Contacting HDTV Magazine

Rodolfo La Maestra's Biography

Rodolfo La Maestra is the Senior Technical Director at HDTV Magazine. Rodolfo has participated in the HDTV vision since the late 1980's when HDTV was proposed as an analog system. In the late 1990's, he began tracking and reviewing HDTV related technologies and hundreds of consumer products, which prompted him in 2002 to pioneer the authoring of the annual HDTV Technology Review report. The report encompasses all HDTVs and related equipment including Hi-def DVD, content providers, distribution systems (broadcast, cable, satellite), government, standards, connectivity, content protection, H/DTV tuners and DVRs, etc.

Rodolfo considers himself an educator, not a journalist, transferring knowledge, research, and experience. In addition to this annual publication, he 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 Magazine, included in this report and now available for HDTV Magazine readers.

In 2004, to help the public understand the H/DTV complexity, he began recording a TV technology periodical for Cable television that airs weekly. By 2006, the show has reached the rating of second most viewed by the public among all the technology episodes. The opening episode can be viewed in the HDTV Magazine Resources.

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. He directed 65 software-development computer professionals in the areas of information/transactional/web online systems, database administration, etc. supporting member countries in north/central/south America 24x7.

In parallel, from 1998 he concentrated his personal efforts in helping 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 and multichannel audio technologies during the past 40 years, including the niche widescreen laser disc, anamorphic DVD, 16x9 NTSC displays, HDTV, Hi-def DVD, IPTV, HDMI, and 2.35:1 Cinemascope HD Home Theater.

When HDTV started airing in November 1998, he was an early adopter of the HDTV dream he followed since the 80�s but 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.