WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. —The Television Academy is bestowing the Philo T. Farnsworth Award on the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. SMPTE Fellow Laurence J. Thorpe will also be recognized with the Television Academy’s Charles F. Jenkins Lifetime Achievement Award. Thorpe’s contributions to the industry include leadership of HDTV development. In addition to publishing numerous papers on camera technology and HDTV, he served as an advisor to the Advanced Television Systems Committee, the Federal Communications Commission and SMPTE.
The Farnsworth award honors an agency, company, or institution whose contributions over time have made a significant impact on television technology and engineering.
“We are enormously pleased that SMPTE has been recognized for the impact of our work in advancing the creation, production, and delivery of television content and services,” saidRobert Seidel, SMPTE president-elect. “While a number of admirable corporations have earned this distinction, we are proud to be earning this award as an industry organization dedicated to standards creation and education in the motion-imaging field.”
Founded in 1916 under the chairmanship of famed inventor Charles F. Jenkins, SMPTE was chartered to develop standards and provide training to streamline the U.S. government’s burgeoning use of motion picture products. Increasing its scope in 1950 to embrace the emerging technology of television, the Society has continuously developed standards and educational programs that have made substantive impacts on this industry.
Notable technological advancements from SMPTE include the Society’s trademark color bars and its core high-definition work including the Emmy Award-winning HD-SDI (standard definition interface) standard. Along with being responsible for the newly published and developed standards for the next-generation television format characteristics of ultra HD, high dynamic range and immersive audio, SMPTE continues to contribute to the television ecosystem as it expands into a wide array of distribution channels enjoyed on omnipresent devices.
The awards will be presented at the 66th Primetime Emmy Engineering Awards Ceremony Jan. 8, 2015, at CES in Las Vegas.
