Individuals Are Applauded for Their Role in the VidiPath Guidelines Launch and other Contributions To Enhancing the Connected Home Experience
PORTLAND, Ore., - April 27th – The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA®) today announced the 12 individuals who have been singled out for the organization’s annual Outstanding Contributions Awards, which recognize the most noteworthy Member accomplishments of the prior year. Winners for the 2014 period are from DLNA Member companies AT&T, Awox, CableLabs, Comcast, Dolby, Microsoft, Myriad, Sony and Time Warner Cable.
“This was one of the most productive periods in DLNA’s history as we continued to expand and enhance our DLNA Guidelines while also launching both our new VidiPath Guidelines and Certification Program – each a key industry milestone that will enable users to view subscription TV content on multiple devices throughout the home,” said Donna Moore, DLNA executive director. “None of this would be possible without the dedication and perseverance of DLNA Members who committed their expertise and countless hours during 2014 to our collective mission of enhancing and extending the digital lifestyle.”
Each year, DLNA Members nominate peers they believe contributed the most toward fulfilling the organization’s mission and achieving its goals, either through committee work or in other leadership and support activities. The DLNA Board of Directors reviews and approves all nominations. This year’s winners played pivotal roles in finalizing and launching DLNA’s VidiPath Guidelines, including serving on Task Forces, facilitating Member consensus, providing technical and logistical contributions and creating test bed devices.
Honorees made the following contributions during 2014:
Barbara Stark, lead member of technical staff, AT&T: Led efforts to incorporate IPv6 Protocol support into the DLNA Guidelines and test cases to ensure next-generation home networks may benefit from DLNA media interoperability.
Olivier Carmona, director of business development, Awox: Was instrumental in the creation of the VidiPath Guidelines and Certification Program by providing leadership, technical contributions, and consistent ongoing support.
Thierry Quemerais, senior software engineer, Awox: Played key role in development of a test bed device that enabled on-schedule launch of VidiPath Certification Program
Amol Bhagwat, manager, Internet of Things, CableLabs: Was a key member in leading and providing technical expertise for VidiPath Guidelines and the Certification Program launch.
Craig Pratt, software architect/partner Caspia Consulting, CableLabs: Provided invaluable support for VidiPath Guidelines maintenance and updates, ensuring they were easy for Members to use as they began developing Certified products.
Darshak Thakore, lead software architect, CableLabs: Contributed to the on-schedule launch of the VidiPath Certification Program through his role in creating the CableLabs test bed device.
Patrick Ladd, director, standards, Comcast: Provided extensive and ongoing technical contributions to the VidiPath Certification Program through multiple task forces and work groups.
Mike Ward, director, sound platform solutions, Dolby: Chaired the Media Formats Task Force and led a project to clarify which Media Format Profiles best support market needs and to update the Guidelines accordingly.
Peter Kaars, Microsoft: Served as chair of two task forces and led creation of the comprehensive Cloud Guidelines and associated test case specifications and test plan updates.
Brhett (Bendong) Hu, team lead, Myriad: Contributed to on-schedule launch of VidiPath Certification Program through his work on a test bed device for the program.
Robert Blanchard, regulatory and standards project manager, Sony: His five years of DLNA Board leadership and three years serving as treasurer, valuable insights from other standards groups, and consumer electronics manufacturer’s viewpoint enabled the organization to maintain its influence and successfully progress.
Jason Weil, principal engineer, standards and technical policy development, Time Warner Cable: Chaired two task forces, led the writing of the IPv6 Guidelines, and played a leadership role in all aspects of the IPv6 Certification Program development.
About DLNA
The Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is a technology standards organization driven to build industry consensus to advance the interoperability of products in consumers’ connected homes. Founded in 2003 with a current membership of more than 200 companies, this unique multi-industry collaboration continues to implement an innovative set of guidelines utilized by service providers, electronics manufacturers, and software developers to provide consistent performance in a connected home environment. Consumers can share and enjoy personal content on DLNA Certified devices and subscription TV content on VidiPath Certified devices, including mobile devices, PCs, set top boxes, AV receivers, game consoles, TVs and more, regardless of manufacturer. DLNA has also created a robust certification program which tests and verifies the interoperability of products built to its standards, ensuring consumers that devices branded with the DLNA Certified and VidiPath Certified marks will successfully connect and exchange content. Additional information about the Alliance is available at www.dlna.org. Find the Alliance on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dlnacertified or on Twitter @DLNA.
DLNA’s leading member companies include ARRIS, AwoX, Broadcom, CableLabs, Comcast, Dolby Laboratories, Intel, LG, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Time Warner Cable and Verizon.