Expert Details
Internet Streaming Video and Video Communications, Protocols and Encoding Methods
ID: 727383
New Hampshire, USA
As a consultant to group within Toshiba developing an SoC capable of handling multimedia and graphics functions for 3G cell phones, Expert served as an architect, technical lead, and manager for projects involving mobile H.324 video telephony, Expert encoding, and decoding video, audio, and speech. He also was Toshiba's representative to the ITU-T, 3GPP, and 3GPP2 standards committees with a particular focus on the integration of MPEG-4 video compression (MPEG-4 Part 2).
The expert continued his work on video encoding and decoding firmware for DSPs as Director of Video and Image Processing at ChipWrights. His concentration there was the H.264/AVC video compression standard (MPEG-4 Part 10). He also lent his expertise to the enhancement of a MPEG-2 video decoder.
With regard to video conferencing and video communications, Expert was recently the architect of a system that bridged PSTN and VoIP voice calls with H.323 and SIP video telephone calls. Earlier in his career, he was the technical lead for an H.320 video conferencing system and successfully managed the release of an H.324 video telephone.
At Hamilton Telecommunications, Expert was initially hired as a consultant to help them solve technical problems with their VRS, which was based on technology to bridge PSTN and VoIP calls with H.323 and SIP video calls. Realizing that his analysis would indicate a difficult and expensive overhaul plan, he added to his report an alternative method that he felt was more in line with Hamilton's skill set. This alternate method was enthusiastically embraced by management and was successfully deployed with far greater quality and reliability than the original system. A small R&D group at Toshiba Semiconductor in Japan was undertaking the development of an SoC processor that would enable full multimedia functionality for 3G cell phones. One of the first applications was to be a video telephone, for which they had no expertise. The expert was hired as a consultant to lend that expertise and mentor other engineers. Later, he was the architect for the SoC API and successfully spearheaded Toshiba's struggle to get their chosen technology into relevant international standards.
Accomplishments:
• 15+ years’ experience project lead of HW/SW projects including teams in Japan, Taiwan, and India
• Lead the integration of Intel’s STB SoC into customer’s IPTV, cable, and satellite platforms
• Lead the porting of Tizen IVI to Intel’s IVI reference platform for Toyota’s next-generation IVI systems (this was the basis for AGL)
• Lead the DSP FW development for the 1.0 release of ChipWrights’ next generation ARM/DSP SoC
• Represented Toshiba at ITU-T, 3GPP, and 3GPP2 video codec standards committees
• Lead the analysis of patents in a video codec patent pool resulting in a savings of $124M
• Expert witness for three patent lawsuits
Core Competencies:
• Management and project leadership
• 15+ years’ experience developing embedded system SW and MW in C++
• 10+ years’ experience developing and debugging system SW and MW on Linux in C++
• Streaming video via IP networks
• HEVC/H.265, AVC/H.264, VP8, VP9, and AV1 video codecs
• AAC audio codec
• Object-oriented architecture
• Linux OS and SW development tools
Education
| Year | Degree | Subject | Institution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Year: 1986 | Degree: BS | Subject: Communications | Institution: Worcester State College |
| Year: 1993 | Degree: Graduate School, Non-Degree Granting | Subject: Computer Science | Institution: Harvard University |
Work History
| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
|---|---|---|---|
| Years: 2017 to Present | Employer: Undisclosed | Title: Principal SW Engineer | Department: Security and Detection Systems |
Responsibilities:Responsible for design and implementation of major SW components in threat detection scanners.• Manager of Sustaining Engineering – Interface with customer facing field teams to determine the cause of failure, design fixes that minimize the impact on existing infrastructure and oversee deployment of patches. Handle EOL equipment replacement in terms of SW changes. I am responsible for creating an SOW, project schedule and overseeing development by a team. Additionally, I manage all QA phases and changes to the BOM, schematics and mechanical drawings. I also oversee the creation of the SW release and its deployment to the customer. An example: o Archive Servers handle dozens of scanners producing up to 1800 images (as large as 60 MB) per hour. Existing network service for compressing images after they were deposited on the Archive Server was unreliable. The file pruning method was found to be the cause. I lead a team to replace it with a method utilizing low-level Linux system calls that scanned as few directories as possible. I contributed to the low-level Linux component. The new method is 1000s of times faster. • Dual Energy Project – Added calibration test for Z effective data (from low photoelectric energy) in a CT machine for better threat analysis. Image processing algorithm had to be efficient due to a large number of voxels produced by the 3D scans. Calibration values exactly matched expected values on the first test, as did the measured atomic weight (which can be determined with Z effective data). |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2014 to 2017 | Employer: Microsoft Corporation | Title: Principal Patent Engineer | Department: Intellectual Property Group |
Responsibilities:Generally responsible for video codec related patent analysis with respect to posting allowance review, annuity payment decisions, foreign national phase decisions, litigation and licensing. I also did reverse engineering of video related SW.• Project Lead for analysis of HEVC/H.265 patents in the MPEG LA and HEVC Advance patent pools for the purpose of developing a licensing strategy. Required deep analysis of the standard to determine which patents from the two patent pools were infringed by Microsoft’s implementation. Analyzed proposals from each patent pool regarding licensing terms in terms of cost/benefit to Microsoft. The recommendation was used to decide which, if any, patent pool to join. • Program Manager for patent group approval of standards group (i.e., W3C) joins requests. With input from patent group attorneys and engineers, analyzed the impact of joining a standards group on the Microsoft patent portfolio in terms of encumbrances relative to the respective IPR policy and make a recommendation of whether joining the standard group would negatively impact the Microsoft patent portfolio in terms of future licensing or divestiture opportunities. • Project Lead for analysis of patents remaining in each of the patent pools (mostly for media codecs, including MPEG-2, AVC/H.264, and AAC) for which Microsoft is a licensee. Utilizing internal resources and outside counsel, assess the expiry dates, validity and infringement of each in force patent and then estimate the risk of withdrawing from the patent pool. Savings realized is upwards of $124M. • Individual Contributor on three separate projects to determine if certain features were utilized that Microsoft had patents on. These projects required writing extensions in C/C++ to FFmpeg, Android, and VP8 and VP9. The FFmpeg project and VP8 and VP9 project were done in Linux. The Android project was done in Windows using the Android emulator. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2009 to 2014 | Employer: Intel Corporation | Title: Software Engineer | Department: Automotive Solutions Division (ASD) |
Responsibilities:Responsible for software planning for a Linux based IVI (In-Vehicle Infotainment) system. Interfacing with customers to determine their long-range plans, shaping ASD strategy around SW, scoping technologies, and working with engineering to develop an execution plan.• Project Lead to bring up Tizen IVI on an existing HW platform. Required managing an external engineering team in Korea, a QA team in PRC, and interfacing with an internal driver development team. The project was completed on schedule and within budget. The platform was selected by a major Japanese automotive OEM for their next generation IVI systems and was used for SW prototyping by six tier one suppliers. • Project Lead to develop an OS strategy for a Linux based SW stack servicing a fragmented IVI market. Involved a competitive analysis and ROI predictions. Looked at strategies that would accelerate current development and increase scalability. Also looked at alternatives such as QNX and Android. The recommendation was presented to the division VP and approved. • Project Lead to develop a strategy to incorporate a Web runtime into an existing SW stack to support HTML5 Web applications, including API extensions proposed in the W3C. Evaluated internal and external solutions, worked with engineering to scope integration effort, and generated RFQs for a third-party SW engineering resource. The recommendation was presented to the division VP and approved. Service Provider Division (SPD) Based on the Atom processor, the CE4x00 SoCs are designed for cable, satellite and IPTV STBs. Running embedded Linux, the CE4x00 has additional on-chip components to accelerate streaming video applications. • Architect and developer for IoT service connecting devices in near proximity for the purpose of exchanging media in an ad hoc, peer-to-peer, secure, virtual network. Each host could be added or blocked from the network without cumbersome authentication schemes such as with Bluetooth pairing. An Agile methodology was used that included daily Scrum meetings held in conjunction with one or two-week sprints to quickly respond to evolving requirements. I contributed the identity and identity security modules. • Project Lead for the following customer engagements. o DIRECTV satellite and IPTV STB using the Intel CE4200. MPEG-2 and H.264 plus SVC video decoding were utilized for video with Civolution watermarking. Analyzed DIRECTV requirements and determined missing functionality in the CE4200 SDK. Defined and scoped the engineering effort required to fill gaps. o Technicolor (Rennes, France) cable and IPTV STB for France Telecom and Telecom Italia based on the CE4200. Managed integration of DVB-T functionality plus development of Viaccess conditional access, PlayReady DRM, bifurcated boot code, and DTCP-IP. o Cisco SA DVB-T plus IPTV STB based on the CE4100. Managed integration of DVB-T functionality plus debugged video/audio drop-outs, Linux build/init issues, and fixed a difficult to find a bug in the demux FW related to conditional access. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2008 to 2009 | Employer: ChipWrights, Inc. | Title: Director of Video and Image Processing | Department: |
Responsibilities:• Hands-on position in which I oversaw the development of the DSP for the CW5631, which consisted of an ARM9 core running Linux plus two DSP cores. I was the developer for the following:• Created a new DSP software architecture to accommodate the move from a single DSP core to a combination of ARM core, 16 parallel data path DSP core, and serial DSP core; • Ported an AVC (H.264) video encoder for the DSPs, did optimizations that yielded a 2:1 performance improvement and added multiple slice support; • Ported a MPEG-4 encoder to the DSPs; • Wrote a memory manager for the ARM9 that enabled Linux applications to access the shared memory area; • Ported an AAC audio decoder to Linux and the ARM9 core; • Wrote an MP4 media container file parser using the Bento4 library for use in Linux. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 2007 to 2008 | Employer: Hamilton Telecommunications | Title: Senior Software Analyst | Department: |
Responsibilities:Project Lead for a Video Relay Service (VRS), which is used to allow hearing-impaired people to communicate using sign language via a videophone and an interpreter to a non-signing person utilizing a telephone. Responsible for overall infrastructure design, software architecture, and leading a team of five engineers.I wrote, in C++, the call control application, which did the following: • Interface via TCP/IP with the ENTICE Session Controller, parse and respond to CDRs (Call Detail Records) regarding incoming and outgoing calls; • Interface using XML to the Codian MCU to handle all call control functions (moving on-hold callers to a free interpreter's conference, call out to the callee, hanging up calls, etc.); • Interface using an XML API that I designed to communicate with the workstation controller; • Create CDRs for billing when a call terminated. |
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| Years | Employer | Title | Department |
| Years: 1998 to 2006 | Employer: Toshiba Corporation | Title: Consultant | Department: |
Responsibilities:In the Toshiba Semiconductor multimedia-processor SoC group, my primary duties were to manage or provide technical leadership on various projects and, in parallel, to represent Toshiba at several standards committees. Additionally, I served as a technical expert for business development outside of Japan. Toshiba's T-series multimedia DSPs were multimedia coprocessors for mobile phones, enabling support for video (H.263, MPEG-4, RealVideo and H.264), speech/audio (AAC, AMR, EVRC, RealAudio) and transport level network interface (RTP/RTCP, H.324). As Toshiba's representative to ITU-T, 3GPP and 3GPP2 standards bodies, I was the technical expert responsible for establishing MPEG-4 video in video telephony and mobile multimedia services.Manager of engineering teams in India, Japan and US to develop firmware (C and assembler) and host software (C++) for Real Networks streaming (RTP) audio and video decoding on the Toshiba T4G MEP DSP per customer's specification. • Derived requirements based on customer's needs • Worked with RealNetworks representatives to understand their interfaces • Developed the overall system design • Oversaw development and release cycles across geographically disparate development teams Project Lead for LG Electronics 3G mobile phone project utilizing Toshiba's T3 DSP with support for real-time streaming video over RTP utilizing a PacketVideo server and pseudo streaming video. • Brought in after the project was started to get development back on track • Coordinated development between teams in Japan, Korea, and the US • Contributed interface code and shared memory manager Project Lead for T-series multimedia processor High-level API (HAPI) project. • OS and HW independent API for accessing the T-series multimedia DSPs through a consistent interface, regardless of OS • Support for video telephony, real-time streaming multimedia over IP and MP4 playback. Interfaces included video (H.264, H.263, and MPEG-4), speech (AMR, EVRC, etc.), audio (AAC), still image (JPEG), audio input/output, video camera, and LCD screen • Designed and coded the initial prototype • Team lead for developing version 1.0 Project Lead for development of H.324/H.323 mobile video telephone prototype used by NTT DoCoMo that allowed for easy substitution of various components. • HW and OS independent • Managed teams in the U.S. and Japan • Implemented drivers for an H.263 video codec, G.723.1 speech codec, H.223 mux, V.80, TAPI, and V.34 modules Researcher in IPTV and handheld TV standards, technology requirements and market conditions. I reported directly to upper-level Toshiba management as part of their decision-making process regarding the development of IPTV and handheld TV-related products. Representative to the 3GPP and 3GPP2 codec groups responsible for creating standards for multimedia services on 3G (CDMA2000 and W-CDMA) mobile telephones, including MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), video telephone (packet and circuit switched) and streaming multimedia. This involved my own research and interfacing with other researchers within Toshiba. Standards meetings involve interaction with representatives from major component and handset manufacturers, as well as cell phone network operators. I was the editor of the following specifications: • 3GPP2 C.S0050, "3GPP2 File Formats for Multimedia Services," • 3GPP2 C.S0045 "3GPP2 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) Media Format and Codecs for cdma2000 Spread Spectrum Systems," • 3GPP2 C.S0055 "Packet Switched Video Telephony (MCS)" (SIP-based), • 3GPP TS 26.110, “Codec for Circuit Switched Multimedia Telephony Service; General Description,” • 3GPP TS 26.111, “Codec for Circuit Switched Multimedia Telephony Service; Modifications to H.324.” Rapporteur for 3GPP TSG SA WG4 (codec) WI2, which was tasked with creating the codec specifications for video telephony over wireless circuit and packet switched networks. Representative to ITU-T Study Group 16, Question 1 (multimedia terminals) and Question 6 (video coding). Responsible for getting MPEG-4 Visual adopted as an option for H.324M video codecs. |
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International Experience
| Years | Country / Region | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Years: 1998 to 2006 | Country / Region: Japan | Summary: While working for Toshiba, Expert made approximately 2 dozen trips to Japan during this period with the length of time in Japan ranging from 1 to 16 weeks. |
| Years: to Present | Country / Region: India | Summary: One trip for one week while working for Toshiba to evaluate an out-source engineering team. |
| Years: to Present | Country / Region: China | Summary: One trip for one week while working for Toshiba to evaluate an out-source engineering team.Various standards meetings for Toshiba. |
| Years: to Present | Country / Region: Taiwan | Summary: Technical support for business development meetings for Toshiba. |
| Years: to Present | Country / Region: Korea | Summary: Manage integration of Toshiba multimedia SoC into an LG 3G cell phone. |
Career Accomplishments
| Associations / Societies |
|---|
| IEEE |
| Professional Appointments |
|---|
| Editor of numerous specifications. He has also Rapporteur for 3GPP TSG SA WG4 (codec) WI2, which was tasked with creating the codec specifications for video telephony over wireless circuit and packet switched networks. |
Additional Experience
| Expert Witness Experience |
|---|
| Expert Witness for the plaintiff regarding an intellectual property lawsuit pertaining to modem patents. Expert analyzed software written in C and C++ and firmware written in assembler for a variety of DSPs for the purpose of identifying the patented techniques as they were implemented in the accused products. Authored reports and was deposed. Expert has numerous other cases of expert witness experience. |
| Training / Seminars |
|---|
| Created a two-day seminar for Qualcomm describing the technical details of the H.324 video telephony standard. |
| Vendor Selection |
|---|
| Helped Toshiba select an outsource engineering team. Interviewed potential team members in China and India. |
| Marketing Experience |
|---|
| Currently authoring a market study for Mind Commerce as a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the field of Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) for 3G cell phones. He has similar expertise in video conferencing and video compression. |
| Other Relevant Experience |
|---|
| He has excellent verbal and written communications skills and is adept at working with people from many different cultures. |
Fields of Expertise
video, video conferencing, video communication, voice over IP, digital video signal compression, image compression, MPEG standard, multimedia, multimedia messaging service, multimedia video graphics, IP multimedia subsystem, wideband code division multiple access, 4G mobile network, Internet standard, DVD Player, digital video disc, digital convergence, inverse discrete cosine transform, display viewing angle, color monitor, broadband integrated services digital network, High-level Data Link Control, video capture, consensus standard, discrete cosine transform, asynchronous communication, directional microphone, multimedia software, video server, fractional T1, image transmission, JPEG standard, video-on-demand system, bit map, video image, cable standard, dithering, software standard, digital telephony, image processor, multimedia communication system development, multimedia display, image display process, display controller, medical video conferencing, image generation, asymmetrical digital subscriber line, VGA display terminal, NTSC television signal, television signal, audio signal, motion-picture projector, color television system, television camera, interactive video system, image processing software, video signal decompression, audio signal decompression, high-definition television audio acoustics, advanced signal processing system architectural design, CCD camera, audio signal compression, digital signal processing chip, communications technology, broadband network, digital signal, computer data communication protocol, data communication protocol, cathode-ray tube display, data transmission, television receiver, computer display terminal, video signal compression, digitizing, intranet, Internet, image, display process, telephony, teleconference, algorithm, standard, video signal, teleconferencing, picture tube, personal microcomputer, image processing, digital signal processing, computer science, cable television system, broadband communication