The Ultra HD Alliance has named Warner Bros. vp technology Michael Zink as its chairman and industry vet Mike Fidler as its first, full-time president.
The Alliance represents roughly 50 member companies including consumer electronics manufacturers, most Hollywood studios and other stakeholders.
Zink succeeds Twentieth Century Fox Film CTO Hanno Basse as chairman of the board. Underscoring the organization’s growth, Fidler — who has held executive roles at Sony and Pioneer — takes on the newly created full-time position of Alliance president. Additionally, longtime member company, audio technology developer Xperi (a DTS company), has joined the board.
“From a content provider perspective, there are so many exciting things we can do with UHD, and in particular with high dynamic range,” said Zink. “Consumers are starting to see the benefits of the technology…but still require a great deal more education. To that end, I expect our organizational vision will expand to include broader consumer promotion and information efforts.”
The Alliance most recently launched its Mobile HDR Premium specification and logo licensing for battery-operated devices as an addition to its certification and logo program for televisions, prerecorded content and UHD Blu-ray players.
Said Fidler: “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.”
