The MPEG Industry Forum (MPEGIF), the world’s largest advocacy group for standard’s based digital television technologies is presenting its latest MPEGIF Master Class titled “New Dimensions for Digital Television”, to be held at NAB 2010 on Wednesday, April 14th between 9:00am and 12:00pm in the Las Vegas Convention Centre (N234/236). This most recent edition of the long running, successful Master Class series well known from NAB, IBC and CES in previous years will bring together an exceptional m©lange of industry experts and leaders engaged in next generation digital television, multimedia and video entertainment.

Video on Demand, High Definition, Start Over and other time shifted applications have been widely deployed in recent years. This has now been joined by the “TV Everywhere” concept, and 3D is today trying to leap from the theatre into the living room. Every year there is something new to contemplate and for which to potentially plan. Over the years, the MPEG Industry Forum has worked aggressively to bring clarity to the industry’s vision of the future and to advocate for the adoption of standards that accelerate that clarity. This year at NAB this task has become more important than ever as new technologies create new opportunities to make (or lose) money. The 2010 Master Class at NAB is focused around two areas, 3DTV and Quality of Experience, that will bring technologists and leading executives from operators and content owners from around the world to discuss these new opportunities and to share their experience and perspectives.

“It is absolutely crystal clear that 3D is having a major impact on our industry, and it will be very interesting to see how, in this context, content consumption will evolve over the next few years.” said Prof. Dr. h. c. Sebastian Moeritz, President of MPEGIF and CEO at dicas. “One thing is for sure – international open standards such as MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, with its Multiview Coding (MVC) amendment and its Stereo High Profile, will ensure an extraordinary and amazing viewing experience.

“3D seems to be following in the footsteps of HD and Surround Sound in transitioning from the big screen to smaller screens at home”, said David Price, Vice President of MPEGIF and Vice President at Harmonic. “At the same time as new viewing experiences are becoming possible measurement of both visual and audio quality is becoming increasingly important. The Master Class at NAB is going to thoroughly address both these topics and provide insights from executives at service providers, content owners and leading technologists”.

Speakers and panellists include :
• Bob Clyne – Vice President Engineering and Technology, Cablevision Systems
• Clyde Smith – Senior Vice President Global Broadcast Technology and Standards, Turner Broadcasting System Inc.
• Ted Szypulski – Senior Director, Technology Research and Standards, ESPN, Inc. / Chair, SMPTE Working Group on 3D Home Master
• Prof. Dr. h. c. Sebastian Moeritz – President, MPEGIF/CEO, dicas
• David Price – Vice President, MPEGIF/Vice President, Harmonic
• Dr. Sean McCarthy – Fellow of the Technical Staff, Motorola / MPEGIF Board Member
• Roderick Snell – President, Snell Group
• Yuval Fisher – CTO, RGB Networks
• Dr. William Cooper – Founder and CEO Informitv
• Juan Reyes – CTO, BluFocus
• Robin Wilson – VP Business Development, Nagravision
• Myra Moore – President, Digital Tech Consulting Inc.

To view the complete agenda, please visit: http://www.mpegif.org/exhibitions/NAB2010/Index.php

To register, please click here: http://www.nabshow.com/2010/registration/best_value_packages.asp

About MPEGIF

The MPEG Industry Forum is an independent and platform neutral not-for-profit organization representing more than 20 international companies and organizations from diverse industries with the goal to facilitate and further the widespread adoption and deployment of MPEG and related standards in next generation digital media services. It provides a forum to exchange information and views on technological, economic and regulatory issues that are relevant to these services. It also provides a powerful industry voice advocating the adoption of standards and consolidating the direction of the industry in the time of transition from analogue to digital television and media services.

MPEGIF, with more than 2,500 people subscribed to its mailing lists, has played a significant role in facilitating the widespread adoption and deployment of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, the Emmy-Award winning video compression technology, as the industry’s video compression standard powering next generation television and most mainstream content delivery as well as consumption applications including packaged media. MPEGIF offers interoperability testing, a conformance program, marketing activities and is present at international trade shows and conferences.