Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers

Fact Sheet    

The Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), a professional membership association, is the worldwide leader in developing and providing motion-imaging standards and education for the communications, technology, media, and entertainment industries. An internationally recognized and accredited organization, SMPTE advances moving-imagery education and engineering across the broadband, broadcast, cinema, and IT disciplines. SMPTE members include motion-imaging executives, engineers, creative and technology professionals, researchers, scientists, educators, and students from around the world. SMPTE was founded in 1916 to advance theory and development in the motion imaging field. Today, SMPTE publishes ANSI-approved standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines, along with the highly regarded SMPTE Journal and its peer-reviewed technical papers. SMPTE holds conferences and local section meetings to bring people and ideas together, allowing for useful interaction and information exchange. SMPTE strives toward its goal through:

• Membership: Promoting networking and interaction • Standards: Developing industry standards • Education: Enhancing education through seminars,

exhibitions, and conferences

Press Contact: Aimée Ricca, SMPTE Marketing and Communication

aricca@smpte.org, (914) 205-2381

SMPTE FACT SHEET 1    

       When You See High-Quality Motion-Imaging Content, You See SMPTE® Have you ever seen the color bars television test pattern? Watched a live sports broadcast in high definition, or a movie in 3D? Downloaded your favorite TV show on your smart device? Then you’ve seen the Oscar® and Emmy® Award-winning Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers (SMPTE) in action! SMPTE standards touch nearly every piece of motion-imaging content consumed by billions of viewers around the world, ensuring that content is seen and heard in the highest possible quality on any display screen. Our standards also enable repeatable workflows and profitable business models for content creators and distributors, as well as the manufacturers who support them. With nearly 100 years of motion-imaging standards leadership, SMPTE is the innovator of some of the most iconic standards for high-quality content, as well as those that are facilitating the transition to an IP-video-based multiscreen world. SMPTE Innovation SMPTE Color Bars© Television Test Patterns have set THE consistent reference point for more than four decades to ensure color is calibrated correctly on broadcast monitors, programs, and on video cameras and displayed beautifully for consumers. SMPTE Time Code gives every frame of video its own unique identifying number, makes digital editing possible, and enables the association of other data to make video even more meaningful, accurate, and repeatable, whether in post for a major studio release, in hard news environments or live sports production. It even synchronizes music. SMPTE Digital Cinema standards — from those for high frame rate capture and production, with high-performance, fast compression, and pristine projection, to others supporting efficient, interoperable workflows, better security, and a consistent and engaging movie-going experience — ushered in the era of digital cinema and are enabling its rapid expansion. SMPTE 3D Home Master standard is the cornerstone of the entire 3D content chain, providing high-level image formatting requirements for source materials authored and delivered by content developers and across the distribution chain, from physical media to terrestrial, satellite, cable, and other streaming service providers. SMPTE Timed Text is accelerating the transition of broadcast content to the Internet and makes it more easily accessible to tens of millions of people in the U.S. with disabilities. SMPTE

Whether  you’re  watching  on  a  TV  at  home,  video  online,  in  a  theatre,  or  on  a  smart  device,  SMPTE  is  there.  

Timed Text is also the basis for subtitles and captions in the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem’s UltraViolet™ format for commercial movie and television content and is used by several video services and Internet video players. SMPTE Transport of High Bit Rate Media Signals over IP Networks creates a standardized framework for the transport of video over Internet Protocols (IP) networks. This framework is vital for future-proofing content creation and distribution infrastructures as the media and entertainment industries undergo massive transitions to the IP-based enterprises that facilitate multipoint transmission, a critical enabler in monetizing content and advertising in new ways across multiple screens, such as computers, smart phones, and tablets. SMPTE: 600 Standards, 64 Countries, and 6,000 Members Strong Since its founding in 1916, SMPTE has developed more than 600 standards, recommended practices, and engineering guidelines, and it continues to innovate at a rapid clip, generating an average of 50 new standards annually focused on film and digital cinema,

television, and Internet video. By providing structure, organization, and interoperability, SMPTE has helped advance the motion-imaging industry through all of the major transitions, from the advent and integration of sound and color to the shift from celluloid and analog to digital formats, including digital cinema,

high-definition TV (HDTV), and 3D TV. In addition to thousands of individual professionals globally, more than 200 organizations from around the world support SMPTE, with sustaining members representing leaders across the media and entertainment industry. SMPTE Diamond-level Sustaining Members include CBS, Inc., Discovery Communications, Fox Entertainment Group, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Technicolor, Inc., Disney/ABC/ESPN, Sony Electronics, Turner, and Warner Bros. SMPTE continues its intensive global expansion strategy, with sections spanning the globe. In 2012 two new sections were approved. In India (Mumbai), Ujwal Nirgudkar chairs a section with more than 60 members. In the U.K. Chris Johns chairs a section with more than 150 members.

In 2012 the FCC declared the SMPTE Timed Text standard a safe harbor interchange and delivery format. As a result, captioned video content distributed via the Internet that uses the standard will comply with the 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act, a landmark U.S. law designed to ensure the accessibility, usability, and affordability of broadband, wireless, and Internet technologies for people with disabilities.

Industry Awards and Honors: Oscar®, Emmy® Awards, and More Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Oscar® for contributions to the advancement of the motion picture industry. AMPAS Board of Governors Special Commendation for the contributions of the members of the engineering committees of SMPTE: “By establishing standards, they have greatly contributed to making film a primary form of international communication.” National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Emmy® Awards for early recognition of the need for a digital video studio standard, acceptance of the EBU (European Broadcast Union) proposed component requirement, and development of the hierarchy and line lock 13.5 MHz demonstration specifications which provided the basis for a world standard Emmy Award for early recognition of the need for a component digital video tape recording standard, development of a recording system based on the worldwide standard for digital component sampling, and coordination with the EBU to provide the basis for a world standard for digital component video tape recording Emmy Award for development and standardization of digital serial interconnection (SDI) technology for television Emmy Award for development and standardization of MXF open file formats for the interchange of video and audio material Emmy Award for pioneering development and deployment of Active Format system technology and system local cable ad insertion technology — digital standards for local cable advertising NATAS Honors and Citations for the standards work associated with the compatible One-Inch Type C videotape format and for the technical development of the Universal Video Tape Time Code Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) Citation for expeditiously achieving the difficult task of obtaining industry agreement on the One-Inch Type C Continuous Field U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) 2012 Chairman’s Award for Advancement in Accessibility, presented to SMPTE for its Timed Text Standard for the captioning of video content distributed via the Internet SMPTE and its members are proud of all these achievements. SMPTE’s standards work and its collaboration other professional standards bodies have led to an even more impressive result: a vibrant, growing digital media ecosystem enabled by SMPTE standards. Enabling the IP-Based Content Revolution

It would take more than 6 million years to watch the amount of video that will cross global IP networks each month in 2016. • Annual global IP traffic will reach 1.3

zettabytes (10 to the 21st power or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) per year or 110.3 exabytes per month (10 to the 18th power or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000).

• The gigabyte equivalent of all movies ever made will cross global IP networks every three minutes.

• The number of devices connected to IP networks will be nearly three times as high as the global population.

Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, 2011-2016

Today, massive change is sweeping across the motion-imaging industry, driven by the proliferation of IP-based video, video-capable consumer display devices, and exciting new bandwidth-hungry display technologies, such as ultra high definition TV (UHDTV or 4K). The rapid pace of change introduces the potential for standards development to fragment across multiple organizations, corporations and individual efforts. Never has SMPTE’s standards work been more vital – or timely. SMPTE standards are helping members of the motion-imaging industry to achieve interoperability, accelerate time to market, and pursue new revenue streams with confidence. In 2012, SMPTE published 51 standards documents, including those related to assuring high-quality content in the IP-based video era. A few highlights:

• Closed captioning for online video, which has been recognized by the U.S. FCC (SMPTE Timed Text)

• Information exchanges between business and media management systems (BXF)

• Internet transport of high bit-rate images, in partnership with the Video Services Forum (VSF)

• Digital tool communication in broadcast, production, post production and archiving (FIMS, IMF, MXF)

Supporting Advances in Digital Cinema Facilitating the rapid growth of the digital cinema industry was also a key SMPTE focus in 2012, with progress made in several key areas: digital cinema sound requirements (Cinema Sound Committee, 25CSS committee); high frame rate (HFR) production for 3D and 2D digital cinema; image archives (AXF); and production at resolutions of 4K and higher (Television and Broadband Media Study Group).

SMPTE Educational Events and Resources SMPTE offers multiple educational events and resources for professionals and for students. 2013 highlights include: NAB Show’s Technology Summit on Cinema: Advances in Image and Sound Produced in partnership with SMPTE. Timely and relevant insights into the techniques and technologies driving the industry forward. 6-7 April in Las Vegas, Nevada Entertainment InTechnology in the Internet Age (ETIA) A special two-day conference at Stanford University campus to explore the technology, creative, and business requirements for delivering compelling, high-quality, money-making entertainment over the Web. 18-19 June, in Stanford, Calif. SMPTE 2013 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition (SMPTE 2013) The preeminent gathering of motion-imaging scientists, researchers, engineers, and business decision makers designed to accelerate standards development, industry expansion, and business success. 22 – 24 Oct. in Hollywood, Calif. SMPTE Symposium: preceding SMPTE 2013 in Hollywood, Calif. SMPTE Australia, 23 – 26 July, Sydney IBC, 13 – 17 Sept., Amsterdam SMPTE PDA Now Webcasts: monthly online SMPTE Standards Webcasts: quarterly online SMPTE 2013 Regional Seminars: throughout the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. SMPTE Virtual Classroom: CCNA Exploration Classes held throughout the year online SMPTE Digital Library (http://library.smpte.org) A single platform for all SMPTE intellectual property, accessible by search or browse SMPTE Student Paper Award Winning papers will be published in the SMPTE Motion Imaging Journal, and award-winners receive a full conference registration to the SMPTE 2013 Conference, where they will be recognized at the Honors and Awards Ceremony. https://www.smpte.org/membership/student/paper_award Louis F. Wolf Memorial Scholarship Designed to help students further their undergraduate or graduate studies in motion pictures and television, with an emphasis on technology https://www.smpte.org/membership/student/scholarships

SMPTE Leadership: A Who’s Who of the Media, Entertainment, and IT Industries SMPTE leadership represents the world’s best-known media, entertainment, and IT businesses, Fortune 100 brands, and industry-leading companies. Current leadership includes:

• Wendy Aylsworth, President, Warner Bros. • Robert P. Seidel, Executive Vice President, CBS Television Network • Matthew Goldman, Financial Vice President, Ericsson • Patrick Douglas Griffis, Education Vice President, Dolby Laboratories • Ann Marie Rohaly, Secretary/Treasurer, Microsoft Corporation • Barbara Lange, Executive Director, SMPTE

SMPTE is led by a board of governors composed of representatives from across the IT, motion picture, and television industries. Current governors include:

• Pierre Marion, Canadian Region Governor, CBC/Radio-Canada • William T. Hayes, Central Region Governor, Iowa Public Television • Peter Wharton, Eastern Region Governor, Miranda Technologies Inc. • Angelo D’Alessio, Europe, The Middle East, Africa, Central and South America Region

Governor, CDG – CineDesign Group • Leon Silverman, Hollywood Region Governor, The Walt Disney Studios • Clyde Smith, Hollywood Region Governor, FOX Networks • William Charles Miller, New York Region Governor, Miltag Media Technology, LLC • T.J. Scott, Jr. Southern Region Governor, Grass Valley USA, LLC • Sara J. Kudrle, Western Region Governor, Miranda Technologies Inc.