Wednesday, March 30 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM Track IV: Next Generation of DVD - Transforming an Industry – Expanding the Experience 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. Zane Vella, President and co-founder, MX Entertainment Brian Brodeur, President, Masterdisk/NewYorkDVD Rick Dean, Director Technical Business Development, THX Andy Parsons, Senior Vice President, Advanced Product Development, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. Doug Textor, Founder & CEO, The Cannery Tom Adams, President, Adams Media Research Ben Fritz, Technology Reporter, Variety / Daily Variety Andy Parsons, Senior Vice President, Advanced Product Development, Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc.: Andy Parsons has worked in the optical disc industry for nearly 25 years. He has held technical and senior management positions at Pioneer, Optical Disc Corporation and Discovision Associates. His experience with optical products 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 advanced product development for Pioneer Electronics (USA), headquartered in Long Beach, California. Richard A. Dean, Director, Technical Business Development, THX Ltd.: Rick Dean has more than 20 years of experience in the motion picture industry. He serves THX Digital Works studio clients, providing QA and process management services in postproduction of motion pictures for Digital Cinema, DVD and VHS release. As the founder of quality assurance programs for superior cinema presentation, THX was established in 1983 by George Lucas to ensure that the entertainment consumer experienced films as the director intended. Today, THX Certification assures the finest picture and sound quality for cinemas, mixing studios, home theatres, DVDs, multimedia products, and luxury automotive vehicles. Brian Brodeur is president of Masterdisk/NewYorkDVD. He has been producing music and multimedia for more than 15 years. Brian has created award-winning DVDs for the corporate, entertainment and instructional markets, including discs for Pfizer, Hal Leonard Publishing, KINO International, and Fender Guitars. Since merging NewYorkDVD with renowned mastering and replication facility Masterdisk in 2004, Brian has produced such notable titles as BMG title ‘Rod Stewart: One Night Only; Live at the Royal Albert Hall,’ ‘Drummers Collective 25th Anniversary Concert’ and Hudson Music’s ‘Steve Gadd Tribute Concert.’ Brian has won Modern Drummer’s ‘Best Drumming DVD’ title for his work on Thomas Lang’s ‘Creative Control’ and ‘Liquid Drum Theater Featuring Mike Portnoy.’ Brian is an expert in all stages of DVD production, from audio/video compression to creative interactive design and stable DVD functionality programming that enhances the user experience. He is a sought-after DVD consultant for leading vendors, including VCA Fusion and Sonic Solutions. Brian received a B.A. in music composition from the Berklee School of Music. Doug Textor, Founder & CEO, The Cannery: As The Cannery’s CEO, Doug Textor is responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of the company, large client engagements, and long term strategy for the company. Textor founded the company as Canned Interactive in 1992 – a time when "new media" was in its infancy. Recognizing the opportunity to build an industry, Textor applied equal amounts of entertainment and engineering saaviness to create a new breed of business that combined the best of new interactive technologies, computer programming techniques and graphic design with cutting-edge marketing methods. Textor’s approach, combined with the advent of broadband and DVD, proved to be a recipe for success that helped make Canned Interactive the premiere creative design and multi-media boutique in Hollywood. The Cannery has developed many of the entertainment industry’s most acclaimed DVD projects, including "The Matrix," "American Beauty," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone," and "Beauty and the Beast." Additionally, the company has also produced dozens of high-profile movie web sites, including those for "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me" and the release of "Rocky." The company’s clients include an impressive array of entertainment and media firms including Disney, DreamWorks, New Line Cinema, Sony Digital, Sony Music and Warner Brothers. Textor began his career at 19 when he put his passion for mathematics and computer science to work by developing and programming real-time trading systems for Wall Street – systems that did not exist at the time and went on to change the way the world’s financial markets operated. Work with Hewlett Packard, Total Solutions Software, Inc., and The Index Group followed, where Textor continued to work on real-time trading systems, as well as laboratory automation projects, redundant and non-stop systems and business re-engineering programs. Textor holds a BS in Mathematics from Ramapo College of New Jersey and an MBA from Stanford University. Zane Vella, president and co-founder of MX Entertainment: Zane is an award-winning innovator of entertainment and technology convergence and an accomplished producer and director. Zane is responsible for all R&D and product development at the company. His directing credits include Incubus' "Alive at Red Rocks", Ween's "Live in Chicago" and mutli-camera direction for "Reggae On the River". As founder and president of SmashTV, he directed media and technology projects for high-profile entertainment brands such as Apple, EXPN, Lollapalooza, MTV Networks and Wired Ventures. Tom Adams is President of Adams Media Research in Carmel, CA., a financial and market research and strategic consulting firm. In addition to its consulting practice in the film entertainment and related media and digital technology markets, AMR publishes the monthly Hollywood Aftermarket newsletter, which contains the findings of AMR's research, along with several topic-specific reports annually. AMR's market data, reports, and analytical models are also made available through its web site at www.adamsmediaresearch.com.