New and emerging entertainment technologies of practical use to content creation, management, distribution and display professionals will be the focus of SMPTE 2008: Annual Tech Conference & Expo ((http://smpte2008.org)). Early bird registration is now open for the international event, it was announced today by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry and producers of the show. The three-day conference and trade show takes place October 28 – 30, 2008 at the Renaissance Hotel in Hollywood, CA. It will be preceded by the special pre-conference symposium, Shooting and Broadcasting Live Events, on October 27 at the same location.
SMPTE 2008 will feature keynotes, white papers, case studies and tutorials from thought-leaders worldwide who will detail their findings and experience on a broad range of topics, from stereoscopic 3-D theatrical and home entertainment, to asset management via metadata, to IPTV.
“We designed the SMPTE 2008 Tech Conference and Expo to be a nuts and bolts resource for our members, as well as a service to the greater professional entertainment technology community,” said Kimberly Maki, executive director of the organization and the show. “It is a nonproprietary event where the industry can learn about the latest media-related technologies and how they will be employed, and about the innovations likely to be put into place in the next five years.”
SMPTE 2008 will offer more educational sessions than previous annual shows, brought about by a record number of white paper submissions. More than 55% of the tendered research came from experts outside the United States. Final presenters were selected by the SMPTE 2008 Program Committee, which is chaired by Tom Scott, vice president, technology, OnStream Media. This year’s conference will be complemented by an expanded trade show floor, with high-tech, hands-on displays from companies in the entertainment hardware, software, tools and technologies marketplace.
Peter Ludé, senior vice president of engineering, Broadcast and Business Solutions, Sony Electronics is SMPTE editorial vice president; John Luff, television technology consultant with HD Consulting, is conference vice president, and Patricia Keighley, vice president/general manager of David Keighley Productions 70MM Inc., is chair of the Local Arrangements Committee.
Companies interested in sponsoring or exhibiting at SMPTE 2008 should contact Kimberly Maki, 914 761-1100 x4960. SMPTE members save $100 during early bird registration, which ends August 31, 2008 (<a href="(http://smpte2008.org)/register”>(http://smpte2008.org)/register).
About the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) is the leading technical society for the motion imaging industry. As an internationally recognized and accredited standards-setting body, SMPTE develops standards, recommended practices and guidelines and spearheads educational activities to advance engineering and moving imagery. Since its founding in 1916, the Society has established close to 600 standards, including the physical dimensions of 35mm film and the SMPTE time code. More recently, it codified the MXF file format to support the exchange of professional AV content and crafted the Digital Cinema Standards, which paved the way for digital movie theaters. Headquartered in New York, SMPTE is comprised of engineers and other technical specialists, IT and new media professionals, filmmakers, manufacturers, educators and consultants in more than 65 countries. They are joined at SMPTE by more than 200 sponsoring corporations, principal players in content creation, production and delivery for all platforms and in entertainment hardware and software. www.smpte.org.
