EUROPEAN VIDEO CONFERENCE ANNOUNCES TOP SPEAKERS

KOJI Hase, the Vice President of Toshiba and Chairman of the DVD Forum, and Dr. Rainer Kolmel, the CEO of Kinowelt Medien AG, will deliver the keynote speeches at the European video industry’s annual conference, which starts on November 30 in the French town of Arles.
The annual gathering of the European video industry attracts delegates who gather to debate the forces shaping the future of the entertainment business.
Hase is one of the most important figures behind the development of DVD technology and a vital force in making it a commercial success. As Chairman of the official organisation DVD Forum, he now overseas the continuing development of DVD technologies to meet future needs. Leading Toshiba’s Strategic Partnership and Licensing operation, Hase is qualified to give a glimpse into tomorrows technological breakthroughs that will offer new opportunities to the entertainment packaged media industry.
The second keynote speaker Dr. Kolmel helped found and now runs one of a new breed of vertically integrated European media companies, Kinowelt Medien AG. Kinowelt now have operations encompassing film production, distribution, exhibition, video, and TV licensing on an international basis.
The conference will also take a close look at recent developments in the Video On Demand business, and will examine what impact the technology is likely to have on video business, and the link between video and the web will be analysed in detail. One session will examine whether on-line sales of videos are affecting the traditional retail sector whilst another will access the future of web-enabled DVDs and the opportunities they offer to publishers and developers.
The conference is partnered by the European Commission’s MEDIA Programme, the Centre National de la Cinematographie (CNC), the International Video Federation (IVF), the French Video Industry Association (SEV) and the city of Arles. Panel discussions and debates over the two days address the key issues of the business, and are given additional immediacy by the presentation of new research, commissioned from Screen Digest for the event. (CD)