Featured SpeakersBrian BenzPresident, Campus TeleVideoSolutions: Perspectives on Technology & Content Brian Benz is president of Campus TeleVideo, a provider of satellite delivered cable television and other telecommunication services to colleges and universities. Mr. Benz has over fifteen years of broad-based financial, operational and start-up experience and most recently helped to grow four successful emerging growth companies in the Internet communications, content and healthcare industries. He most recently was Chief Financial Officer for OnSite Access, a building-centric provider of data and voice communications services, and prior to that was Chief Financial Officer for Yoyodyne Entertainment, Advanced Health Corporation and Physicians' Online. He has helped to raise almost $270 million for these entrepreneurial ventures. He was also an investment banker for Merrill Lynch and has a CPA and a MBA from Columbia University. Prashant ChopraCEO, Open Student Television Network (OSTN)Campus Solutions Prashant Chopra is chief executive officer of Open Student Television Network (OSTN), a provider of educational, foreign language, and entertainment IPTV content and services, featuring the only 24/7 worldwide channel exclusively devoted to student-produced programming. Previously, Mr. Chopra served as chief architect of the CampusEAI Consortium, with responsibility for the organization's research and development efforts. Prior to joining the CampusEAI Consortium he worked at Case Western Reserve University, with responsibility for architecting and delivering the University's next generation information technology infrastructures and services. Earlier he worked at California State University, Monterey Bay, with responsibility for research and development of the University's next-generation information technology infrastructures and services. Mr. Chopra majored in theology and economics at Columbia University. David Devereaux-WeberNetwork Engineer, University of Wisconsin-MadisonCampus Solutions David Devereaux-Weber is a registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin. He has over 35 years of experience in radio and television broadcast engineering, cable television engineering, telecommunications engineering, and Internet network engineering. He specializes in the applications of audio and video over the Internet and has been a Network Engineer at the Division of Information Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison since 1993. He also consults for cable television companies, municipal regulators of cable television companies, and operates SCTE-List, an Internet list for the discussion of technical topics in cable television. Kevin FeeneySenior Information Technology Engineer, Cornell UniversityCampus Solutions Kevin Feeney is a Senior Information Technology Engineer in Cornell University's Network and Communications Services group, who works with video and wireless technologies. As lead engineer he helped develop and implement CUTV, an IP delivered television service on the Cornell campus in 2005 and is involved in continuing efforts to expand the program and incorporate Cornell content into the system. Kevin has been with the University since 1992 and has been involved in various video and video conferencing initiatives on the campus during that time. His current projects include ongoing support of CUTV, creating a channel and infrastructure specifically for Cornell content on the system, and helping to support programming created on the campus, including student programming initiatives. David W. FleigProject Manager for the Computing & Information Technology Division, Wayne State UniversityCampus perspectives on IPTV David Fleig is a Project Manager for the Computing & Information Technology Division at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. David is responsible for consultation, design and engineering on many of the audio, video and multimedia facilities at WSU. Prior to that, he helped start the Michigan Information Technology Network, Inc., a satellite-based statewide distance learning and communications network. David has over 25 years experience in both the digital and analog television sectors, including several years with Television Products Engineering at Tektronix, Inc. in Portland, Oregon. He is a member of its first EMMY award-winning team recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for "Technical Achievement and Excellence in Television Engineering" for contributions to the Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles. David's past experience also includes several years as a freelance director, editor and videographer in the areas of sports and entertainment television. David holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Telecommunication from Michigan State University. Shane GodmereSenior Telecommunications Engineer II, Michigan Telenological UniversityCampus perspectives on IPTV Shane Godmere is Senior Telecommunications Engineer at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI. He is responsible for the management and improvement of MTU's cable system, as well as the management of the campus network infrastructure for voice, video and data. A current project involves the multi-year upgrade to providing "any service, any port, anywhere" access on MTU's data network. Previously he was senior network engineer for BullsEye Telecom, a competitive local exchange carrier and ISP; and director of information technology for Rochester College. He holds a BBA in Business and Management from Rochester College and a MS in Business and Communication Technology from Capella University. Rob GoldenChief Research Officer (CRO), Merit NetworkClosing Remarks Rob Golden joined Merit Network in 2007 and has an extensive background in technology, research, healthcare and imaging fields. He was the founder of Tekscan, a leading manufacturer of flexible force array sensors, and a co-founder of Charm Biosciences which pioneered microwave inactivation of viruses in blood products. He was CTO of LanVision, a leading Electronic Health Records (HER) provider and was part of the team that led their successful IPO in 1996. Rob is a Computerworld Honors Laureate recipient and has received the Popular Science Best of What's New award. He is a graduate of MIT and Harvard Business School where he was a Baker Scholar. Steven HawleyOwner and Principal Consulting Analyst, Advanced Media Strategies, LLCThe IPTV industry: Global persepectives on IPTV deployment Steven Hawley is an independent consultant, industry analyst, researcher to the telecommunications and digital media industries. His consulting practice, Advanced Media Strategies LLC (AMS), provides subject matter expertise in the areas of Internet Protocol Television and multi-service convergence: the delivery of live TV, on-demand video and related interactive content services to consumer electronics devices over fixed-line and wireless networks, using integrated service delivery platforms. Mr. Hawley is Senior IPTV Analyst for Multimedia Research Group (MRG) Inc. and author of a series of IPTV reports published by Tracy Swedlow's InteractiveTV Today [itvt]. He also is Editor of ipTV News Analyst, an industry newsletter from UK-based Digital Media Publishing. For five years, he contributed to Telephony Online and Cable & Satellite International magazine. He has appeared regularly as speaker or panel moderator at key industry events, including IPTV World Forum Latin America, SATCON, TelcoTV, the annual conferences of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the United States Telecom Association (USTA), Red Button and others. Mr. Hawley has consulted directly with more than three dozen IPTV industry clients through Advanced Media Strategies. Joleen Winther HughesPrincipal and Founder, MediaTech Law GroupLegal perspectives on IPTV Joleen Winther Hughes, co-founder of MediaTech Law Group, represents a wide range of clients on matters involving entertainment, content and digital media technology and related consumer products and services. A proficient strategic business attorney, Joleen teams with corporate counsel and business groups to negotiate transactions, develop and negotiate cutting edge business models, and develop legal strategy around business models. Formerly, Ms. Hughes was senior counsel at RealNetworks, Inc., for seven years where she provided a broad array of legal and business services to RealNetworks' worldwide global media operations. She was an essential member of the RealNetworks' team that created MusicNet, the first legal, multi-label digital music distribution initiative, and developed the legal templates and planned agreements for many of RealNetworks' revolutionary digital media subscription consumer products and services including Rhapsody and RealOne. Laurence KirchmeierSenior Software Engineer, Merit NetworkTechnical overview of current IPTV capabilities Laurence Kirchmeier is a senior software engineer at Merit Network, working in the Networking R&D group. Prior to that, he was director of sales engineering at Media Station, Inc. Kirchmeier has over 20 years of software design and engineering experience in the information and instructional technology arenas. Currently, he oversees Merit's end-to-end performance and QoS initiatives, among other major projects. He holds a B.S. degree with Honors in Computer Science and Data Processing from the University of Leeds, UK. Julian Y. KohSenior Network Engineer, Northwestern UniversityCampus Solutions Julian Y. Koh is a Senior Network Engineer for Northwestern University's Telecommunications and Network Services department, where he has worked for the past 10 years, concentrating in the areas of network security, remote access, VPN, wireless networking, and digital video distribution via IP multicast. Julian has an MS in Information Technology and a BS in Biomedical Engineering, both from Northwestern University. Pradip PatelData Engineering, University of MichiganCampus Solutions Pradip Patel is manager of data engineering and voice/data/video networking at the University of Michigan. He oversees the development, design, and engineering of the university's communications technology and services, including the architecture, design, and launch of the VoIP networks and video distribution over IP. Mr. Patel studied in England, and has worked in England, Africa, and the USA in communication related industries. Andy RosenzweigManager, Professional Events and Communities, Merit Network, Inc.Welcome and introduction to key issues in IPTV Andy Rosenzweig is manager of professional events and communities for Merit Network, Inc. In this role he is responsible for developing meaningful and relevant learning opportunities for the Merit community, including workshops, conferences, training programs, and communities of practice. He previously served as Merit's Member outreach manager, working closely with Merit's Member universities to provide services to help meet their institutional goals. From 1999 to 2005 he was product manager of Merit's remote access services, which comprise the statewide shared dial-in network, national and international roaming services, and related dial-in access products. In this role, Andy was responsible for defining Merit's remote access services, working with Merit staff to coordinate the delivery of high-quality service, managing revenue and budgets, and coordinating communication about remote access products. He continues to have budgetary responsibility for these products as they reach the end of their life cycle. Andy came to Merit in 1995 and worked in technical writing, training, and account management in his first assignments. His key skills include writing, public speaking, facilitation, and analysis. He received a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Eastern Michigan University. Chris UleDirector of Training, Video FurnaceSolutions: Perspectives on Technology & Content Chris Ule is Director of Training for Video Furnace, a provider of high quality Video over IP technologies to any network connected viewing device. Mr. Ule has been involved in the digital video community for years and has worked with the MPEG standards for digital video. He was also on the team that created the first commercial digital video product utilizing client/server technology. He has participated in many speaking engagements on digital video to multiple industries. Don WelchPresident/CEO, Merit NetworkOpen discussion and next steps: Collaborative opportunities for in education Don Welch is the President and CEO of Merit Network, Inc. where he is responsible for strategically leading Merit to serve a larger community with advanced network-based services. Prior to his arrival at Merit, Don was the Director of Enterprise Technology (CTO) and Merchandising Systems at H-E-B. H-E-B is a $12B retail/distribution/manufacturing company that operates in Texas and Mexico. He oversaw enterprise architecture, infrastructure, database systems, enterprise integration and information security as well as delivering merchandising applications. He has a BS from the United States Military Academy at West Point, and MS in computer science from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He has also earned the Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Maryland College Park. Back to the main IPTV event page. What is IPTV? IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) describes technologies that allow video programming to be delivered using an IP-based network, as opposed to traditional delivery via radio waves or coaxial cable. IPTV can be used to deliver both live content and stored, on-demand video. What is the potential of IPTV? IP-based video distribution promises significant advantages, including the ability to integrate television with other IP-based services like high speed Internet access and VoIP. Using a single network for both data and video distribution potentially allows for significant savings over maintaining a separate coaxial plant. A switched IP network also allows for the delivery of significantly more content and functionality. Content remains within a defined network, and only the content the customer selects is sent into the customer's device. That frees up bandwidth, and the customer's choice is less restricted by the bandwidth of the last-mile network. An IP-based platform also allows significant opportunities to make the TV viewing experience more interactive and personalized. |