9:30 AM - 10:45 AM
Track II:
IP Video, Datacasting, DSMCC and other Technologies Enabling the Transformation of Entertainment
Broadband video to the home is the next major phase of development in the evolution of the digital entertainment industries. Creating the infrastructure and identifying the technologies for the next broadband video pipe is a challenge that could reinvent the content industry and enable thousands of content providers with direct access to the consumer. How the technology industries manage this step forward is still an open question. There are a number of completing options. While this is not a zero-sum game, in this session we will hear from a number of the providers of solutions, from the IP Video, DSMCC to Datacasting enablers.
Fabrice Beer-Gabel, Senior Director Market Development, BigBand Networks
Dr. John Hartung, VP of Engineering,EGT
Jean Macher, Multimedia Product Line Manager, Thales Broadcast & Multimedia
Joe Fabiano, CTO, Pathfire
Roger Shanafelt, Vice President, Worldwide Sales & Marketing, Myrio
Sayeed Choudhury, Director, Market Development, Wind River
Donald A. Jasko, Chief Executive Officer, Digital Economics, Moderator
Roger Shanafelt, Vice President of Worldwide Sales & Marketing, Myri
o: Prior to joining Myrio Roger was in a wide variety of senior sales, business development and product marketing positions with such companies as Opsware (formerly Loudcloud), Exodus Communications, a Cable & Wireless Service, Excite@Home Corporation, and Qwest Communications. Roger spent the early portion of his career at Microsoft Corp. where he was part of the marketing team for the early versions of Microsoft Windows. He has designed, developed and sold over $100 million in telecommunications and outsourcing services to large government and corporate organizations. Roger brings more than a decade of experience representing firms at a wide variety of industry events including TelecomVideo Europe and MIT Enterprise Forum of the Northwest.Jean MACHER, Multimedia Product Line Manager, Thales Broadcast & Multimedia, Inc.: Jean Macher joined Thales Broadcast & Multimedia in 1998, and relocated from France in 2000, taking on the role of Multimedia Product Line Manager for the US. In France, Jean was in charge of the company's Service Information (SI) processing product line, and supervised the specification and adaptation of remultiplexing and SI processing products to U.S. markets. Macher previously worked as a project engineer for the company's UK Digital Terrestrial TV Project (remultiplexing and SI management for the BBC, CTI, On Digital), developing technical proposals and SI architecture specifications. Prior to joining Thales Broadcast & Multimedia, Jean worked as a software engineer for Matra Communications in Paris, France, where he was responsible for MPEG2/DVB transmultiplexer and real-time encoding application development. Macher holds a Diploma of Engineer from the Superior Institute of Electrical Engineering of Paris (ISEP) a major French computer and electronic school (equivalent to a MSEE).
Sayeed Choudhury, Director of Market Development, Wind River Systems, Sayeed Choudhury is the Director of Market Development, Digital Consumer Group at Wind River, the leader in commercial off-the-shelf embedded technology. While Wind River's development tools and embedded operating systems are used in a wide variety of embedded applications, Choudhury and his team are focused on OEMs designing digital consumer electronics, such as interactive set-top boxes, digital cameras, residential gateways and mobile smartphones. Prior to his current position, Choudhury has worked in Corporate Development (M&A), Business Development, and Product Marketing at Wind River. He also has experience as an embedded software development and system-level hardware development engineer at both Abbott Laboratories and Creative Labs. He holds a BSEE from University at Buffalo, in Buffalo, New York.
Fabrice Beer-Gabel serves as Senior Director Market Development for BigBand Networks and leads the company’s activities in the Telecom space. With a strong background in the broadband multimedia industry Fabrice joined BigBand Networks in the company’s early days to build strategic alliances and expand the company’s market opportunities. Prior to BigBand Networks, Fabrice was with Optibase (NASDAQ: OBAS) where he led the company’s marketing activities and product management for its MPEG encoding platforms. He previously headed the company?s international customer support and started his career as a video software engineer. Fabrice holds a M.S. in Software Engineering from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (France) and a M.S. in Management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.
Joe Fabiano, Chief Technology Officer, is a founding member of Pathfire’s executive management team. Joe has over 20 years of experience in broadcasting and cable as well as electronic video systems expertise. Joe’s industry knowledge, leadership and insight provide Pathfire with the technological and strategic edge to deliver responsively to the cable and broadcast industries. Prior to joining Pathfire, Fabiano served as Vice President of Operations for Cox Communications’ Cable Rep Advertising unit in Phoenix. In addition, Fabiano co-founded LJ Development, Inc., a company that developed and supplied traffic and billing system software, and manufactured digital ad insertion systems. Following StarNet’s acquisition of LJ Development, Inc., Fabiano continued his leadership position, holding roles as General Manager, Director of Engineering, Director of Operations and Regional Sales Director. Fabiano also held increasingly responsible roles with Cox Communications in Atlanta, as Advertisings Sales Manager, Corporate Engineering Manager and Director of Technical Operations. Early in his career, Fabiano held various sales, service and manufacturing positions at Texscan/MSI, a provider of cable advertising hardware and systems, where he developed and implemented an automated cable advertising sales process. Fabiano studied electrical engineering at Brigham Young University in Provo, UT.
Dr. John Hartung, VP of Engineering,EGT: John Hartung is a 20 year vetera
n of Bell Laboratories. During his first 10 years with AT&T at their Holmdel, New Jersey location, he architected the first integrated DSP devices, including the first floating point DSP, the DSP32. He went on to develop numerous algorithms and applications for these devices including modulation techniques for data and voice communications, echo cancellation for audio and signal repeater applications, and audio signal detection and coding algorithms. John was promoted to manager of the DSP group where he led the development of the first DSP C compiler and pioneered new applications for DSPs in speech , audio, graphics, and data communications. During this period John was also involved in the commercialization of DSPs outside of AT&T and in the formation of an internal business unit based on the graphics technology developed in his group. John spent the following 10 years as a Principal Investigator in Bell Labs Research in Murray Hill, New Jersey. During this period he investigated algorithms and architectures for video coding, data communications, voice over IP, high-speed networking, and data storage and transport security. His work in subband video coding resulted in patented algorithms and in the first real time subband video codec implementation. His contributions to low rate object based video coding also resulted in algorithm patents and MPEG4 standardization contributions. The object based coder resulting from this work achieved the highest subjective quality, out of 18 contributions, in MPEG4 working group formal subjective studies. John has 13 granted, and several pending patents, and is currently the Vice President of Engineering at EGT in Atlanta, Georgia. There John leads the development and implementation of multimedia codecs and transport algorithms. EGT is currently shipping its first product, the first DSP based professional MPEG2 encoder for cable, satellite, and broadcast applications. This product delivers industry leading compression performance with up to 30% reduction in required bandwidth.Donald A. Jasko, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Economics, is a
n attorney by training. But he has, for the past twenty years, focused his energies on the economic, technological and rights management issues involved in the licensing of copyrighted content. From 1981 through 1997 Don served in various management positions at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), in which he was instrumental in transforming the process by which performance rights in musical compositions are licensed for television broadcast. He was a key participant in the complex music industry negotiations which culminated in the new "per program" license, as well as the development of the process by which music performance and pricing data are exchanged electronically between performing rights organizations and television broadcasters. Don was also instrumental in the development of the infrastructure that supports the direct and source licensing of performance rights in musical compositions. He testified in a number of legal trials, including the "Buffalo Broadcasting" rate proceeding in Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York. He also represented ASCAP on panels at numerous national conferences. In 1997 Don resigned from ASCAP to found the content management consultancy that is now Digital Economics. As Chief Executive Officer of Digital Economics, he has consulted with numerous clients that create, produce, distribute and transmit copyrighted content. In 1998 Digital Economics initiated a consulting relationship by which it advised Solana Technology Development on the development of its digital audio watermark technology as a content identification tool for the music and entertainment industries. Don soon became a major catalyst in the merger of Solana with Aris Technologies, thereby creating Verance Corporation. Don joined Verance in 2000, with key product management, marketing, business affairs, and sales responsibilities in the music and entertainment sectors. During his tenure he led the design of Verance's ConfirMedia™ watermark content identification products so that they address the needs of music writers, publishers, recording artists and record labels. In addition, Don strategized the design and introduction of software applications that would leverage the value of ConfirMedia watermark content identification products for advertisers, program producers, and broadcast and cable networks. He also strategized the innovative web portal and data report licenses that form the basis of Verance's relationships with its advertising, music and programming clients, and played a key role in forging international joint ventures. Don also represented Verance in numerous public appearances before representatives of the music and entertainment communities. He returned to the leadership of Digital Economics in October 2001.