10:45 AM - Noon
Track IV:
The Networked Entertainment Home - the PVR/DVR – the Set-Top & PC Entertainment Server
The home entertainment server is about one basic idea - to deliver more and varied media-rich content to the consumer - giving consumers what they want, when they want it. But the battle for this consumer sector is about to assert itself as a competition of technologies, more complicated than the older battle of the home PC vs. the TV. This is a world containing the set-top box, the PVR, the PC and a host of other devices. The next generation of DTV/Set-Top/PC home entertainment server will come into the battle delivering Internet, music, games, movies, plus innovative two-way communications and telephony services that the old set-top provider was only beginning to deliver. This battle for the home will be a tremendous winner for both the consumer as well as for the content industry. It presents the simple proposition that offering the consumer more and richer services in a competitive environment is the perfect formula for success.
Frank Sandoval, Senior Software Architect, Advanced Platforms & Services, CableLabs
Charlie Gonsalves, Business Development Manager, Streaming Media Group, Texas Instruments
Adam Mayer, Director, Strategy & Business Development, Scientific-Atlanta
Rex Wong. President, X2 Corporation
Brad Kayton, VP Marketing & Business Development, PRISMIQ
David Novak, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Video Without Boundaries, Inc.
Ben Mendelson, founder & President, Interactive Television Alliance, Moderator
David Novak, EVP, Video Without Boundaries, Inc. (VWB): Cable
& Telecommunications Association for Marketing’s (CTAM) Award winner David Novak currently serves as Executive Vice President for VWB where he leads all commercial activities for the company. Mr. Novak is spearheading the company’s global distribution and marketing of its groundbreaking Broadband Media Center (MediaREADY 4000 and 5000) and Portable Media Center (Flyboy) technology. Novak has come to VWB from Pace Micro Technology plc where he was responsible for corporate development, product management and marketing. Novak served as Vice President of Marketing for Pace and during his tenure, Novak led all marketing efforts to introduce their competitive digital home gateway technology (set-top boxes) into the US cable market most notably to, industry leaders, Time Warner Cable and Comcast. He established and directed strategic relationships with North and South American partners resulting in an improved competitive position in the marketplace and important development/marketing alliances. In addition, he identified and led new business development efforts for alternative technology applications involving satellite, terrestrial, IP networks and software products for several MSOs, RBOCs, computer manufacturers, and TV Manufacturers. Prior to joining Pace, David served as senior system account executive at Metrocall Wireless Communications in Hollywood, Florida for two years, where he was responsible for marketing information technology and system product and services. Prior to that he was president of DLN Promotions, Inc., a promotion and marketing firm he founded in 1994, to plan and conduct event marketing and promotion campaigns at Major League Baseball stadiums. David earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of Maryland. Mr. Novak holds an US/IPT Patent for the Digital Cable Adapter.Frank Sandoval, Senior Software Architect, Advanced Platforms & S
ervices, CableLabs: Frank has over 15 years experience developing software for the consumer entertainment industries. As a Computer Science student at the University of New Mexico, he designed and developed interactive computer graphics museum exhibits, and then joined a pioneer in computer-based professional learning systems. Frank later became one of the first technical members of the staff of A.I.M., a Philips subsidiary developing applications for the CD-Interactive platform. In the ensuing years, Frank spent time developing video games for the likes of 3D0 and Electronic Arts, and working on advanced graphics solutions for the web. Frank joined CableLabs in 2001 to help develop the OCAP software specifications.Charlie Gonsalves serves as the Business Development Manager for Texas Instruments’ Streaming Media group responsible for generating new business as well as driving the strategic direction and managing relationships with customers and partners. In his previous roles at TI, Gonsalves worked in strategic marketing for ADSL CPE chipsets in the Broadband group and the Modem Business Manager within the DSP organization. Prior joining TI ten years ago, Gonsalves served as a program manager at Hayes Microcomputer Products Inc. Gonsalves holds a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from the University of Florida and an MBA from Georgia State University.
Adam Mayer, Director, Strategy & Business Development, Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.: As the director of strategy and business development for Scientific-Atlanta’s Subscriber business unit, Adam Mayer is responsible for driving strategic planning activities, identifying growth opportunities for the business, and liaising with Scientific-Atlanta’s customers to drive joint strategic marketing initiatives. Mayer brings deep experience in the cable and consumer entertainment industry to his position at Scientific-Atlanta having worked with industry heavyweights such as Time Warner and Comcast. In addition to his consulting experience, he also served as a financial analyst with Merrill Lynch’s Investment Banking, Media Group where he analyzed acquisitions, divestitures and financings in the cable, publishing and entertainment industries. Mayer received bachelor of arts degrees in both economics and international studies from Yale University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Rex Wong. President, X2 Corporation: Mr. Wong brings extensive sales, marketing and product development experience to X2 USA, which launched in late December, 2004, and in its first three months of existence has rolled out 25 new products that have resulted from Wong's frequent cross-Pacific trips to joint venture with multibillion dollar Taiwanese electronics manufacturers who have had a hard time breaking out of OEM sales and into branded consumer electronics. Mr. Wong is a successful entrepreneur and investor investing in Internet and IT companies, including Applied Semantics, which was acquired by Google in 2003, and Einux/Accelertech, which was acquired by MTC, a $300 million IT distributor, and where Mr. Wong served as Einux’s President and dealt with customers and partners such as AMD, Ericsson, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed, NASA, Echostar, MIT, Caltech and Stanford. In addition to serving as X2 Corporation’s CEO, Mr. Wong is also a Managing Partner of Synergy Ventures, a technology investment fund and incubator, and serves on the Board of Directors of China Genetics, Dave.TV, Adegy, Telabout and the Craigslist Foundation. Prior to that, he served as President of Envision, a regional computer retail chain located in Southern California where he brought the company to $20 Million in sales annually, Executive Vice President for Microcom Computers, Managing Director of the Bureau of China Trade and Investment, Editor-in-Chief of China Watch and China Watch Online, and has over 16 years of experience in the computer industry including over 10 years in the Internet and online industry. He has consulted with many companies and organizations on Internet strategies including the California Small Business Association, National Organization for Women, and Ernst & Young. Mr. Wong is a member of Emmy Advanced Technology Committee, Monte Jade, Interactive TV Alliance (ITA) and the Media Entertainment Technology Alliance and is a featured speaker and panelist at events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Digital Hollywood and NATPE.
Ben Mendelson is the founder and president of the Interactive Television
Alliance, an independent trade association representing the broad interests of the entire iTV industry. He is also the co-founder and sr. partner in 2degree Partners, a management consultancy involved in iTV, Direct Response TV, and integrated online services. Ben has been an innovator in developing interactive "t-commerce" applications and has been involved in New Media marketing from its earliest days. He was a founding member of Digital Bayside and the Addressable Media Coalition and has held leadership positions in various organizations, including the Electronic Retailing Assoc. (ERA) and the Assoc. of Interactive Media (AIM). In January 1994, he started one of the first commercial Internet companies, where his clients included Sony Pictures, HBO, House of Blues, Philips Media, and Graham Nash. In 1996, Ben created the Internet Services Division for Curtco Freedom Publishing, where he designed online versions of various magazines including HomeTheater, Entertainment@Home, and Mobile Computing. In 1999, he developed the Internet division for Williams Direct, a full service Direct Response TV (DRTV) advertising agency. Later that year, Ben was hired to head the Internet program for the Electronic Retailing Association, the primary trade organization for the DRTV industry. In April 2000, Ben became VP of Business Development for the Winterberry Group, a research based consultancy that specializes in Direct Marketing; his focus was integrating iTV / DRTV and developing new business models. Prior to his Internet experience (from 1982 - 1991), Ben was the owner and director of LAPA (L.A. Art Photographers Association), an art gallery and resource center for commercial and fine art photography. In 1992, he founded PhotoSource, a showcase, service bureau, and training center for digital imaging. Ben has long established relationships with EarthLink, Netscape/AOL, and WebTV/MicrosoftTV along with Liberate, OpenTV, Wink, QVC, HSN, and Guthy-Renker. He has taught at the American Film Institute(AFI), UCLA Extension, So. CA Institute of Architecture(SCIArch), L.A. Internet Group, and the Learning Annex. Ben writes a regular column for Response Magazine and has been published in MediaTrends, Digitrends, Retailing.org, and Entertainment@Home. He is on the advisory board of the American Film Institute (AFI) Enhanced TV Program and is a familiar speaker at many iTV, Internet, and Direct Marketing conferences.Brad Kayton is the Vice President of Marketing & Business Development
for PRISMIQ, a California-based startup delivering award-winning Networked Entertainment Gateways, the next wave of set-top boxes, digital entertainment centers, and related convergence devices that exploit broadband access and home networking. Mr. Kayton was the CEO and co-founder of Paros Software, a firm specializing in web services software which was acquired by PRISMIQ in July 2002. Prior to Paros Software, Mr. Kayton was Vice President of Marketing, Online Services, and co-founder of 2Wire, a leading manufacturer of broadband residential gateways and home networking adapters, where he pioneered numerous aspects of today’s home networking solutions and was responsible for over thirty partnerships. In the mid-90s, Mr. Kayton served as Director of Video Products for Polycom, a leader in audio and video conferencing products, where he defined, managed, and launched the ViewStation product line that became the industry's top seller after only five months on the market and today commands a 70% market share. In the early 90s, Mr. Kayton managed a $200M network management product line at Tivoli Systems and spent five years at VTEL where he invented the F.R.E.D. system, the world's first hospital-compliant two-way video telemedicine product. Mr. Kayton began his career as a software programmer; holds two graduate degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, an MBA and MA in communication technologies; and holds a BA from the University of Virginia.