Dr. Masao Sugimoto, a Japanese pioneer of digital television technology and founder/president of e-Box, died Sunday, December 22nd, in Tokyo.
First at NHK, where he spearheaded the development of digital television for Japan’s public television network, and later at Pioneer Corporation, where he led that company’s development of DVD, Dr. Sugimoto became an international leader in the development of digital TV technology.
He later formed the e-Box consortium, composed of Pioneer, Sharp, National Semiconductor, Sigma Designs, CMC Magnetics, iVAST and Modern Video Film, to provide cable operators with a new digital cable technology based upon MPEG-4 technology.