Philo T. Farnsworth Award
Three people standing in front of a banner are smiling at the camera. Two men are holding Emmy statuette with a woman in the middle
The Philo T. Farnsworth Award being accepted by Goddard Space Flight Center engineer Richard Nafzger, actress June Lockhart, and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin on behalf of NASA in 2009.
Awarded for"An agency, company or institution whose contributions over time have significantly impacted television technology and engineering"[1]
CountryUnited States
Presented byAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences
Reward(s)Statuette
First awarded2003
Currently held byNational Association of Broadcasters (2023)
WebsiteOfficial website of the Emmy Awards

The Philo T. Farnsworth Award (also called the Philo T. Farnsworth Corporate Achievement Award)[2] is a non-competitive award presented by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS) as part of the Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards to "an agency, company or institution whose contributions over time have significantly impacted television technology and engineering".[1] Named for Philo Farnsworth, the inventor of the first fully working all-electronic television system and receiver,[3] the winner is selected by a jury of television engineers from ATAS's Engineering Emmy Awards Committee, who consider "all engineering developments which have proven their efficacy during the awards year and determines which, if any, merit recognition with an Engineering Emmy statuette".[1] The accolade was first awarded in 2003 as a result of about a year of lobbying to ATAS by Farnsworth's wife Pam Farnsworth and Hawaii-based Skinner Entertainment management and production firm owner Georja Skinner.[4][5]

At an annual award ceremony held in various locations, the ATAS presents the winner with a copper, gold, nickel and silver statuette of a winged woman holding an atom that was designed by engineer Louis McManus.[6] It was first presented at the 55th Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards ceremony in September 2003.[5][7] Motion picture equipment company Panavision was selected as the inaugural recipient for its work in developing "specialty camera items, cranes and dollies, Video assists, 35mm optics, cameras, lighting, trucks and grips".[7] Since then, another 16 agencies, companies and institutions have received the award and none have won more than once. No award was given between 2005 and 2007 and in 2020.[8] It has been presented to two separate recipients for different reasons in a calendar year once, in 2010, to the Desilu production company and the Digidesign audio technology firm.[8][9] As of the 75th Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards, the National Association of Broadcasters is the most recent winner in this category for its work on the 100th anniversary "as 'the voice of America’s broadcasters', working to advance their interests through public policy advocacy, educational initiatives and support for content and technology innovation."[10]

Winners

List of Philo T. Farnsworth Award recipients[8]
Year Recipient Nationality Rationale Ref.
2003 Panavision  United States "for its cumulative feats in the advancements of specialty camera items, cranes and dollies, Video assists, 35mm optics, cameras, lighting, trucks and grips" [7]
2004 Chyron Corporation  United States "for inventing and developing the character generator" [11]
2005–2007
Not awarded
 [8]
2008 Evertz Microsystems  Canada "for the design, manufacture and marketing of video and audio infrastructure equipment for the production, post production, broadcast and Internet Protocol television" [12]
2009 NASA  United States "in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the technological innovations that led to the first broadcast from the Moon by Apollo 11 astronauts on July 20, 1969" [13]
2010 Desilu  United States "for innovating the multi-camera film setup before a live studio audience" [9]
Digidesign  United States "commemorates Digidesign's historic role while recognizing its ongoing industry importance"
2011 Time Warner  United States "for their pioneering work in bringing true interactive and versatile on-demand television to audiences as exemplified by the Full Service Network" [14]
Time Warner Cable  United States
2012 Kodak  United States "for its impact on television technology and engineering through innovation in image capture, processing and manipulation, as well as its research contributing to the invention of digital cameras" [15]
2013 Sennheiser  Germany[16] "helped to create innovative audio products and have provided impeccable customer service in the fields of TV and broadcasting" [17]
2014 Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers  United States "for the impact of [their] work in advancing the creation, production, and delivery of television content and services" [18]
2015 Grass Valley  Canada "for its five-decade history of providing the tools to create signal infrastructure as the television industry grew; for its years of leadership in video routing, switching and manipulation; and for its industry-changing, pioneering strides in digital-image processing and effects" [19]
2016 NHK Science & Technology Research Laboratories  Japan "for the development across several decades of pioneering technologies which have expanded the possibilities of broadcasting technology in Japan and all over the world" [20]
2017 Sony  Japan "Sony Corporation's contributions in technology, content and services have significantly influenced all areas of television production" [2]
2018 Avid  United States "to honor 30 years of continuous, transformative technology innovations, including products that have improved and accelerated the entire editing and post production process for television" [21]
2019 American Society of Cinematographers  United States "for the organization's 100 years of commitment to excellence in motion-picture image making" [22]
2020
Not awarded
 [8]
2021 Dolby  United States "for its contributions to TV technology and engineering from its early work on noise reduction and Dolby Stereo to its Dolby Atmos immersive sound and Dolby Vision high dynamic range technologies" [23]
2022 Arri  Germany "for its more than a century of designing and manufacturing camera and lighting systems as well as its development of systemic technological solutions and service networks for a worldwide complex of film, broadcast, and media industries." [24]
2023 National Association of Broadcasters  United States "The award recognizes NAB’s centennial anniversary as 'the voice of America’s broadcasters', working to advance their interests through public policy advocacy, educational initiatives and support for content and technology innovation. NAB has played a part in major technological and engineering milestones throughout television history, including: the development of the digital television standard, the development of the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard and supporting the ongoing NextGen TV transition, stereo audio for analog television, UHF channel allocation and the inclusion of V-chips in television sets." [10]

Statistics

Wins by country
Country Wins
 United States 13
 Canada 2
 Germany 2
 Japan 2

References

  1. ^ a b c "Engineering Emmy Awards". Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Sony Honored With Corporate Achievement Award at 69th Engineering Emmy Awards". Sports Video Group. October 31, 2017. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Farnsworth, Philo T.". Television in American Society Reference Library. Archived from the original on July 4, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via Encyclopedia.com.
  4. ^ Harada, Wayne (June 5, 2003). "Random Notes: Here 'N' Here". The Honolulu Advertiser. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  5. ^ a b Farrant, Rick (September 22, 2003). "Tech prize named after Farnsworth". The Journal Gazette. p. 5D.
  6. ^ Sakzewski, Emily (September 22, 2019). "Primetime Emmy awards facts you might not know". ABC News. Archived from the original on November 11, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  7. ^ a b c Crabtree, Sheigh (July 22, 2003). "ATAS unveils engineering nods". The Hollywood Reporter. 379: 8. ProQuest 235350775. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Engineering Emmy Award Winners". Primetime Engineering Emmy Awards. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  9. ^ a b McAdams, Deborah D. (August 11, 2010). "Desilu and DigiDesign Among Top Emmy Engineering Winners". TV Technology. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  10. ^ a b "NAB Honored With Emmy For A Century Of Innovation". TVNewsCheck. August 15, 2023. Retrieved October 14, 2023.
  11. ^ Schachter, Ken (August 20, 2004). "Melville-based Chyron wins Primetime Emmy for its character generator". Long Island Business News. p. 1. ProQuest 223626711. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ "Evertz Celebrates Philo T. Farnsworth Emmy Award". Broadcaster. August 29, 2008. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  13. ^ "NASA Wins Emmy for Apollo 11 Moon Broadcast". Space.com. August 20, 2009. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  14. ^ "Emmys: Engineering Awards Announced; VOD Pioneer Time Warner Among Winners". Deadline Hollywood. October 19, 2011. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  15. ^ "2012 Engineering Emmys Honorees Announced". TV Technology. October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  16. ^ "Sennheiser Snags An Emmy". Hartford Courant. November 16, 2013. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  17. ^ Daley, Dan (October 25, 2013). "Sennheiser Receives Engineering Emmy's Philo T. Farnsworth Award". Sports Video Group. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  18. ^ Mclennan, Summer (October 15, 2014). "SMPTE to Receive Prestigious Philo T. Farnsworth Award at 66th Primetime Emmy Engineering Award Ceremony". Broadcasting & Cable. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  19. ^ "Television Academy Honors 67th Engineering Emmy Award Winners". Sound & Picture. November 5, 2015. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  20. ^ Forrester, Chris (October 10, 2016). "NHK wins 'Farnsworth' Engineering Emmy". Advanced Television. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  21. ^ "Avid Receives Engineering Emmy Award". Post. 33 (10): 7. October 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2020 – via Gale General OneFile.
  22. ^ "ASC Honored With Emmy". American Cinematographer. 101 (1): 102. January 2020. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  23. ^ Giardina, Carolyn (October 7, 2021). "Netflix's Reed Hastings to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Engineering Emmys". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on October 11, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  24. ^ Tangcay, Jazz (July 28, 2022). "ILM's StageCraft and ARRI Among Engineering Emmy Awards Recipients". Variety. Archived from the original on August 8, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.

External links

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