The members of the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC have elected Robert Rast as their 2005 Board chairman. Rast has been involved in HDTV virtually since the idea first arose in the United States. He has held senior positions with a number of companies, including GI, inventor of the first digital television system to be proposed in the United States, and from which he played a key role in making the Grand Alliance DTV/HDTV broadcasting system, now known as the ATSC system, a reality. He is currently with the Micronas Corporation. Throughout his HDTV career, Rast has been actively involved in the ATSC.
In addition to electing a chairman, ATSC members elected four new directors. The ATSC Board of Directors consists of 14 members, and of the current directors, four represent consumer electronics companies, and five represent broadcasting organizations. The remaining directors represent the organizations comprising the Joint Committee on InterSociety Coordination (JCIC): National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), National Cable Television Association (NCTA), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
Those who read this Notebook last week will recall that ATSC is responsible for the development and maintenance of digital television standards in the United States.
