
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 ...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
11/09/2026
Calrec will introduce two new products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.C47, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14): the Type RT broadcast production console and the Apex M6 Modula...
11/09/2026
Grass Valley has announced AVORA, a standalone all-in-one live production solution launching at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01 and IBC Future Tech Zone, Stand 14.C49, Sep...
11/09/2026
CAMB.AI is introducing its Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026, wit...
11/09/2026
EVS has announced XT-S, a software-defined server platform that runs multiple live production applications on a common hardware foundation. The platform debuts ...
11/09/2026
EKT is demonstrating a new Linux-based ATSC 3.0 set-top box at IBC2026. The second-generation product moves away from Android to reduce memory costs, with Linux...
11/09/2026
The Sennheiser Group will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Booth D50, September 11-14...
11/09/2026
ESPN's Monday Night Football will open its 2026-27 season with a new renditi...
11/09/2026
Dalet has announced an integration of NVIDIA's Synthetic Video Detector AI model into Dalet Flex, enabling media organizations to identify potentially AI-ge...
11/09/2026
The Media Coding Industry Forum (MC-IF) will demonstrate Versatile Video Coding (VVC) capabilities at IBC2026 (Hall 2, Stand 2.B13), as the codec moves toward c...
11/09/2026
Sony will exhibit at IBC2026 (Hall 13, September 11-14), demonstrating products across live production, news, cinema, and immersive and spatial content workflow...
11/09/2026
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company, has been named a recipient of a 2026 Tec...
11/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) is bringing a pair of workflow updates to IBC2026...
11/09/2026
iodyne will co-exhibit with Hedge at IBC2026 (Booth 7.A36, September 11-14) and appear across three additional partner booths, marking the first public demonstr...
11/09/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
11/09/2026
The network will phase in HDR crew by crew while expanding Next Gen Stats integration, SkyDry availability, and onsite studio shows...
11/09/2026
CAMB.AI is introducing its new Streaming SDK and Streaming Dashboard at IBC2026,...
11/09/2026
Massive host operation at Melbourne Cricket Ground featured 54 cameras, 25,000 ST 2110 flows, REMI studio production in Stamford, and global distribution to mor...
11/09/2026
Production Anywhere Remote Kit (PARK) & AR-fueled Stage B are two key pieces to ...
11/09/2026
By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer
There's a particular kind of magic that hap...
11/09/2026
By Jessica Herndon
The fall film season is kicking off, and Sundance Institute-...
11/09/2026
Spark series gains compact modelling stompbox
Positive Grid's Spark amps have become a popular part of the company's line-up, offering a convenient ...
11/09/2026
New flagship sequencing plug-in revealed
Rapid Flow have just launched a new 16-track sequencer plug-in which they say has been designed for total rhythmic...
11/09/2026
Rohde & Schwarz unveils the air-cooled R&S TM1 medium-power UHF transmitter at I...
11/09/2026
FIFA World Cup 2026 and Peacock's Love Island USA' Power NBCU-Versant ...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Lightware has announced the launch of LARA (Lightware Advanced Room Automation) 2.0, a major upgrade to its built-in room automation platform, introducing impro...
11/09/2026
10 September 2026 - MusiMap, the B2B music intelligence company that is transforming how companies can harness the emotional power of music to reach consumers a...
11/09/2026
Matrox Video today announced an integration between Matrox ORIGIN and NVIDIA Holoscan for Media, enabling Matrox ORIGIN media services to be provisioned, config...
11/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that its cloud-native live media orchestration is now available through Oracle Cloud Marketplace, providing broadcasters, production...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Version 1.8 will bring advanced routing control, new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...
11/09/2026
Ikegami announces four additions its UNICAM XE range of 4K-UHD cameras with the introduction of the UHK-X700VN, UHK-X750VN, UHK-X600VN and UHK-X650VN. Developed...
11/09/2026
DHD.audio has chosen IBC2026 as the launch venue for a major new addition to its broadcast sound production platform: the MX3 console range. MX3 retains the mod...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/09/2026
New standalone solution gives production teams everything they need to create, produce and deliver live content from one flexible system.
Grass Valley today an...
11/09/2026
Recognition honors the development of FPV drone camera systems for live sports broadcast coverage
Wave Central, a Domo Broadcast Company that develops advanced...
11/09/2026
Teradek, the industry leader in zero-delay wireless video solutions, announced the launch of Bolt 7, which now includes a unified wireless video and data system...
11/09/2026
The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has released its autumn course schedule, with hands-on training dates in September, October and Novemb...
11/09/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Transthyretin amyloid disease (ATTR) is a progressive, life-threatening condition caused when the protein transthyretin (TTR) breaks apart and aggr...