
The annual awards honour those contributions to media production and distribution by those whose work often goes unseen by the public
By Jenny Priestley
Published: August 23, 2023
The annual awards honour those contributions to media production and distribution by those whose work often goes unseen by the public
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
SMPTE will bestow 17 honours on 35 individuals and organisations at its annual Awards Gala in October.
One of the great joys of SMPTE is to honour the work of those who often go unseen by the public, explained SMPTE executive director David Grindle. Without whose contributions to media production and distribution, that same public would not enjoy the media they do.
The organisation's highest award, Honourary Membership, will be conferred on Philipp Lawo in recognition of his pioneering of audio and media networking technology, which has significantly advanced broadcast facilities and live production including the world's largest live sporting events , said SMPTE.
The Progress Medal recognises outstanding technical contributions to the progress of engineering phases of the motion-imaging industries. This year, the Society will recognise John Christopher Gaeta for his contributions to Virtual Cinema, Volumetric Capture, and Bullet Time' in the original Matrix film trilogy.
SMPTE's Natalie M. and Herbert T. Kalmus Medal recognises outstanding contributions that reflect a commitment to the highest standards of quality and innovation in motion picture post-production and distribution services. It will be presented to Douglas Walker for his contributions to the motion picture industry, including as chief architect of the OpenColorIOv2 open-source project, and his work on the implementation of the Common LUT Format (CLF), a cross-platform mechanism for communicating complex colour management transforms.
Rolv Gjestland will receive the Samuel L. Warner Memorial Medal, which is presented for outstanding contributions in the design and development of new and improved methods and/or apparatus for motion picture sound. Gjestland will be recognised for his contributions to cinema auditorium design in all presentation aspects, including sound and picture.
Michael A. Dolan will be honored with The David Sarnoff Medal for his significant contributions to the development and implementation of the ATSC 3.0 digital transmission standard's IMSC1 IP-based closed-captioning standard.
The Excellence in Education Medal will be presented to Dr Wolfgang Ruppel for his contributions to media technology education in Germany, particularly during more than 15 years leading the engineering department at RheinMain University.
OpenColorIO will receive the Workflow Systems Medal for its open standard colour management solution, designed for media production, emphasising visual effects and computer animation.
The Digital Processing Medal, which recognises significant technical achievements related to the development of digital processing of content for motion pictures, television, games, or other related media, will be presented to Karlheinz Brandenburg in recognition of his fundamental contributions to developing MPEG digital audio compression systems.
The Camera Origination and Imaging Medal will be presented to Rudolf P. Koppe for developing the technology that enabled the transmission of full bandwidth HD camera signals over existing triax cable, allowing a rapid transition to high-definition television production in the studio and at remote locations.
Richard D Wright will be honoured with the James A Lindner Archival Technology Medal for more than three decades of leadership in audiovisual preservation, which has contributed significantly to developing quality standards in large-scale archival digitization initiatives.
SMPTE's Excellence in Standards Award recognises those who have been actively involved in advancing the Society's standards, activities, and processes. This year's award will be presented to Florian Schleich for his work as SMPTE standards vice-president and chair of the 35PM technology committee.
The Presidential Proclamation recognises individuals of established and outstanding status and reputation in the motion picture and television industries worldwide. Wendy Aylsworth will be recognized for her decades of service to the production technology industry and her trailblazing work, which paved the way for women in such male-dominated fields as aerospace engineering, production engineering, and animation technology and operations, said SMPTE. Peter Wharton will be posthumously recognised for his numerous contributions to SMPTE and the broadcast technology industry, including his passion for mentoring and creating opportunities for underrepresented groups within the industry.
Fourteen new SMPTE Fellows will be recognised at this year's Gala for attaining an outstanding rank among engineers or executives in media and entertainment through their proficiency and contributions to the motion picture, television, or related industries. These individuals are Mark Aitken, John Ellerton, Martin P Feldman, Cristina Gomila, Frank Governale, James L Helman, Polly Hickling, Ievgen Kostiukevych, Madeleine Noland, Peter H Putman, Charles Q Robinson, Chris Arley Seeger, Simon Thompson, and Kelly T Williams.
The SMPTE Awards Gala will take place in the Ray Dolby Ballroom within the Ovation Hollywood, on Thursday, 19th October.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
16/06/2026
Thomson's highly regarded expert-led online learning courses are now easier to access on the go via our new App.
Available now on Google Play Store, the J...
16/06/2026
Neumann.Berlin has released firmware version 2.0 for the MT 48 audio interface, adding plugin compatibility, expanded Dante networking options, broadcast encode...
16/06/2026
TVNewsCheck has announced that nominations are now open for its 2027 Women in Technology Awards, to be presented at NAB Show 2027 on Tuesday, April 6 in the Med...
16/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced Avalon, a 1RU IP intercom platform for broadcast, live events, and production environments. Designed for IP-only workflows, Avalon suppo...
16/06/2026
SNS has published a guide to remote video editing workflows using its EVO shared storage platform and companion tools, covering use cases ranging from home edit...
16/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have deployed five Grass Valley LD...
16/06/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced the launch of the Official IPMX Training Series, a free online program covering the design, configurati...
16/06/2026
Swerve TV has announced distribution agreements with Fubo, Plex, Amazon Fire TV,...
16/06/2026
ATP and TikTok have announced an expansion of their global content partnership, extending the ATP's TikTok hub powered by TikTok GamePlan to cover all nine ...
16/06/2026
Network's LA facility serves as the heart of a sprawling operation built to ...
16/06/2026
At Pico, the network's media-management team is supporting a flood of HBS fe...
16/06/2026
The NHL will no longer air on CBC after the pulic broadcasters and national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet were unable to come to agreement.
After a successfu...
16/06/2026
As live sports broadcasters continue to seek new ways to make complex action mor...
16/06/2026
Built with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind, these small but mighty IP-based tran...
16/06/2026
Boasts individual synths for each band
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each operate...
16/06/2026
New intelligent auto-fader plug-in unveiled
PSPaudioware's latest release offers automatic level adjustment and provides more detailed control than many...
16/06/2026
New performance-focused library announced
Crystal Pads is the latest addition to The Crow Hill Company's ever-growing product range, and according to th...
16/06/2026
Developed in partnership with Sequential
In recent years, GForce Software have branched into official emulations of classic hardware synths, delivering a ha...
16/06/2026
Designed specifically for live performance monitoring
beyerdynamic's latest announcement sees the company introduce an affordable in-ear monitoring syst...
16/06/2026
Official emulation celebrates iconic synth's 40th anniversary
Cherry Audio have just introduced Ensoniq ESQ-1, an official recreation of the 1986 polyph...
16/06/2026
Australians place growing trust in SBS News
16 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has been recognised as one of Australia's most trusted news providers, ran...
16/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz achieves highest number of GCF validated 3GPP NR NTN test cases ...
16/06/2026
Bydgoszcz to Become a Local Centre of Excellence for Advanced Rail Technologies....
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
87 Percent of Creators Who Use Creative AI Say It Is Growing Their Business and ...
16/06/2026
Historic Zhuque-3 Reusable Rocket Test Mission Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton June 16, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Immersive Video puts view...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Rise WIB, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the broadcast and media technology industry, today announc...
16/06/2026
Limecraft today announced the availability of Limecraft 2026.4, the fourth of eight planned platform releases this year. The update introduces Team-Based Access...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Free Program Supports IPMX Education from Foundational Concepts Through System and Network Design
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced t...
16/06/2026
Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry 15 June 2026
Your feedback matters.
Following the instrumental insights provided in 2025,...
16/06/2026
Techtel Supports T-Motion RCCP-2A Controller Upgrade for Major Australian Broadc...
16/06/2026
Tuesday 16 June 2026
Record audiences tune in for opening weekend of ICC Women&...
16/06/2026
Every breakthrough AI model starts the same way: with a training run. The infrastructure running those training jobs shapes everything: how fast teams can itera...
15/06/2026
One of the more exciting internal video production divisions within a college at...
15/06/2026
The deal valued at $22 Billion is expected to close in the first half of 2027...
15/06/2026
Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer Cup have announced a partnership to livestream the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on Golf Channel Mobile and GolfChannel.com. The tou...
15/06/2026
TikTok and Panini have announced a partnership to bring a digital collectible ca...
15/06/2026
Cosm and Monster Energy have announced the debut of the first full-dome immersiv...
15/06/2026
Real American Freestyle (RAF) and Fox Nation have announced an exclusive streaming agreement for three RAF international events, beginning with RAF Georgia on J...
15/06/2026
FanConnect has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks integrating FanConn...
15/06/2026
Ten Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Will Start Fellowship Year at Ignite Lab from June 14-19
LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institut...
15/06/2026
Innovative three-band soft synth introduced
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each op...
15/06/2026
Applications now open for 2026
The Oram Awards have returned for 2026 to celebrate the unusual, unique and unfiltered creative worlds of women and gender-di...