HPA Tech Retreat Gears Up For 2005

Los Angeles, CA--The Hollywood Post Alliance Technology Retreat will mark its 10th anniversary in 2005, when it returns to the Rancho Las Palmas Marriott in Rancho Mirage, CA, where it was held in 2003. Including pre-retreat tutorial seminars, there will be four days of learning opportunities, from Tuesday, January 25 through Friday, January 28. The half-day seminars will cover compression, PSIP (presented by the Advanced Television Systems Committee), and the Advanced Authoring Format (presented by the AAF Forum).
"We have top-level technical talent from every aspect of television technology, from chip makers to movie makers, from broadcast networks to TV-set manufacturers, from digital cinematography to digital cinema coming together in a manageable and casual environment," said Mark Schubin, a journalist and technology expert who has organized the event for much of the last ten years. "Whatever questions you have about anything to do with imaging and sound technology, someone will be there who knows the answer."
"The Retreat has become one of the most important technological events of the year," said Leon Silverman, executive vice president of LaserPacific Media and president of the Hollywood Post Alliance. "It brings together an international group of the foremost technology experts who come together to learn and share."
This year’s program is already shaping up nicely. The major networks will be there for the annual Broadcasters Panel. Brad Hunt, senior vice president and chief technology officer of the Motion Picture Association (MPAA), will be presenting a status report on digital content protection. Attorney Jim Burger will provide another of his informative Washington updates, perhaps with more to "update" than in a number of years. Digital Cinema Initiatives will explain many of its recent decisions (including X’Y’Z color space instead of RGB, 12 bits instead of 10 and JPEG2000. There will also be some interesting presentations on Apple’s work on XML, Adobe’s realtime HD, the latest in display technologies and human perception of HD.
Proposals for presentations at the Retreat, roundtable breakfast topics, and demos are still being considered and should be submitted very soon.
Registration for the 2005 Technology Retreat is scheduled to open November 1. Look for further information on the Retreat as it becomes available at www.hpaonline.com. For information and to receive future announcements about the Retreat and/or sponsorship opportunities, contact HPA executive director Eileen Kramer at ekramer@hpaonline.com.