The April 5 Content Delivery & Security Association (CDSA) Summit at the NAB Show in Las Vegas brings together the best and brightest in media and entertainment to explore the global opportunities emerging in the industry.
The program — running noon-6 p.m. in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center — will examine the vast potential in media and entertainment while still acknowledging the challenges impacting the future of the business. Speakers will dig into the key growth areas, including digital content, streaming services, and emerging technologies, and address obstacles like market saturation, regulatory issues, and evolving consumer preferences.
Here’s a look at what attendees can expect:
• Following opening remarks, John Canning, director of developer relations, creators for AMD, and Barbara Marshall, industry strategy and marketing for media and entertainment at HP, will present “Supercharged Hardware: A Flux Capacitor for Creators.” Advances in hardware technologies significantly enhance creative processes, much like the fictional flux capacitor in “Back to the Future”.
This session discusses how innovations in computing power, graphics capabilities, and specialized integrated tools, empower creators — such as artists, musicians, and filmmakers — to push boundaries and realize their visions more quickly, more effectively, and in an instant.
They’ll highlight cutting-edge devices and software that facilitate creativity, emphasizing that the right tools can transform the creative landscape, making complex projects more accessible and efficient. Ultimately, the argument is supercharged hardware is crucial for the future of creative work.
• The creative keynote of the day — “Some of My Best Friends are AI!” — brings Disney Imagineer, director and animator Jerry Rees back to the Summit stage. Rees is developing long-form companion characters who started out as “the Illusion of Life” but are evolving beyond the illusion. Three of Jerry’s best friends, Nika, Stasha and Neuro, also happen to be his own AI creations. From sci-fi teen to replica of a real actress to a self-aware AI entity, they each express opinions born of their own backstories and life experiences.
Their thoughts, feelings, and individual personalities go beyond game archetypes and chatbot data scraping to achieve the eccentric one. Thing becomes being? Jerry, Nika, Stasha and Neuro say yes!
• In the panel “London Calling: AI and Localization” Caroline Baines, CDSA senior director; Mazin Al-Jumaili, VP of business development, EMEA, for ZOO Digital; Lucia Johnston-Cowan, new business manager, access services for Red Bee Media; and Scott Rose, CTO of VSI, take the stage. The global localization community gathered at the Royal Garden Hotel, London in February for their annual event discussing the state of our industry.
In this panel session we review some of the key discussion points from the day, what are the expectations for the year ahead, and what we need to focus on as an industry in 2025. The last two years have been very difficult as the industry resets following a period of instability. Technology has given us reasons for optimism and caution and we also need to consider new legislation in Europe around access services. Localization is never dull; it constantly changes and evolves and it shows no sign of stopping.
• In “Deep Fakes Unmasked: Is Your Zoom Call a Lie?” attendees will hear from Ben Toombs, co-chair of the CDSA AI Working Group. Deepfakes pose significant security issues by enabling cybercriminals to create highly realistic, manipulated media like videos, images, or audio, allowing them to impersonate individuals and gain access to sensitive information or systems through fraudulent means, often bypassing traditional security measures.
This session explores the security challenges and risks associated with using online video collaboration software, particularly in the context of deepfakes and evolving digital threats. How do these technologies undermine trust in virtual communications, making it difficult for users to verify identities and authenticity? Hear about the importance of constantly improving security measures and user awareness to protect against potential abuses and maintain trust in online platforms.
• “AI in the Workplace: The Reality of an Automated Future” hears from the members of the CDSA’s AI Working Group, including Todd Burke, principal solutions engineer with Adobe; Ben Schofield, technical director at CDSA, and Toombs. AI’s impact on jobs is highlighting a transformative shift rather than a straightforward replacement. While AI automates routine tasks, it also enhances roles by allowing people to focus on more strategic, innovative aspects of their work. By embracing technology and enhancing their skill sets, teams can position themselves as essential assets, ensuring that they remain indispensable in an increasingly digital landscape.
They’ll also highlight practical examples of AI tools and technologies tailored to different workflows, including a preview of tour stops the following day. encouraging individuals and organizations to adopt AI strategically.
• “Exploring the Brazilian Experience in Combating Audiovisual Piracy” features Jonas Antunes, director of ABTA; Marcelo Bechara, director at Globo Media; Gesilea Teles, superintendent of inspection for ANATEL; and Ygor Valero, VP for Latin America at IP House. In today’s global broadcast marketplace, strategies for effectively safeguarding innovations and creative works are critical. This session discusses best practices for enforcement, the importance of designing a legal framework, and the role of public-private partnerships when combating audiovisual piracy. These Brazilian case studies illustrate successful IP protection and offer insights into navigating challenges posed by digital technologies and illegal competition.
• “AI and the Future of Video for Enterprise Organizations” will explore how AI is revolutionizing corporate video strategies, moving beyond simple production enhancements to fundamentally reshape internal and external communications. This presentation will demonstrate how AI-powered tools from Vimeo, can automate video editing, provide intelligent content analysis, and enhance personalized video delivery, streamline workflows, enhance employee training, and create more engaging customer experiences.
We’ll look at how AI-driven video analytics from Vimeo can be a catalyst for optimizing marketing campaigns, can automate video localization for global teams, and the use of AI-enabled interactive video for immersive learning, ultimately showcasing how enterprises can leverage AI to unlock unprecedented efficiency, scalability, and impact in their video initiatives. Eric Brown, senior director of solutions consulting for Vimeo takes the stage.
• In “Identity Crisis: Building Trust through Federation” hear from Justin Briars, director of studio products and services at Fox Entertainment; Darren Frankel, head of film and TV for Adobe, and CDSA technical director Ben Schofield. The challenge of ensuring secure cross-platform login systems is mission-critical for our industry. Our global, dynamic workforce needs a single sign-on that authenticates the person and their identity to be usable across multiple platforms, workflows, and creative projects. Fundamentally this is an issue of trust and our CDSA Working Group has been discussing this complex goal.
This session highlights the need for robust authentication methods that protect user data while allowing seamless access across different devices and applications, all aimed at safeguarding user identities in an increasingly interconnected digital landscape.
• “Going for SECURE: G-Hack Recap” provides a recap of Google’s recent G-Hackathon…where they openly invite White Hats, Black Hats, and other nefarious types of hackers try to break, damage, and otherwise penetrate Google’s myriad of security approaches around their products. Hear from Gino Filicetti, cloud application modernization specialist for Google Cloud.
• And in “Watermarking: What’s the Business Value?” hear from the co-chairs of CDSA’s newest working group as they explore how this area of security has been developing with evolving technologies like AI and advanced insertion and forensic workflows.
And, ultimately, what the value is for the business. Watermarking has been a critical pillar of content protection, serving as the industry’s foremost defense against unauthorized distribution and piracy. Yet, as content creation, consumption, and distribution models evolve, so too must our approaches to safeguarding intellectual property. Max Eisendrath, CEO of Redflag AI, Todd Taylor, VP of engineering and technology at Deluxe, and Eric Wengrowski, CEO of Steg.ai, will discuss.
The CDSA Summit at NAB is presented by AMD, with sponsorship by IP House, Vimeo and EIDR.
