Tuesday, February 23, 2010 -  Dolby Laboratories - 3601 W. Alameda - Burbank

A Brief History of the Second –

 
What is the second? Who invented it? How is it measured? What are the ultimate accuracy and precision attainable? What are the preferred time keeping and distribution methods for media applications? These questions and more will be considered during this interactive talk with demos. Plus, an update on the latest SMPTE efforts to define new standards for AV Synchronization and Time Labels (replacing SMPTE 12M Time Code)
 
Al Kovalick has worked in the field of file-based workflows for the past 16 years. Previously, he was a digital systems designer and technical strategist for Hewlett-Packard. While at HP, he was a principal researcher and architect the first digital signal synthesizer. Additionally, he was the principal architect of HP’s first VOD server. Following HP, from 1999 to 2004, he was the CTO of the Broadcast Products Division at Pinnacle Systems. Currently, he is with Avid Technology and serves as a Strategist and Avid Fellow.

He contributes to SMPTE activities including standards development and as editor of the VC-3 suite, member of the Technical Conference program committee, and presenter of SMPTE seminars. Al is a member of the Board of Directors of the Advanced Media Workflow Association.

Al is an active speaker, educator and author. He has presented over 50 papers at industry conferences worldwide. In addition, Al is a frequent contributor to magazine and journal articles.  He holds 18 US and foreign patents. He is the author of the 512 page book Video Systems in an IT Environment (2009). He was awarded SMPTE’s David Sarnoff Gold Medal in 2009. Al has a BSEE degree from San Jose State University and MSEE degree from the University of California at Berkeley. He is a member of the IEEE, SMPTE Fellow and life member of Tau Beta Pi.