Rodolfo La Maestra

Senior Technical Director

Rodolfo La Maestra is the Senior Technical Director at HDTV Magazine and participated in the HDTV vision since the late 1980's. In the late 1990's, he began tracking all HDTV consumer equipment, and since 2002 he authors the annual HDTV Technology Review report covering HDTVs, Hi-def DVD, content providers, broadcast, cable, satellite, government, standards, connectivity, content protection, H/DTV tuners and DVRs, etc. In addition Rodolfo has authored a variety of tutorials, books, and educative articles for HDTV Magazine, DVDetc, and HDTVetc Magazines, Veritas et Visus Newsletter, Display Search, and served as technical consultant/editor for the "Reference Guide" and the "HDTV Glossary of Terms" for HDTVetc and HDTV Magazines. In 2004, he began recording a weekly HDTV technology program for MD Cable television, which by 2006 reached the rating of second most viewed by the public, here is the opening episode. Rodolfo's background encompasses Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, and Audio and Video Electronics, over 4,700 hours of professional training, a BS in Computer and Information Systems, and over thirty professional and post-graduate certifications, some from American, George Washington, and MIT Universities. Rodolfo was also Computer Science professor for over 700 students in five institutions between 1966-1973 in Argentina, for IBM, Burroughs, and Honeywell mainframes. After 38 years of computer systems career, Rodolfo retired in 2003 as Chief of Systems Development from the Inter-American Development Bank where he directed 65 software-development computer professionals, supporting member countries in north/central/south America 24x7. In parallel, from 1998 he helped the public with his other career of audio/video electronics. Rodolfo started with hi-end audio in the early 60’s and merged with Home Theater video, multichannel audio, widescreen laser disc, anamorphic DVD, 16x9 NTSC displays, HDTV, Hi-def DVD, IPTV, HDMI, and 2.35:1 Cinemascope HD Home Theater over the past 40+ years. When HDTV started airing in November 1998, he was an early adopter of HDTV and realized that the technology as implemented would overwhelm regular consumers due to its complexity, and it certainly does even today. Rodolfo then launched his HDTV mission of educating and helping consumers understand the complexity, the challenge, and the beauty of the technology, so the public learns to appreciate HDTV not just as another television.