Your browser is out-of-date!

Update your browser to view this website correctly. Update my browser now

×

UHD Alliance Taps Mike Fidler As President

Michael Zink, technology VP at Warner Bros., will assume the post of UHD Alliance chairman, and CE industry veteran Mike Fidler will take on the newly created full-time position of Alliance president.

Additionally, in recognition of the importance of next-generation audio to the overall home entertainment experience, longtime member-level company and DTS parent Xperi has joined the UHD Alliance board.

The group said Fidler will be instrumental in enhancing the membership roles, increasing Ultra HD brand awareness, driving new consumer education initiatives, and facilitating the expansion of Alliance certification and logo programs into other categories of hardware and content. 

Fidler, a veteran of Sony and Pioneer, among other CE companies, played a pivotal role in launching such industry organizations as the DVD Entertainment Group, now known at the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), as well as key optical formats such as DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Over the course of a career that has touched virtually the entire entertainment ecosystem — hardware, content, service providers, retailers, studios, streaming services — Fidler also helped drive the conversion of the theatrical exhibition industry from film to digital and advanced the development and marketing of optical laser technologies. Most recently Fidler served as the Entrepreneur in Residence at Connect, advising start-up companies in Southern California.

See also: UHD Alliance Coming To The Small Screen

“It is a pivotal year for UHD and HDR, from both the hardware and content standpoint, with sales expected to explode in 2017 en route to continued growth for the foreseeable future,” Fidler said. “Consistency of experience, along with broader consumer awareness and deeper understanding, will be critical to sustaining growth and I look forward to working with all of our members to firmly establish the Alliance as a leading voice and resource for all things Ultra HD.”

Zink will succeed 20th Century Fox Film Corp. chief technology officer Hanno Basse as chairman. At Warner Bros., Zink is responsible for emerging technologies for the studio’s production, post-production and distribution capabilities and serves as WB’s liaison to a range of standards bodies focused on enhancing and expanding the home entertainment experience for consumers. As the UHDA’s incoming chairman, Zink will be responsible for driving the organizational mission and vision of the global coalition as it looks to further expand certification and logo programs to help consumers identify premium Ultra HD products and content across a range of categories.

The UHD Alliance, comprising more than 50 member companies, is a global coalition of leading entertainment studios, consumer electronics manufacturers, content distributors and technology companies aligned to foster the creation of an ecosystem that fully realizes and promotes the next generation premium in-home entertainment platform.

Featured

Close