Dr. Richard R. “Dick” Green is best known for his work heading up Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs), the research arm of the cable industry, and for his work with international television standards organizations. After a more than 50-year career in telecommunications and television Green was honored with a lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame.

Career

Green was President and CEO of CableLabs from 1988 through 2009.[1][2] He guided the cable industry through the transition from its analog roots to the broadband architectures of today, stressing interoperability and standardization across a broad range of operators and suppliers.[3] Under Green’s leadership, CableLabs managed key technology developments that helped the cable industry expand services to include broadband internet service and telephony.[4][5][6] The development of the Data over Cable Services Interface Specification (DOCSIS) has resulted in cable’s dominance of the broadband internet market in North America and the retail availability of high-speed cable modems.[7] DOCSIS is an interoperability specification that ensures cable modems from various manufacturers will function correctly on networks run by the different cable operators, and allows manufacturers to produce at scale. The first DOCSIS 1.0 cable modems were certified by CableLabs in 1999.[8]

Prior to CableLabs, Green held the position of senior vice president of Broadcast Operations and Engineering at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) where his contributions included construction of national network origination and transmission facilities. He was instrumental in establishing Public Broadcasting as a leader in high definition television and digital audio transmission technology. From 1980 to 1983, Green was director of the CBS Advanced Television Technology Laboratory in Stamford, Conn. Green served as Director of Engineering at Time Fiber Communication from 1979-1980.

From 1977 to 1979, Dr. Green managed ABC’s Video Tape Post Production Department in Hollywood, and from 1972 to 1977, he directed basic research in laser technology for the Hughes Aircraft Co. in Los Angeles. Green served as a senior staff scientist for Boeing Scientific Research Laboratories (1964-1972), and as an assistant professor at the University of Washington (1968-1972).[9]

Currently Green serves as a director of Liberty Global Corporation, Liberty Broadband Corporation and GCI Liberty.[10] He is on the advisory board of the Nyagi Project.[11] Green is former Chair of The Space Science Institute in Boulder Colorado.

Television standards

Prior to his role at PBS, Green helped organize and establish the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC), a multi-industry-supported organization founded to develop voluntary national standards for advanced television. He held the position of Executive Director of that organization until 1983. Green served as Chair of the International Telecommunication Union committee that produced CCIR (now ITU-R) Recommendation 601, a world- wide television standard for digital signals. He is the former Chair of SG9, a United Nations signatory committee (ITU-T) charged with the responsibility of recommending worldwide standards for advanced television services.

Honors and awards

Education

Green holds a B.S. degree from Colorado College (1959), a M.S. in physics from the State University of New York in Albany (1964), and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington (1968). He was born June 10, 1937, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Publications

Engineering publications:

Astrophysics publications:

Cable Hall of Fame: https://syndeoinstitute.org/honorees/past-honorees/2008-honorees/richard-r-green/

Oral History Interview 2002: https://syndeoinstitute.org/the-hauser-oral-history-project/g-listings/richard-green-2002/

Oral History Interview 2023: https://syndeoinstitute.org/the-hauser-oral-history-project/g-listings/richard-green-2023/

Light Reading interview on development of DOCSIS: https://www.lightreading.com/cable-technology/dr-richard-green-cablelabs-first-ceo-reflects-on-the-dawn-of-docsis

DOCSIS panel with Dr. John Malone: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sa43i01qyAY

References

  1. ^ A Decade of Innovation: The History of CableLabs, 1988-1998. Louisville, CO: Cable Television Laboratories. 1998. pp. 13–14.((cite book)): CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ^ Spangler, Todd (September 29, 2008). "Green to Leave CableLabs". Multichannel News: 6.
  3. ^ Winslow, George (November 9, 2009). "Green: Creating Standards That Worked. Departing CableLabs CEO Laid a Foundation for Innovation". Multichannel News: 13.
  4. ^ Neel, K.C. (October 13, 2008). "Having Fun Being First [Cable Hall of Fame Supplement]". Multichannel News: 30.
  5. ^ "CableLabs Helps Chart Course for Advanced Cable TV Services. (interview with Cable Television President & CEO Richard R. Green)". Telecommunications Reports. 64 (43): 45+. October 26, 1988.
  6. ^ Schwartz, Evan I. (April 17, 1994). "Technology; It's the Birthplace of 300 Channels". New York Times.((cite news)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ "LRG Research Notes, chart "Top Broadband Internet Providers in the U.S.", p. 6" (PDF). 2024.((cite web)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Brown, Eric (March 12, 1999). "It's Slow Going on Cable-modem Tests". CNN.com.((cite web)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ Who's Who in the West (25th ed.). Marquis Who's Who LLC. 1995.((cite book)): CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ "Leadership Team". Liberty Global. Retrieved July 5, 2024.((cite web)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Our Team". NYAGI Project. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  12. ^ "Olivia Munn Hosts 64th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards [two paragraphs on Green]".((cite web)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ Spangler, Todd (October 15, 2012). "Green Gets Gold with Lifetime Emmy Engineering Award". Multichannel News: 44.
  14. ^ Kerschbaumer, Ken (April 25, 2001). "Dick Green: The Industry's Own Renaissance Man (Technology Leadership Awards supplement)". Broadcasting & Cable: 10–11.
  15. ^ "Louis T Benezet Award - Colorado College". www.coloradocollege.edu. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
  16. ^ “Green, CableLabs, Chosen 1991 Man of the Year.” CED Magazine, January 1992, p22-44, 65.