Tom Butts (left) and Chris Pfaff (right) at the virtual tvtech Summit – March 29, 2023

Chris Pfaff was the keynote speaker at TV Technology’s tvtech Summit, a virtual half-day event on March 29, 2023 that featured leaders in the production technology industry, in a conversation with TV Technology editor-in-chief Tom Butts. Titled ‘Why You Should Care About the Metaverse,’ the March 29th conversation dove into topics regarding persistent computing, VR and AR, and some definitional discussion over the course of 30 minutes.

You can watch the entire discussion at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzk61rqUEhc&t=3s

Tom Butts wrote this preview (see below) in TV Technology, which was published on March 23, 2023.

On Wednesday, March 29, TV Tech will be holding its Spring TV Tech Summit, a series of keynote conversations, panel discussions and case studies covering the latest advances in Media and Entertainment tech.

Opening the summit, TV Tech Editor in Chief Tom Butts will talk with Chris Pfaff, founder of Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC, and a leading new media and technology producer and strategist on “Why You Should Care about the Metaverse.”

Chris’s 30+ year background in the industry makes him uniquely qualified to speak about this technology which (some would characterize) as “emerging” for more than a decade.

For those of us who think the metaverse is just another name for virtual reality, Chris is ready to debunk that trope.

“The metaverse is a shared decentralized digital space where you can meet, create and share a personalized experience,” he said. “But you can do that in  virtual reality and in other technologies as well. And I think that someday soon, perhaps not that many years from now we will have more projectable holograms that will reflect how people currently view the future of the metaverse.

“What makes the metaverse different from virtual reality is that it has to be immersive and it has to be persistent,” Chris added. “It has to have some community which may have some connections to what you experience in the physical world. It doesn’t have to be a simulacrum of what you do in the physical world where you are just ‘layering on.’”

Making the metaverse more immersive is key, not just to entertain us but to educate us as well, Chris says

“For example, if you were studying meteorology or cosmology and somebody was teaching you about the stratosphere and the ionosphere, using the metaverse to provide a more fully immersive kind of experience could really revolutionize the way we communicate and teach,” he added.

 

Jonathan French, Chris Pfaff, Jasmin Rezai, Jorge Balleste, Tony Kelly

Pfaff directed the conversation to the emerging FAST strategy in LATAM, including using FAST channels to upsell viewers to premium content, as Tony Kelly acknowledged for CINDIE. Jorge Ballesta’s Vix – which encompasses more than 40,000 hours of content in all genres – became part of the discussion. Pfaff discussed the “FAST is the new cable” mantra with the panel, and even discussed how FAST is also the new “independent TV.” With a shout-out to TelevisaUnivision’s Luis de la Parra, a leader in branded content, Pfaff discussed the growth of FAST channels as a promotional vehicle.

Chris Pfaff moderates the ‘Producing in XR: How to Navigate Challenges’ panel at the Immerse Global Summit Miami at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.

Speakers included:

• Michael Owen, MediaCombo
• Grace Ng, ‘Crash Punks’
• Ian Beacraft, Signal & Cipher

Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Virtual Theatre: The Metaverse Smashes the Four Walls’ session, which opened Day 2 of the Immerse Global Summit Miami, produced by the VR AR Association, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, with an all-star panel, featuring:

• Alyssa Landry, Doubleeye Studios
• Brandon Powers, BP Projects
• Kiira Benzing, Doubleeye Studios
• Sylvana Levy, Sylvana Levy & Co.

The session opened with a salsa entrance – to Marc Anthony’s ‘Valió la Pena’ – that got the crowd up and dancing.

Chris Pfaff appeared on the CTAM Europe virtual webinar – Get Ready to Go FAST’ – on Wednesday, November, 16, 2022. Marco Frazier, from Screen+ moderated, and Christian Kneel, from Global Media Consult also appeared. The panel discussion included points regarding the content requirements for FAST and the monetization and tech requirements for FAST channel development.

You can watch the entire ‘Get Ready to Go FAST’ session at:

Christian Knaebel (upper left) makes a point as Chris Pfaff (upper right) and Marco Frazier (lower right) look on

Karen Doyle, from CTAM Europe (lower left) introduces the panel

At the first in-person Streaming Media West in three years, Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Web3, Blockchain, and NFTs: Separating the Hype From the Reality’ session on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, California.

Speakers included:
– Marc Scarpa, founder, DeFiance Media
– Dot Bustelo, founder/CEO, Loupe Art + Music
– Darcy Lorincz, CTO, Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

You can watch the entire ‘Web3, Blockchain, And NFTs: Separating the Hype From The Reality’ panel at:

(Left to right): Dot Bustelo, Darcy Lorincz, Chris Pfaff, and Marc Scarpa after the ‘Web3, Blockchain, And NFTs: Separating The Hype From The Reality’ panel

Dot Bustelo (right) discusses her streaming NFT strategy

Marc Scarpa discusses leading a Web3-focused OTT service

Darcy Lorincz (center) discusses the intricacies of live auction streaming

Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Silicon Beach and Beyond: What Can OTT Services Learn From Tech Startups’ session at Streaming Media West 2022 on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, California.

Speakers on the session included:

• Eric Smith, from Roku
• Dana Witt, from Kast Media and Live Current Media Inc.
• Ben Hoyt, from 47 Games
• Will Baumann, from Fourthwall

You can watch the entire ‘Silicon Beach and Beyond: What Can OTT Services Learn From Tech Startups’ session at:

(Left to right): Ben Hoyt, Eric Smith, Chris Pfaff, Will Baumann, and Dana Witt

(Left to right): Dana Witt, Will Baumann, Eric Smith, Chris Pfaff, and Ben Hoyt

Eric Smith (left) makes a point regarding Roku’s growth

Will Baumann (second from left) discusses e-commerce for influencers

Ben Hoyt discusses the game developer mentality

Chris Pfaff moderated the Grand Finale/Plenary session – ‘Driving Audience Engagement with Interactive Streaming’ – at the TV of Tomorrow Show at the General’s Residence, at Fort Mason, San Francisco on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

Speakers included:

• Tom Link, MuxIP
• Evo Heyning, PlayableAgency
• Pip Brignall, The Round
• Gregor Landwehr, Contentflow       

Chris Pfaff moderated an all-star panel – ‘Life in the FAST Lane’ – as a pre-MIPCOM virtual session on the Media Meet & Greet community, on the Deal Room platform, on Monday, October 10, 2022.

The speakers included:

• Jonathan French, senior vice president, sales and business development, MuxIP
• Larry Baird, chief marketing officer, Crackle Plus
• Richard Young, director of syndication, Little Dot Studios
• John T. Wells, CEO, Dooya Media Group

The session discussed the accelerated adoption of Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television, or FAST, models, and how advertisers and brands are positioning their content for this growing sector.

Chris Pfaff (upper left); Larry Baird (upper center): Richard Young (upper right); Jonathan French (lower left), John Wells (lower right)

You can watch the entire ‘Life in the FAST Lane’ panel at:

Chris Pfaff moderated the virtual ‘Future of Interactive Streaming’ panel at the Streaming Media Connect, on Thursday, August 25, 2022.

The panel discussed the current state of real-time interactive streaming, and the challenges of scale. As ultra-low latency, real-time applications for sports,      e-sports, auctions, and betting gain traction, the future of real-time streaming may embrace a myriad of new applications that deliver on long-held promises of true interactivity.

Speakers on the panel included:

Darcy Lorincz, chief technology officer, Barrett-Jackson Auction Company
Emily Blodgett, head of production, Mainstream Media
Oliver Lietz, CEO, nanocosmos
Erdal Kilinc, CEO/co-founder, Deal Room Events

You can watch the entire panel at: