The Content Delivery & Storage Association, is the worldwide forum on trends and innovation for the delivery and storage of entertainment, software and information.


Disney’s Atkinson Named CDSA Vice President

Richard Atkinson
The CDSA Executive Committee has elected a Vice President and welcomes its newest member, Richard Atkinson, Vice President of Global Anti-Piracy Strategy & Operations for The Walt Disney Studios. "Richard's respect throughout the content community is a valuable asset to the association as we transition to represent a broader content delivery and storage industry. We welcome his continuing contributions as we develop a strategic plan for moving the association forward and providing increased value to members and relevancy from the association’s programs," said Charles Van Horn, CDSA President.

As VP of Anti-Piracy, Richard is responsible for orchestrating Disney Studio's global battle against content theft – be it piracy of movies, music, television, or other products of the Studio. Prior to this role, Richard spent five years as a "Disney Imagineer" at Walt Disney Imagineering– with the responsibility of creatively infusing emerging technologies into Disney’s renowned theme parks all over the world. Prior to Disney, Richard was the Chief Communications Technologist for Northrop Grumman Corporation – where he spent 15 years as a communications technology strategist and briefer of highly complex and classified concepts (such as the area of "stealth aircraft") to the top levels of USA and other governments.

CDSA Bids Farewell to Guy Finley

CDSA Associate Executive Director Guy Finley has left the Association to pursue business opportunities that he will shortly announce. "I appreciate the experiences I've had while at CDSA and the chance to work with so many diverse companies and great people," Finley said. CDSA wishes him success in his future as he utilizes industry knowledge gained while working for the industry's trade association. "Guy's knowledge as a performer/manager/producer in the music business and as President of LFA, Inc., a North American licensing/royalty manager for Victor Company of Japan (JVC), combined with his experience in the recording media area working with the leading trade association for the content delivery and storage industries, should serve him well as he pursues new endeavors," said Charles Van Horn, CDSA President.

CDSA Membership Survey Reveals Next-Gen DVD Trends

As suppliers and service providers to the world content community for over 37 years, the membership of CDSA is in a unique position to analyze the current launch of dual high-definition DVD formats and to provide experienced opinions and analytics about how this "format war" will shake out.

A recent CDSA Membership On-Line survey reports:

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  • Avoiding an endorsement of either format, nearly two-thirds of the CDSA respondents say that there ultimately will be a format winner, and 3/4 of those (73.9%) predict that Blu-ray will triumph.

    • Of those who said that there will be no "format war winner" this time around, 46.2% said that both formats will ultimately co-exist, while just over 1/4 (28.2%) said that both formats will ultimately fail.

    • To give this format launch the best chance of success, the membership strongly recommends that the studios agree on a single format (83%), unlikely as it may seem. Either way, the membership also feels strongly (by 60.7%) that the respective high-def disc groups need to increase their marketing budgets to explain the benefits of their formats and of HD to the consumer.

    • How will things play out for a win? Once a player price is lowered to mass market levels, 76.1% of the CDSA respondents feel strongly that the single winner format will emerge due to consumer demand.

    • Despite dissatisfaction with the process of this worldwide product introduction, the CDSA respondents agree that the move toward HD, next generation DVDs will, overall, be beneficial to their businesses (60%)

For a selection of unattributed, member comments click here.

Program Alert: December Media Market
Intelligence Summit, Dec 3-4, NYC

 

  • What is the future of physical media?
  • When will digital media become a viable   business?
  • What is the timetable for transition?
  • What do consumers really want?
  • How can today's replicators benefit from today's market changes?

These vital questions will be answered by leading market researchers in a one-of-a-kind event at the Marriott Hotel East Side in New York City. For the first time ever, competing market researchers will provide their individual forecasts, analysis and commentary at one time and in one place, as part of a one-day conference program.

Click here for more program and registration details: www.contentdeliveryandstorage.org/conf/summit.shtml

Maxell’s Don Patrican Honored by Anti-Defamation League

CDSA Board Member Don Patrican, Executive Vice President, Maxell Corporation is being honored at the National Consumer Technology Industry Awards Tribute Dinner Dance sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League at the Grand Hyatt New York on the evening of November 17, 2007. CDSA congratulates Don for his years of dedication to our association and to the storage media industry. For contributions or reservations, contact Judy Fazzotari at jfazzolari@adl.org

Sustainable Media Packaging Committee Formed

Responding to market demands, the new CDSA Sustainable Media Packaging Committee chaired by Jim Spry, Director Global Business Development, Milliken & Company; Peter Ciriello, Sr. Vice President, New Business Development, Cinram; and Tim Barnette, President, Nexpak will hold an inaugural meeting on November 13 in Spartanburg, South Carolina. The Tri-Chairs of the Committee have invited packaging suppliers as well as replicators to attend this meeting in the hope of establishing broader insights into emerging market demands for eco-friendly sustainable media packaging. The committee intends to review the stated objectives of retailers and content holders in order to determine how it can best support and perhaps drive the adoption of new, greener packaging. CDSA thanks Milliken for hosting this vital industry meeting.

Strategic Planning Sessions Being Held in Los Angeles, New York City and London

You have seen the changes. Now that Phase One of the IRMA/CDSA transition plan is in place -- with the adoption of a new logo, new web site, new magazine design, and new branding/communications package -- the association is ready to embark on the next Phase of its evolution from IRMA to CDSA. In an effort to obtain maximum member input on the future of the association, CDSA has planned a series of three Strategic Planning Sessions scheduled for October in Los Angeles, New York City and London. Each session will evaluate our progress so far, re-evaluate our mission and objectives and identify programs that will best strengthen the value and relevancy of the association. Input from the sessions will be used to develop a CDSA Strategic Plan for board approval and implementation by the board and staff. The accelerating rate of change within the media markets means that we will need to constantly review our road map, and make necessary adjustments along the way as we expand CDSA's role and relevancy; this is the first in an ongoing series of membership outreach meetings that will assure that all members can contribute their views about the transition program as it evolves.

Nexpak’s Duluth, Georgia Plastic DVD Packaging Facility Certified

Nexpak's Duluth, Georgia DVD Packaging Facility has achieved the first certification under the CDSA Plastic DVD Packaging Standard. The Standard sets forth minimum compositional specifications for harmful substances in plastic DVD packaging. Additionally, this Standard was developed to minimize environmental contamination from disposal of plastic DVD packaging. Any company engaged in the physical manufacture of plastic DVD packaging is eligible to be certified by this Standard. Each plant to be certified provides samples for testing by an accredited laboratory that has been certified by either the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation or the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation. Results of testing are sent to CDSA directly from the laboratory utilized to analyze the composition of the plastic DVD packaging. AGI Polymatrix’s Kentucky and Massachusetts facilities are currently undergoing laboratory testing for certification under the Standard. Congratulations to Nexpak’s Georgia facility.


Charles Van Horn photoCharles Van Horn
IRMA/CDSA President
cvanhorn@contentdeliveryandstorage.org