The Best of Times in the Worst of Times

Dr David Wood is a SMPTE Life Fellow and Progress Medal honoree.  He was educated in the UK, the Ukraine, and HBS in the US.  He has had a career in the media industry, and made major contributions to standards in digital systems, HDTV, and UHDTV.   He is currently in lock-down in Switzerland but in safe yodelling distance of others.

Peter H. Putman, CTS®, ISF, is president of ROAM Consulting LLC in Doylestown, PA. A 42-year veteran of the AV Industry, Pete provides consulting, training and product testing/development services to manufacturers, dealers, distributors, and end users. Pete has written extensively on digital video and display technology for numerous consumer and trade magazines, and is a frequent speaker at major trade shows and technical conferences, including the Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers (SMPTE) annual technology conference, the National Association of Broadcasters trade show, the Hollywood Post Alliance Technology Retreat, and the InfoComm International trade show. Pete holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from Seton Hall University and a Master of Science degree in Television and Film from Syracuse University. Pete received the 2008 Educator of the Year Award and is a Senior Academy member of AVIXA University™ faculty, as well as a Life Member of and Education Director for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).

As Vice President of Video Strategy at Harmonic (San Jose, CA, USA), Thierry Fautier is in charge of defining and driving the execution of the long-term strategy of Harmonic’s video business. He is the current President of the Ultra HD Forum (Milpitas, CA, USA), the global organization responsible for promoting market adoption of UHD by defining industry best practices for the phased introduction of the wide set of technologies that will facilitate the next-generation viewing experience. He is a co-founder of the VR Industry Forum (Milpitas, CA, USA), whose charter is to further the widespread availability of high-quality audiovisual VR experiences, for the benefit of consumers. Fautier is also co-chair of the MPEG Roadmap committee that is tasked to present the 2020 MPEG roadmap to the industry.  His previous experience at Harmonic includes leadership positions in Solutions Marketing, where his area of responsibility covered Harmonic’s major markets, including broadcast, cable, telco, DTH and OTT, as well as multiscreen initiatives. Thierry Fautier has been instrumental at Harmonic to create new markets such as IPTV, OTT, UHD and more recently VR. He is the designated speaker at Harmonic for international conferences as well as for press and analysts interviews.