The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) announced that it is working with the Stanford Center for Image Systems Engineering (SCIEN) to produce the two-day conference “Entertainment Technology in the Internet Age” (ETIA). Beginning June 18 at Stanford University’s Palo Alto, Calif., campus, the conference will explore the technology, creative and business requirements for delivering a compelling, high-quality, profitable entertainment experience over the Web.
“Entertainment technology development and content deployment has historically been the purview of Hollywood and traditional broadcast media,” said Patrick Griffis, ETIA conference chair, executive director of technology strategy at Dolby Laboratories and SMPTE education vice president. “However, the rapid convergence of technology, improvements in connectivity, bandwidth and media processing, coupled with consumer interest, is causing a surge in entertainment distribution via the Internet.”
“ETIA will bring together leaders and innovators from Hollywood and Silicon Valley communities to discuss how the Internet is changing the way we create, deliver, enjoy and pay for entertainment,” said Joyce Farrell, executive director of SCIEN and ETIA conference chair.
Through a series of panel discussions and presentations, with ample opportunity for audience participation, the ETIA conference will examine topics within the areas of Internet-focused content creation, distribution and monetization, as well as technical tools for shaping the user experience. Among the presentations planned is “Flash Forward — How HTML-5 and Canvas Will Become the Next Interactive Screen for Web Media,” a panel discussion by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and media technology experts on the future of UI technology, as well as several sessions examining the standards and formats — SMPTE Interoperable Master Format (IMF), HLS and MPEG-DASH — being used to facilitate content distribution and optimization of content quality.
“Where Are the Eyeballs?” will look at consumers’ shift from subscription pay services to Web services, and a subsequent session will examine the role of new analytics technology in illuminating consumer behavior. Related sessions will examine techniques for incorporating advertising into Internet content and delve into how second screens, such as PCs and tablets, are being used to complement the main-screen viewing experience.
As Internet distribution becomes more ubiquitous, many of the regulatory requirements that traditional content providers have incorporated, such as closed captioning, will be a reality for Internet distributed content as well. The regulatory environment in Washington, D.C. will also be discussed along with the solutions that have been given safe harbor status by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
The highly-charged topic of commercial content protection will also be addressed from the political, business and technical challenges perspective.
Held in the CEMEX auditorium in the Knight Management Center in Stanford Graduate School of Business, the ETIA will give delegates ample time to engage with speakers and one another as they discuss topics of the day with a common interest in entertainment technology.
