NATAS Announces Tech Emmy Winners

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has announced the winners of its 60th Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award to Ivan G. Seidenberg, chairman and chief executive officer of Verizon Communications.

The awards will be presented at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, the day before the giant Consumer Electronics Show kicks off.

"These are truly dynamic and exciting times for the television industry, and these Emmy winners were rewarded for their significant impact in enhancing the consumer viewing experience," said Peter Price, NATAS president and CEO. "Of this esteemed group, we are pleased to commend technology and engineering professionals who contribute to the ongoing development of television."

The awards salute achievements in all kind of television modes, and honor excellence in creativity and adaptation of technology that improves the viewing experience.

  • In the Serial Interface and Protocols for Server/VTR control, awards will go to Harris/Louth and Sony.
  • The Delivery Confirmation Systems awards will be awarded to XOrbit and Scripps Networks.
  • Development and Standardization of File Formats for Video and Audio awards go to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and Thomson Grass Valley.
  • For Pioneering Development of MPEG-4 AVC systems for HDTV, the Emmys go to Tandberg Television and DirecTV.
  • For Pioneering RF Combiners for Adjacent Channels on Common Antenna Systems, the winners are Harris, Micro Communications Inc. (MCI) and Radio Frequency Systems (RFS).
  • For ongoing live global HD cinemacasting, the award goes to the Metropolitan Opera Association.
  • Lauded for their work in developing HDMI are Silicon Image, Thomson, Toshiba, Sony, Matsushita, Hitachi, Philips, Molex, Japan Aviation Electronics (JAE) and Intel.
  • Cited for helping with the Standardization of the ATSC Digital System are four organizations, the Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service, the Advanced Television System Committee, the Advanced Television Test Center and the Advanced Television Evaluation Laboratory.
  • Finally in the last Emmy category, the MPEG-4 AVC Standard awards go to Video Coding Expert Group (VCEG) and Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG).