Sharp Labs of America, Camas, WA, USA. He joined Microsoft Corp. in 2000, where he led program management in the Codecs and DSP team of Windows Media until 2003. He is currently the Director of Technical Strategy in the Windows Digital Media Division, where he manages strategic projects like the adoption of WMV-9 (VC-1) in next generation optical formats like BD and HD DVD. Dr. Ribas has participated in the development of compression standards such as ISO/MPEG-4 and ITU-T/H.264, and in industry consortia such as the MPEG-LA. He received the Young Investigator Award in the 1997 IS&T/SPIE International Conference on Visual Communications and Image Processing, and the Sharp Labs President's Award in 1999. He has been awarded eight patents and has ten pending.
Josh Peterson, Director of Strategic Alliances, Optical Storage Solutions, Hewlett-Packard Company: Josh Peterson is currently Director of Strategic Alliances for Hewlett-Packard's Optical Storage Solutions Business. He is tasked with developing HP's product strategy around Blu-ray Disc for both the professional and consumer markets. HP is taking a leading role in the development of the Blu-ray optical disc format for consumer and professional high-definition video and optical data storage products. Prior to working on Blu-ray Disc, Josh was the marketing manager for HP's Workstations. His focus was on driving workstation business within the movie studios and professional video production houses. Before coming to HP, Josh designed control systems for hydroelectric power turbines around the world as an engineer for GE Power Systems. Josh has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from University of Colorado, and an MBA from Colorado State University.
David L. Bunzel, Managing Director-Santa Clara Consulting Group, President-Optical Storage Technology Association: David Bunzel is the founder and managing director of Santa Clara Consulting Group (SCCG), a market research and consulting firm. SCCG started its coverage of the data storage market in 1981. Initially, the company focused on flexible media products (diskettes and 1/2" tape products). Later, SCCG added other cartridge tape back-up drives and media. SCCG currently publishes reports on the optical disc market (CD Tracker and DVD Tracker) and the USB Flash Drive market (USB Flash Tracker). Other industries the company has been involved with include the rechargeable battery, HDD component, and printer supply markets. Prior to his involvement with SCCG, David held a variety of marketing and international sales positions with CompuVision, FMC Corporation, and Hormel Foods Corporation. In early 2002, David was elected president of the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA), an industry trade group that helps develop standards to enhance and expand the use of optical storage products. David graduated with a B.A. from University of Wisconsin and a Masters of Business Administration from Santa Clara University.