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Nandhakumar (LG) succeeds Fautier (Harmonic) as President; Syed (Comcast Cable) and Jenkins (WarnerMedia) named new board members.
FREMONT, CA – February 25, 2021 – The Ultra HD Forum, which brings together broadcasters, service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers, and technology vendors to accelerate Ultra HD television deployment, today announced its new board of directors and officers.
In addition to directors from Comcast Cable and WarnerMedia joining the board, other changes included Harmonic’s Thierry Fautier completing his term as President and Board Chair, LG Electronics’ Nandhu Nandhakumar assuming that role. Filling out the officer slate are Dolby’s Patrick Griffis, Vice President, Xperi’s Pete Sellar, Treasurer and Interdigital’s Bill Redmann, Secretary. Continuing in their current positions on the board are Broadcom’s Wade Wan and the National Association of Broadcasters’ Sam Matheny.
Outgoing President Thierry Fautier, who remains a board member, said, “It’s been an exciting first five years, starting with few commercial UHD services to almost 200 now. We successfully met early challenges such as resolution, HDR, HFR, multiple NGA technologies and have provided a framework addressing them, making UHD commercially deployable for operators. I’m incredibly proud of the publication of our industry guidelines and the interoperability work conducted with other industry groups to help make this happen. Lastly, our service tracker is now becoming an industry reference. I look forward to future contributions under the leadership of my capable successor Nandhu Nandhakumar.”
New board member Yasser Syed of Comcast Cable added, “We value the work of the Ultra HD Forum and are excited to continue our engagement as we make advances in UHD.”
Renard Jenkins, who returns to the forum representing WarnerMedia on the board, added, “The Forum’s work directly impacts the industry and its direction regarding UHD and its efficient delivery and display. I am happy to return to the UHDF and to continue this essential work.”
Incoming President Nandhakumar added, “Ultra HD makes video more relevant in these more isolated times, so it is timely that our board is now even more representative of the industry at large. It is exciting to see the increasing rate of deployment of Ultra HD services over diverse distribution paths.”
Acknowledging former Ultra HD Forum President Fautier’s leadership, Nandhakumar concluded: “We plan to continue our various Interop events, partnerships with other industry groups, and update and distribute our Guidelines, which have all helped service providers in their deployments. We’ll be communicating more online and making some exciting announcements in the coming months on topics such as security and our broadcaster mode initiative.”
Free download of the Guidelines is available at https://uhdf.svta.org/guidelines/.
The Forum’s updated UHD Service Tracker can be accessed at https://uhdf.svta.org/uhd-service-tracker/.
Regarding the Ultra HD Forum
Formed in 2015, the Ultra HD Forum is the global organization promoting market adoption of Ultra HD by defining industry best practices for layering core and enhancement technologies for the next-generation television experience. The organization facilitates interoperability testing and collaborates with industry standards bodies to align standard development activities. A list of member companies and additional information about the organization is available at https://uhdf.svta.org and by following @UltraHDForum on Twitter.
Media and Analyst Contact:
Marta Twardowska for Ultra HD Forum
E: marta@wolfpackcoms.com, M: +31 621184585
