Jim (the Frog) Taylor

My life of multimedia crime began in 1979 with the Montevidisco project at Brigham Young University, where I saw my first laserdisc player (an industrial MCA DiscoVision behemoth). After fiddling with the remote for a bit, I figured out how to program it to make the kids on the merry-go-round hop back and forth (bonus points if you recognize the laserdisc). From that point on I was hooked on random access video. I played a very small role in the development of Montevidisco, a ground-breaking language-learning multimedia project that used two Pioneer LD-V8000 players, video overlay cards, and other goodies at the cost of $18,000 per system. Now, after 20 years, we can finally achieve most of the same functionality on a $200 DVD-Video player.

My various positions at BYU over the course of ten years included Manager of Microcomputer Support for Curriculum, Academic Computer Labs Administrator, Courseware Production Supervisor, Systems Programmer, and TICCIT Courseware Author. I designed and taught workshops on multimedia and computer applications, and I also taught a graduate computing course.

In 1991 my wife Julia and I moved to Seattle to join Videodiscovery, a publisher of educational multimedia. My job was to guide the company through the jungle of new technology and to develop technology-based solutions for production and operations. I served as Director of Software Development, Director of Information Technology, and VP of Information technology.

From 1998 to mid 2000 I was on contract to Microsoft as DVD Evangelist (yes, that was really my official title). I'm now Chief Technology Officer for a soon-to-be-named company. I serve as President of the DVD Association. I maintain the DVD FAQ and I've written a book, DVD Demystified, published by McGraw-Hill. I do a bit of writing for magazines and newsletters such as Widescreen Review, and DV Report. I've written for Proceedings of the IEEE, SMPTE, Funk & Wagnalls Multimedia Encyclopedia, and other publications that I might get around to listing in here some day. I've taught seminars and given presentations on DVD technology at various conferences such as DVD Pro, DVD Production, DVD Summit, and New Media. I was recently named one of the 21 most influential executives of the DVD industry by DVD Report and Tape Disc Business, and was awarded the 2000 DVD Pro Discus Award for Outstanding Contribution to the DVD Industry.

My accomplishments include the award-winning MediaMAX software, the amazing Videodiscovery Web site, the charming Rusting TARDIS Web site, and the award-winning Grader-Aider gradebook management program. While at Videodiscovery I wrote a few ditties such as technology primers on DVD and the Internet. My fondest accomplishment is the adorable Anneke Taylor.

Some of my past activities include the CALICO executive board,  the HTML Working Group and the IMA (later SPA, later SIIA) DVD Special Interest Group. When I was in high school I played the cello in the Utah Valley Youth Symphony.

My interests include science fiction, entertainment media, high-fidelity audio and video, languages (I once spoke six of them--now I'm lucky to limp by in English), educational technology, and cognitive science. I love to snow ski but I hardly ever get around to it.

In the unlikely event that you're interested, here's more information about me, including a picture of what I really look like. Or you could view a boring list of my publications, presentation, and other productions.

The furry guy with Xena is my brother, Steve.